STOP! The Sandwich Commands You

There are people out there who can be driving along, see a new restaurant out of the corner of their eye, mentally register that fact mid-turn-signal, and immediately stop to check the place out, or at minimum make plans to visit the next time they drive by. I admire this ability in others. I aspire to it. I am not that guy, though. Unfortunately, I’ve always been the “get where you’re headed” guy–I’ll take the interstate over the old state route almost every time. I may not ever stumble across a little farm stand with the juiciest, ripest peaches, but by god I’ll get where I’m going an hour or two quicker.

Sometimes, though, the universe smacks you in the face. So when I was driving down 147th Street to Calumet City for a torta ahogada recently and saw a sign instructing me to STOP

GET YOUR SANDWICH HERE

I did not. I continued driving, had the torta ahogada in Calumet City (that post is coming, don’t you fret), drove back home afterwards, and somehow did not quite manage to completely forget that this place existed.

Today, I went back.

Super Steak Sandwich +1 in Harvey

Back in 2011, in this exact spot, Mindy and I drove past a restaurant with the horrifying yet unforgettable name “Slop & Lick B-B-Q.” We didn’t stop then either, nor should we have–by all reports it was bad barbecue, swimming in sauce and little if any smoke flavor. I don’t believe Slop & Lick lasted long, though I can’t really say when it closed. But according to Google Street View’s current photo–“current” being relative, as it was taken in 2012, just one year later–the address is a Hook Fish & Chicken, also having their Grand Opening. Who knows how many businesses have come and gone since then?

Well, we’ve got to support our local businesses. So I stopped in. And it looks to be… a Taurus Flavors knockoff?

Well why not? I’m as big a sucker for fries with mild sauce on them as the next guy. So I ordered a small hoagie, a small steak sandwich, and an order of fries with mild sauce. To go, as there is no internal dining area, just an ATM, currently topped by a small Christmas tree, a glass window to order through, and a padded swivel chair to sit on while you wait. That window looked solid, and I wondered aloud how they hand you your food. It comes out a hidden drawer! Well, maybe not hidden, you can make it out in the left menu photo above. Still, that was kind of neat. I grabbed my sandwiches, my fries, and made the 10 minute drive home.

Sadly, the fries did not survive the trip home to be photographed.

Small Steak sandwich

I have only had Taurus Flavors once, and that was from the secondary Dolton location rather than the classic Stony Island site, so I’m not sure how well I can compare the two. Like the Taurus Flavors sandwich, this consisted of chopped steak, griddled with onions and placed in a hoagie roll with cheese then topped with sweet peppers and tomatoes and a sweet barbecue-like sauce. The ratio seemed different here, less meat-centric, though I ordered a small sandwich rather than the Supreme, which may account for the difference. Otherwise it seemed fairly similar. I did note the care with which the sandwiches were wrapped, which made these slightly more photogenic than the ones I got at Taurus.

Small Steak sandwich

The Hoagie, like the one at Taurus, consisted of cheap cold cuts, topped with thin-sliced onion, tomato, pickles, and banana peppers, seasoned with herbs and an oil/vinegar mix.

Small Hoagie

One difference I noted here is that the meat was sliced much more thinly than on the hoagie I had from Taurus Flavors, which paradoxically fooled my palate into treating it as if it was of higher quality than it, in fact was. This is sub-Buddig-quality turkey ham and, maybe, bologna? Old-fashioned loaf? with American cheese. It cost me about 3 bucks to buy and them about 30 cents to make. But you know what? It’s not bad. It’s not really good either but it works.

Small Hoagie

As I said, I’ve never really had the real original Taurus Flavors sandwich, and with their future in limbo since a car crashed into their storefront earlier in 2019, I may never get to. But at least I have this new carryout restaurant, just a few miles from home, so I can order the next best thing when I have the urge.

I hope I remember to go back sometime before this place closes and the next one opens up.

Jim Behymer

I like sandwiches.

I like a lot of other things too but sandwiches are pretty great