I’m not a big deli person. I like sandwiches just fine, but I’m talking roast beef or turkey or ham. I don’t need pastrami or corn beef or anything exotic. So I was not overly enthusiastic when my husband, Bobby, suggested we try Mr. Zub’s Deli and Bar. We were in Akron to attend the inauguration of Frank LaRose as Secretary of State on a recent snowy Saturday. I guess I’m still a little leery of delis after my time at Carnegie Deli in New York City. Let’s just say I was not very impressed. However, being the type of girl who is always looking for new places to eat and also not wanting to disappoint Bobby, I agreed. Plus, Bobby had heard good things about it from a Facebook food group and it didn’t seem too far from where we were at the time.
As I mentioned, it was a snowy day and it was after 2 p.m. so the place wasn’t very busy at all. I imagine during a nice summer day, it could get pretty crowded. There seems to be ample space for people to sit down and eat, plus outside is a large patio. The music appears to be playing both inside and out of the restaurant, which would add to the casual atmosphere.
I am glad that there wasn’t a line behind us, because the menu was a bit intimidating. There were tons of sandwiches listed on the board as we walked to the counter. This was already more impressive than Carnegie, where it seemed like all they had was pastrami or corn beef. I guess if you like either of those, then Carnegie isn’t all bad, but for me, their BLT was mostly “L,” which isn’t the best part of a BLT.
Thankfully the cashier was eager to guide us in our decisions. While she said that all the sandwiches are good, the one that people order, if they are looking for a burger, is Frank the Tank. Frank the Tank is a double bacon cheeseburger that is placed between two grilled cheese sandwiches. I, of course, ordered that! Bobby stayed true to his purpose for coming and ordered the a pastrami sandwich on a pretzel bun with provolone cheese.
Because I was quite hungry, I decided to also order tater tots (which the cashier says everyone orders) and The Big Chocolate Brownie. Bobby decided we should also try the jalapeno ravioli.
Once we placed the order, we went to find a seat. Though we don’t drink alcohol, it was easy to see that Mr. Zub’s has plenty to offer those who do.
When our food arrived the server sat the heavy tray down and said she had never been able to eat the entire Frank the Tank at one sitting, except when she was 6 months pregnant. The sandwich was pretty big, but I was really hungry so I thought I would be able to eat it all. Spoiler alert… I wasn’t.
Frank the Tank was delicious. The combination of the burger with the grilled cheese was perfect. The bacon on the sandwich was more like chunks of bacon and not strips. I like this because I have often bit into a bacon burger and pulled out a piece of bacon in one bite. With the bacon chunks, the bacon was throughout the sandwich.
Bobby’s sandwich was also large, but not as big as mine. He said it was a good pastrami sandwich, although it was the lean kind, which is not made from brisket. The brisket kind is the sort he would be able to get on the east coast.
The sides were good as well. I don’t think you can go wrong with tater tots. The jalapeno ravioli was deep fried ravioli filled with cheese and jalapenos. They gave us pizza sauce to dip it into. I liked them, but Bobby thought the jalapeno got lost in the ravioli and breading. I might have liked them more if the sauce was like the Bronco Berry Sauce that Arby’s has with their jalapeno poppers.
As I said earlier I wasn’t able to eat the entire sandwich. I knew I would have to stop halfway through if I wanted to be able to enjoy the Big Chocolate Brownie. The brownie was nice and chewy. There were chunks of chocolate in the brownie, which to a chocoholic like me that made it even better.
So when I compare Mr. Zub’s to Carnegie Deli, there is no comparison. While Carnegie Deli might have been a once in a lifetime experience, I could see a trip to Mr. Zub’s Deli and Bar an experience that I wouldn’t mind repeating over and over again.
