Smorgasbord of Sandwich Shops
Smorgasbord of Sandwich Shops
Written by Kara Vaught, Mark Collins, Tiffany Young Friday, 18 July 2008
The Spicy Pickle, Thundercloud Subs, Which Wich, and Firehouse Subs - a look at four Cedar Park sandwich shops
Spicy Pickle
by Kara Vaught
Located in 1890 Ranch near the movie theater and hospital, Spicy Pickle doesn’t bore the tongue.
I had a “Double Dilly-Yo” combo: a half sandwich, soup or salad ($6.45). My Loaded Baked Potato soup ($2.75 small, $3.75) had two slices of ciabatta bread perfect for dipping. The soup was rich and flavorful with no one ingredient — Russets, bacon, onion and chives — overpowering another.
The El Rancho salad ($3.75 small/ $6.95) had Romaine lettuce, mesquite turkey, black beans, corn relish and tomatoes served with spicy ranch dressing, also perfect for dipping.
My lunch buddy had a Sausalito Bandito Panini ($6.95) with sausalito turkey, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, pepperjack and chipotle mayo. Everything tasted fresh and delicious.
We both appreciated the high quality of the ingredients — not the standard deli meat and toppings. Next time, I’ll build my own sandwich ($6.95) from a huge list of choices that includes ciabatta or rosemary focaccia bread made from scratch daily, hard salami, mortadella (a form of bologna), capocolla (pork shoulder ham), portobello mushrooms, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, sundried tomato mayo, basil mayo, fresh or smoked mozzarella, feta and bleu cheese.
1335 E. Whitestone Blvd., Ste 110 • Cedar Park • 528-9900
Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. • www.spicypickle.com
Thundercloud subs
Walk into any Thundercloud Subs, and the atmosphere is sure to be unique.
One of the big reasons for that is Thundercloud hires mostly “part-time laborers and rock ‘n’ roll musicians,” joked David Cohen, director of franchising.
“What we’re known for is company culture [and] the type of employees we hire,” he said.
The bubbly cheese on the meatball sub ($3.19 small, $4.19 large) was evidence the sandwich spent ample time in the oven. Each bite included a large portion of hearty meatball.
Thundercloud got high marks for fresh ingredients and filling food from my dining companion, a recent graduate of the Texas Culinary Academy and known picky eater.
A different sandwich is on special every two weeks, and soups are also available daily.
700 E. Whitestone Blvd. • Cedar Park • 259-8815, Mon.-Sat. 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m., www.thundercloud.com
Which Wich
by Mark Collins
Having lunch delivered in a brown paper bag may remind diners of grade-school lunches, but locally owned sandwich shop Which Wich is anything but elementary.
Customers pick up a preprinted sandwich bag and choose a base sandwich from more than 50 different creations. All sandwiches are $4.75; extra meat or cheese is 75 cents. Customers then check the type of bread, cheese and additional ingredients they want before choosing spreads and sauces.
In addition to well-executed classic sandwiches like the French dip (served with steamy au jus), Reuben (tangy Thousand Island dressing sets off the sauerkraut) and turkey (the meat was so fresh it nearly gobbled), Which Wich offers a variety of sandwiches for the more adventurous.
The “Thank You Turkey” is a holiday-inspired concoction of turkey, stuffing and cranberry. “The Hula” is served with ham and pineapple, and the “Elvis Wich” is a fitting homage to The King with peanut butter, honey and bananas.
Which Wich does not offer soups or salads, choosing instead to focus on sandwiches, homemade chips, just-out-of-the-oven cookies and handmade shakes that are so good they make you want to order another one for the road.
1335 E. Whitestone Blvd., Ste. 180 • Cedar Park • 260-9424
10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily • www.whichwich.com
Firehouse Subs
by Tiffany Young
“Welcome to Firehouse Subs!” employees said as we walked into the mostly red franchise in Cedar Park. A bright mural of a fire truck painted along one wall, tables covered in black and white Dalmatian spots and Cedar Park firefighter memorabilia hung in a corner set the sandwich shop apart from others.
The Hook and Ladder sub sandwich ($5.19), number one on the menu, was steamed to perfection, blending smoked turkey breast, honey ham and Monterrey jack cheese, served Fully Involved. Fully Involved, a copyright of Firehouse Subs, means the sandwich is loaded with mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomato and onion, with a dill pickle on the side. Subs come in medium, 8 inches ($5.19, veggie $4.79) or large, 12 inches ($7.19 for hot specialty subs and grilled chicken breast, $6.99 for hot subs and $6.49 for veggie) and can be turned into a combo with a medium drink and a choice of chips for an additional $1.90. The shop has nine hot specialty subs, seven hot subs, two cold subs, the Chief’s Salad ($5.49) and an award-winning Firehouse Chili ($3.49). The S&S Meatball is a sweet and spicy meatball sub, which launched last month in all of the Firehouse Subs stores and is a limited-time offer.
1540 Cypress Creek Road • Cedar Park • 335-3473
Mon.-Sun. 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
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