Hitchcock Deli, Bainbridge Island

Once again, the Pacific Northwest DOMINATES the Reuben / Pastrami sandwich scene here on the Left Coast. Veritible Quandary and Kenny and Zuke's are big favorites of mine in Portland.

I did the random walk onto Bainbridge Island with a stop earlier in the day at the only distillery on the island, Bainbridge Distillery). It was later in the day and it was snack time. There are choices on Bainbridge, but the one that stuck out to me was posted in large letters on the window, Charcuterie. As luck would have it, this deli is attached to Hitchcock, a restaurant on the foodie scene in the Seattle area. I was unaware that Hitchcock was a big deal, but evidently it has turned some heads, as many restaurants have, with its dedication to high quality proteins and seasonal produce.

As is my standard, the house smoked pastrami sandwich with melted cheese and seasoned red cabbage had to be my choice. There were two options for pastrami, regular and “Piled High”. I opted for the regular portion and it was more than satisfactory. The pastrami was delicious, the richness and hint of smoke went a step beyond other pastrami sandwiches. While the pastrami was not traditional, in that it was lightly smoked, it added a depth of flavor that I couldn’t get enough of. Lightly pickled red cabbage added more pop, more crunch than normal sour sauerkraut, but again, not traditional.

This is where I don’t mind an updated interpretation of a classic Reuben, when generally, I like a classic take. Care is taken with each ingredient, there’s a purpose to the combination, the final result achieves the balance in the original and is a complimentary to the original. 

Maybe next time, I’ll get a chance to eat at the main restaurant or at least, take home a half-pound of that pastrami.

Also, the picture of the perfectly pulled espresso is also from the deli. They have a hand-crafted Bosco espresso machine, both beautiful to look at and it makes wonderful espresso when pulled by someone who knows the subtlies and personality of the machine. Yes, Bosco machines have personality, just like a Ferrari does.

Dear Keith's Box Car Cafe

An Open Letter to Keith's Box Car Cafe

May 7, 2012

“The man that wages a battle on all fronts is weak on all fronts” Sun Tzu

Since my recent open letter to Dusty Buns and the feedback I received from the topic, I’ve thought more about another local foodie sensation, Keith’s Box Car Café’. I’m troubled, perplexed, but hopeful. 

While most Fresnans have become accustomed to the “Mix and Match Menu Approach” to franchise restaurants; defined as huge menus of every combination one can think of to cook chicken or serve a burger at Cheesecake Factory; this mix and match approach does not work well for Keith’s Box Car, Trelio or Cracked Pepper.

A recent runaway foodie favorite is Keith’s Box Car Café. Keith runs specials every day of the week in addition to his regular menu. Specials are good marketing and good restaurant management. It allows the chef to experiment with new dishes and see where demand from his customers drives sales. If a special sells out each time it’s featured, perhaps that becomes a replacement menu item to an otherwise boring or slow selling menu item.

You may not believe it, but Trelio, Cracked Pepper and Keith’s have something in common…long prep times on certain signature dishes and sides that are not easily manufactured into a variety of uses or don’t taste very good when used on Day 2. If Keith decides to make brisket or Mike at Trelio makes short ribs, those items take several hours of cooking. No one just whips up a beef short ribs or beef brisket on the fly during service.

True, a brisket can be used in a variety of ways. But the chef has to decide early on how many combinations will the brisket be used that day. Why? Firstly, because left-over BBQ doesn’t taste as good on day two. Secondly, food cost considerations.  I think we can all agree, left-over beef, chicken, and pork BBQ never taste good the second day. But the second point, that of food ordering and costs, requires a bit more explanation.

The brisket could be used in a sandwich with a daily prepared sauce, hence Keith’s daily special. The advantage? Think the Dusty Buns model, 2 sandwich choices and frequent sell-outs. But what happens if a VIP comes in to Keith's and requests something from the “Underground” menu; a brisket sandwich with roasted green chili? Or a special sauce? Or a bread he didn’t order that day?

I joke about Chuck Norris coming in and ordering a Big Mac from Keith. Why? Because I seriously think Keith would try and make it for him. Keith isn't going the extra mile to please customers. He's going 5 extra miles. But does it make the most economic sense long-term?

Keith’s doesn’t have the scale Cheesecake Factory has in order to make 20 different sides to add to 80 different combinations. Food costs are too high. Keith probably has the scale, as he advertises, for “Today’s Special”, not last week’s special. Keith should shoulder the burden of some low cost “additions” to regular items and specials, an extra sauce or special topping. But should Keith prep and order extra food on the off chance a VIP will come in that day and get their “Underground” special? My answer is an unequivocal NO.

To give credit where credit is due, Dusty Buns, smartly, can make the “Underground Egg-Man” all day long, it’s simply a fried egg added to a sandwich. As long as Dustin has eggs, he can make an Egg-Man. Keith needs to have low-cost, easily added "Underground Specials" that are bolted on to regular menu items.

The empirical choices in smaller, local, foodie type establishments are: 

1. A high number of staple menu items with slow turnover (increasing food costs and prep time) to please the pedestrian eater with generic burgers and hot dogs, combined with specialized items and one-offs (higher food costs) for VIPs and foodies, like the brisket and pulled pork
2. The Dusty Buns model of extremely limited menu choices that regularly sell out.
3. Adding the top-selling “specials” to a small, easy to prepare regular menu, removing weaker menu items frequently and continuing to advertise specials; thus refreshing the menu regularly and maintaining a basket of staples, keeping most VIPs (aka Foodies) happy and opening up more options for first-time customers. Basically, the same prescription I gave for Dusty Buns except Keith has the opposite problem, too many items and too many exceptions.

Keith’s and Dusty Buns have the difficult job of incorporating intuition with sales receipts and customer feedback. Only the best can do this without the aid of a POS system. Parma is an example of a restaurant in Fresno with no POS and only paper tickets for tracking customer orders. They seem to be doing fine after 10 years, so lack of a POS is no excuse for poor management.

My two cents for Keith: Focus on your BBQ staples, pulled pork and brisket. I’m hearing good things about those two items (when they’re cooked and served only on Day 1) and have tasted the pork a couple times. Keep trying stuff and figure out how to combine a couple staple menu items with a fresh brisket or fresh pork and sell out EVERY DAY. Be the guy in town that DOESN’T serve tri-tip because it’s a default Fresno choice. Forget about tri-tip Keith. You know it has to be done fresh and most places in Fresno have a below average tri-tip to begin with. “Refreshing” pre-sliced tri-tip in a broth bath isn’t the way to go and you know it.

I hear good things about the breakfast burrito. Be a one trick pony with burritos, sell the crap out of them. They’re low cost and breakfast is one area that restricted variety works, think Egg McMuffin vs. Sausage McMuffin. Keith’s Breakfast burrito with Salsa Verde or Salsa Rojo. You want cheese with that? How many customers have come in for pancakes and eggs? Knock out 50-75 burritos every morning and word will spread, then you can forget about pancakes. And you’re overhead will be paid by 9am with that many burritos.

I think your lasagna is a brilliant idea and can ONLY be served fresh on the first day. I’m an Italian food snob, so I probably won’t try it, but who cares about me, I’m a BBQ fan. If the pork or brisket is fresh and I know it’s fresh that day, I’ll drive across town for lunch. If it’s Day 2 BBQ, I’m cooking my own pasta at home.

I think Keith’s Box Car is on the right track, figuratively and literally, it just needs to operate more like Swiss Rail, rather than Amtrak.

Regards,

The Cured Ham

Dopo, Oakland

Fresh cod fish sandwich. Doesn’t get more basic than that. The basics of fresh cod and a good fry job make this either an easy dish to screw up or a simple one to churn out. In Dopo’s case, the latter. Good sandwich, good fish, good fry job, quality bread. I was happy.

Fiori's Butcher Shoppe, Lodi

With a line 12 deep to the door, a full restaurant and patio, who knows how many take-out orders, four cashiers, and a crew of sandwich assembly line workers, this Fiori’s  Butcher Shoppe means business.

Lodi is wine country, a Central Valley town not too far away from Stockton. As I’ve been hitting Highway 99 more often, I’ve been taking small detours and venturing into towns I haven’t otherwise explored. Old School Italian Deli’s tend to be a favorite of mine. Sam’s and Piemonte’s in Fresno, and Luigi’s in Bakersfield all have wonderful stories and quality deli sandwiches; so why not take a shot at Fiori’s.

I ordered up the Grape Stomp sandwich, house made pastrami with lettuce, tomato, cheese and a hit of mayo on a bread of my choosing; naturally rye. This is not a reuben, it’s basically a pastrami sandwich. From order to take-away, say 6 minutes, pretty fast considering the line is always 12 people deep.

 

As there was nowhere to sit, I took the sandwich to my car. Good looking sandwich, good portion of meat. However, one of my bites is salty. I’m guessing an uneven throw of salt and pepper on the lettuce as no other bite had nearly the amount of punch bite number two did. I’ll tack it up to a random throw of salt. Otherwise, the sandwich was tasty. The mayo was additive on the sandwich. The bread was super soft but not super ‘rye-like’. 

 

While I have a bias for reuben sandwiches and pastrami, I might consider ordering a classic American Italian cold-cut sandwich on a roll next time. Considering my love of nostalgia and Italian delis, ordering a three-meat combo on a roll with Italian dressing might be a wise choice for my next visit.

Keith's Box Car Cafe', Fresno Bites and 7Q's

Simply to get it out there, several weeks back, Fresno Bites got me to go out to The BoxCar. This is not my definitive review, merely a teaser since Mike Oz picked it up in 7Q and I’m lending confirming evidence that Fresno bloggers are converging on The BoxCar. As luck would have it the day I visited, @GoDogs 21 and @BK were both already eating when Fresno Bites and I arrived.

 

As many are aware, I happen to really like Mike’s Grill. And no secret, Keith’s is the spinoff show to Mike’s. Think Law and Order; same basic premise, slightly different characters.

I split a tri-tip and a pulled pork sandwich with Fresno Bites. I also got a side of potato salad. GoDogs21 encouraged the side dipping sauces with my meal, which I agreed to.

 

As I tweeted some time back, the sauce that has a bit of sweetness stood out to me. The sauce is too sweet for the tri-tip, but pairs wonderfully with the pork.

Considering my rapid fire reviews of tri-tip sandwiches that I posted recently, I would automatically put Keith’s in the Top 3, along with Dog House and Mike’s. Keith is grilling his bread, there is good smoke to the tri-tip, and he’s making his own sauce. Unlike the other two, I haven’t been to Keith’s enough to check for consistency, hence my hesitation to render a final score. Mike’s is tough competition in my book and the semi-industrial Dog House has a consistent product and quality sporting atmosphere. But for now, Keith’s has made it into the Top 3, pending further trips to the Boxcar.