Although the eatery’s grand opening wasn’t exactly highly anticipated, the lines outside Sandman’s Cheesesteak tell a different story. The trail of humanity queued up in an Arena District alley is rather attention getting; attention-getting enough to inspire a meticulously-timed 11am visit, so as to avoid the rush.
According to the joint’s website, the cheesesteak operation is the fourth local project from Sandman Gourmet. While it’s the fourth eatery, it’s the first one with CheeseSteak in its moniker. Perhaps that’s part of the magic. The new joint has two order windows: one that’s inside an office mall, and the other one is outside for the open-air experience.
The menu features multiple variations of cheesesteak sandwiches; in bread, on salad, or (this is going to be the best, it’s already clear) on french fries.
Start with the foundation, Angus Steak ($9): Soft, ready buns hold a cavalcade of thinly sliced beef. Part of the hook is that the beef is “Single Sourced Black Angus Sirloin.” In a sandwich, that’s super thin cut, lean and tender beef. It’s not deli-processed meat, nor is it salty, just pure and beefy, and simply combined with soft grilled onions and cheese. While it’s not a complex sandwich, the impressive meat-to-bread ratio makes it an appealing combo.
Might as well branch over into another mammal and try the Roasted Pork Sammich ($8.75). It’s good quality pork, shaved thin just like the beef. The meat is paired with garlicky sautéed spinach, which is a nice touch. This combo is solid, if not as lovable or flavorful as the beef. The menu mentioned provolone too; while that element was missing, perhaps it would add some requisite oomph to the creation.
For healthy types, you can put the shaved steak on a salad with Steak in the Grass ($9.50). It’s the same appealing meat with greens, cucumbers, tomatoes and some shredded provolone. It’s not bad, as a vehicle for vegetables.
Can we talk about the B.A.M. Fries ($10.50) now? It’s hard to justify getting steak on greens, when you could have that stuff piled high on top of fresh-cut, peel-on french fries with cheese sauce (melted Cheez Whiz), soft hot peppers and a glossy over-easy egg. There’s some shreds of provolone and sautéed onion in there too, but they take a backseat to the quintet of fries-cheez-steak-peppers-egg. It’s a glorious, goopy, heavy, heady mess. A fork will be required to eat the masterpiece with any dignity, that’s the only downside.
All this to say that the B.A.M. Fries will launch an obsession that will lead a willingness to consider standing around in a hot alley at noon with a swath of humanity trying to get its cheesesteak fix. Then again, the joint does open in the mornings for breakfast with cheesesteak and egg combo sandwiches. That’s another, less-crowded option.
You can find Sandman’s Cheesesteak at 111 W. Nationwide Blvd. The exterior order window is actually off the parking lot/alley that runs behind Marconi. It’s open weekdays from 7:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
For more information, visit www.sandmangourmet.com.
Photos by Walker Evans.
