First Time Experience: Schlotzsky's, 4th Avenue, Huntington, WV

I am a sandwich aficionado. I love them. The simplicity. The mobility. The dynamics between toppings and choices; it's endless and what makes the sandwich one of the most eaten foods of this world. Every culture has it.
Recently, I've decided to embark on a mission to try all the local eateries of my home area and may even branch out beyond that once I'm done in the tri-state, who knows? Let's see where it goes.

My most recent new experience was with Schlotzsky's on Fourth Avenue in Huntington, WV. It's located in the bottom of one of the few high-rises in downtown; right in the middle of the hustle and bustle. Parking through here was a pain and once I did find a suitable spot, I spent a good ten minutes pillaging my car in hopes of finding a few quarters to pay the meter. However, I can't hold this against the restaurant. This is a Huntington issue, parking in town is just horrible. Yet, I shouldn't complain because I'm positive that it is nowhere as nearly as bad as some major cities.

Moving on... I walked about half a block to Schlotzsky's, which wasn't horrible in itself. I passed several little shops and you get a real genuine feel of being in a big town, but anyone who knows Huntington or the area will know immediately that this isn't the case.

Upon first entering the restaurant, I was caught off guard. I went into this entire venture knowing 3 things.

1. This was a sandwich deli.
2. I had wanted to try this place for a long time.
3. I was hungry.

The entry and counter was in a larger area than I'd anticipated, and the dining area was in almost another room entirely. I realize this is purely aesthetics, but it was a bit of a turn off for me so to speak. I don't like the idea of a huge open dining area and especially in another room. However, this wasn't an issue for me as I'd intended to get my food to go. I approached the counter and began looking at the menu. Having never been there before, I needed to explore my options. A young woman at the counter inquired to my order and I told her that I needed just a bit. She began another task and as I looked over the menu, a man who I can only presume to be the manager asked if he could help me. I informed him too that I'd need a bit. Now, this next bit could be just my own poor first impressions of people, but I felt almost as if he was rushing me. Not that he was rude, or angry. Just rather that I was wasting his time by having to think my order over thoroughly. Now let me clarify- I understand impatience with customers who take too long to order. Everyone hates getting behind that one person at KFC who acts like the menu is a rocket science manual. However, this was a completely new place to me. In any case, I made up my mind and ordered the Angus Pastrami and Swiss. Now normally I do not like rye bread. The flavor is too dark for my palate. However, this being a new place, I was willing to give it a go. While waiting on my food, I struck up a small conversation with a fellow who too was waiting on his food. He'd ordered after me, and thus his number was the order after mine- Logical common sense. We chatted and then my number was called. Just as I grabbed my bag and headed for the door, I was stopped. The wrong number had been called. This was the man I was chatting with's order, not mine. Apparently, they needed to slice more pastrami for my order and had made his first and mistakenly called my number. The man who'd taken my order apologized a few times and explained thoroughly. Just to clarify, I'm generally a very understanding person in cases like this and this instance didn't and still doesn't upset me in the least. My only opposing thought is "they couldn't slice my pastrami then make his order?" However, as I said, it doesn't particularly bother me in the least. A few minutes later, I got my food and left.

On the topics of location, ordering/waiting experience: I give Schlotzsky's an 8 out of 10. As mentioned before, parking isn't something I can hold against them. However, the general environment inside wasn't to my personal liking. It could have felt cozier in my opinion. Service was good, despite the slight feeling of being rushed and he did apologize profusely after the mistake.

As for the food, I enjoyed the sandwich. Though I wasn't overly impressed. The portion size was perfect. A huge sandwich, cut in two. I had a coke and the sandwich and was definitely full after the meal. The meat/cheese/mustard ratio was slightly off. There was plenty of meat. I love a big meaty sandwich; it's the base for the whole thing. So really I should say the cheese and mustard ratios were off. The mustard had a great flavor, but there was so much of it that it over powered the flavor of the swiss. My personal opinion is that the mustard is there to moisten the sandwich and provide a back flavor; it's there to enhance. I could barely taste the cheese, which to me is the next most important element behind the meat. Overall, this was tolerable and still enjoyable. What really got me was the bread. It had a dark rye bun that really just didn't suit me. As I said before, I'm not normally a fan of rye and this toasted, crispy bun just wasn't my cup of tea. It worked well for holding the components together, but the rye flavor was almost just as over powering as the mustard. To me, the bread must compliment the meat, cheese and other toppings.

On the food itself: I give it a 6 out of 10. It was by definition a good sandwich. I ate the entire thing and felt satisfied afterward. However, the ratios being off and the rye were turn offs for me. Would I eat it again? Probably yes, though I'd ask to get it on something other than rye.

Schlotzsky's as a whole receives a 7 out of 10 from me. Will I go back? Quite possibly. It's a good place, with good food. I say good because it's just that- good. If I'm having the most amazing day of my life, I wouldn't go there for the most amazing lunch to compliment it. But I would go there for lunch on a good day. It wasn't spectacular, fantastic or out of this world; it was good. And no matter how you look at it, good is still good.