Jason's Deli is a relatively new restaurant on 82nd St. just West of Allisonville Rd. At first glance the place looks just like another one of the many sandwich shops that has been popping up recently around the Indy area. I have to say at first the idea of this didn't really excite me very much. I am and have been a big hater of sandwich places like Subway, Jersey Mike's and Jimmy Johns for a long time. I know I'll probably catch flak for that from some of you (especially regarding Jimmy Johns) but that's okay. Basically it comes down to the fact that I don't like a lot of veggies or other toppings on my sandwiches, and at most places if you don't get that stuff the sandwich just doesn't deliver. However, I have to say I don't think Jason's Deli falls into that same category.
The first thing I noticed was the size of the menu. This place isn't just about cold sandwiches and subs. They also serve po'boys, pasta, soup, potatoes, paninis, and salad (they actually have a large salad bar with a lot of organic items). I was in the mood this particular day for something hot and something hearty. I decided to with the pastrami melt po'boy. This sandwich consisted of hot pastrami with swiss cheese and Russian dressing. The sandwich costs $6.59 and is served with a healthy side of out-of-the-bag potato chips and a dill pickle spear. With a fountain drink my total came to $9.24.
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| The first sandwich I got was the wrong order and looked awful |
When I got there it was lunchtime on a Saturday and the place was quite busy. The way it works here is you place your order up front and then walk down the line and pay at the end where you are handed a number. Your order is then brought out to your table. The reason I bring up this process is due to the fact that my order was thoroughly screwed up. After I went through the above process and was dutifully sitting at my table I notice an employee walking around the dining room with what looked to be my sandwich. My friend and I were both trying to flag her down, and there was some confusing do to the fact that I was handed number 32 at the cash register when number 37 was written on my ticket. Not a good start. At this point I was quite hungry and ready to dig in. As I looked down I first noted my sandwich had much less meat than the similar one my buddy ordered. The next problem was that what little meat was on the sandwich was clearly pot roast and not pastrami and there was definitely no Russian dressing anywhere. I looked at my ticket and the lady who took my order clearly wrote down what I ordered then crossed it out and wrote something entirely different for some reason that is unknown to me. As much as I wanted to bitch and fly off at the handle I took my sandwich to a manager and my problem was addressed immediately and I had a new sandwich which was exactly what I ordered in less than 5 minutes. I'm not a guy that needs free food if a mistake is made with my order. I just want you to correct the problem quickly and that's exactly what occurred here.
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| The sandwich I ate, and the sandwich I should have received in the first place. |
Now let's get on the substance of the meal. When I finally got what I ordered the pastrami was a very healthy portion, and the bread of the roll was nice and crusty and in good proportion to the amount of meat. The pastrami tasted very fresh, and had the great salty briny flavor I expect of it. I don't know what method they use to prepare the meat or keep it warm, but the pastrami did have a nice crispiness to some of the edges. The Russian dressing was indeed on the sandwich, but I could have used a little more of it. I know they probably don't want the dressing to kill the flavor of the meat, but the salt flavor of the pastrami really would have been complimented by a little more tang from the dressing. The pickle was good, but I didn't find it particularly outstanding. They give you a lot of chips on the plate, but they're pretty standard and not worthy of comment. I also enjoyed a small bowl of the free ice cream. They have 3 flavors of soft serve: Chocolate, Vanilla and Chocolate/Vanilla swirl. Nothing special, but hell it was free. Let's get on with the ratings.
Taste:
8/10 The quality of the pastrami was great and so was the bread. I really enjoyed the meal. If I could have gotten a little more tang from the dressing it would have been pushed from good to great territory. I'm looking forward to going back to try some of the other menu items to see if they are up to the same level of quality in the ingredients.
Value:
8/10 First of all I'm not deducting points for service issues here due the fact that I think this place is pretty new and I've only been there once so I have no idea if this is a pattern of behavior or an anomaly. Since I had to pay the check before I received the meal I have to say I had a little sticker shock over the price of the meal (drink included) being $9.24. That seemed like a lot to pay for lunch, but after I got the food and realized it was a big portion with good flavor I felt a lot better. I think the pricing is competitive with similar restaurants. Next time if I decide to get water instead of a pop that would drop almost 2 bucks off the total cost. Not bad at all Ask yourself do you want a sandwich from Scrubway for 5 bucks, or a hot sandwich here with really good meat, bread, chips and pickle for a buck 60 more. Jason's also has a To Go station if you want carryout.
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| Here my friend illustrates the good portion of meat on the sandwich |
