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The little sandwich shop from Austin with the funny name has come a
long way
baby. That's right, Schlotzsky's, home of the famous "accept no
substituteskys" ORIGINAL on their wonderful sour-dough influenced
buns, now
has stores all around the world. Over 600 and counting.
Now, as you know, I don't normally review franchised operations. But
after
dining in to their so-called "superstore" at Riverside and
S. Lamar, I was
genuinely impressed. And there's a local angle here that's just too
good to
pass up.
What Schlotzsky's has done at the S. Lamar store is to roll a number
of
seemingly disparate elements: coffee shop, bakery, wine store, Internet
cafe,
sandwich shop, deli, and pizzeria all into one. The result, far from
being
chaotic, is seamless and magical.
One can order sandwiches and pizzas at the main counter. The original
sandwich, which dates back to 1971 from the very first Schlotzsky's
(and
still accounts for almost 40% of overall sales) is still my favorite.
The
orginal, which won the hearts of UT students 30 yeras ago, has lean
ham,
Genoa salami, and cotto salami, mozzarella, cheddar and Parmesan cheeses,
mustard, black olives, onion, lettuce and tomato. It comes out, in about
4
minutes from time of ordering, hot with a convergence of flavors on
that
terrific sourdough bun. Great taste.
But there are many other sandwiches to choose from. Last visit, I tried
the
pastrami with dijon mustard and melted swiss cheese and it was delicioius.
And how about the turkey and bacon club? This comes on a toasted wheat
bun
and is an absolute treat.
"Original" traditionalist that I am, I never thought I could
bring myself to
try Pizza at a sandwich crazy place like Schlotzsky's. But I broke down
and
had the Barbecue Chicken pizza. This little 8-inch dynamo came with
a
wonderful herbed sourdough crust, roasted chicken breast, a very cool
BBQ
sauce, onions, jalapenos, and mozzarella and cheddar cheese with a tomato
pesto. You know what? Totally worked!
And to complement your lunch or dinner? Head over to the bakery. They
have
gargantuan cookies, a sensational Key-lime pie, and all sorts of eminently
edible confections to choose from. Or have them brew you up a latte.
Or just
take home a loaf of bread that several of Austin's most upscale restaurants
(like Flemings) are proud to serve. Buy a bottle of wine. Or just hang
out
with your kids and jump on a I-Mac and surf the Net.
Unlike most instituional, franchised emporiums, the Schlotzsky's superstore
on S. lamar has maintined an Austin feel. You know, that quirky kind
of
irreverence that we take such pride in here in the River City. You marry
that
with an operation whose mantra is customer satisfaction and you have
a
winner.
If you haven't been to the Schlotzsky's megastore on S. Lamar, do yourself
and your family a favor. Check it out. For Fox 7 News, I'm Rob Balon,
dining
out.
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