Spoon Market & Deli always brings out a different side in me, one my wife, Wendi, the founder of this blog, and other family members and friends don’t get to see often. I am a picky eater. I like what I like. I don’t stray too far. I am not one to try new things. I am not adventurous when it comes to food, except, when I go to Spoon Market & Deli. Don’t ask me why, but I am willing to explore … even if just a little bit. Such was the case with our visit on Friday.
When it comes to food, I tend to like straightforward dishes: A good cheeseburger only needs bacon, pickles and mustard, perhaps some lettuce and tomato. Pizza just needs to be cooked in a brick oven with some San Marzano tomatoes, a little salt, basil and some sliced mozzarella. Give me rigatoni with my wife’s simple, but tasty, meat sauce, and I am good. Pastrami? It needs to be New York-style with yellow mustard and pickle on an Italian sub roll. One of my favorite dishes is macaroni and cheese made from what my friend Jeanine calls nuclear orange powder (actually, bulk cheddar cheese powder). But, that is not the case at Spoon Market & Deli.
The Wooster, Ohio-based eatery and pantry (it has some premium cheeses, condiments and other goodies) opened in 2011, and it has grown since then. It started out in a small space with 14 seats on a side street in the downtown area. Today, it is in a much larger space, and what a beautiful space it is, that can accommodate more diners, as well as larger groups in its Excelsior Room upstairs. And, it is right on the main drag in downtown Wooster: Liberty Street.
Spoon Market specializes in sandwiches grilled in a panini press and baked goods. Nearly all the sandwiches are named after movies, like the Goodfellas, the Odd Couple, a Fish Called Wanda, Weird Science, My Cousin Vinny, Dr. Strangelove, the Nutty Professor and more. The sandwiches fall into two categories: Hot or Not. Because I love hot sandwiches, I always get one grilled on the press.
We ordered at the counter and then found a table. Every time I have gone for lunch, the place is packed. I was happy to see some available seats. When you walk into Spoon, it is hard not to take in the beautiful atmosphere. With the exposed brick and all the wood, it has this rustic feel from a bygone era when shopkeepers spread sawdust on the floor. I am in awe of the beauty every time I am there.
I settled on the Goodfellas sandwich (I just watched the movie). Wendi ordered the Odd Couple. Both of us added an order of chicken tortilla soup, which came with a piece of cornbread. The chicken tortilla soup was a little thicker than other soups I have had, and that is not a bad thing. It had a really good flavor … and lots of black beans. I generally do not like beans and avoid them at all costs, but I really enjoyed the soup. The cornbread was on the sweet side, but it was a little dry, like cornbread usually is. My preference is for something with a little more moisture. My wife and I really enjoyed the cornbread, if you can call it that, at the former Burbank’s Real Bar-B-Q in the Cincinnati area. It was basically half cornbread and half yellow cake. You can make it yourself by getting a box of Jiffy cornbread mix and a box of Jiffy yellow cake mix and combining them.
When I ordered the Goodfellas sandwich, I did change two things. The sandwich is Troyer’s Pastrami, nutty cranberry slaw, melted Swiss cheese, Rickle Pickle chips, banana peppers, yellow mustard, homemade Russian dressing on a toasted rye bread. But, the Swiss cheese and the rye bread had to go. I opted for provolone cheese and a ciabatta roll. I am not a fan of any kind of slaw, but I left it on. I don’t really like sweet pickles, and the Rickle Pickle chips are on the sweet side. I was a big boy, so I left them on. Oh, remember how I said pastrami had to be New York-style? Well, Troyer’s Pastrami is not, however, it had a good flavor. I really liked it. The nutty cranberry slaw and the Rickle Pickle chips changed the flavor profile of a pastrami sandwich for me, and I was glad I tried it. I should also add, the homemade Russian dressing had a nice vinegary kick to it, which I really liked. (Reminded me of a certain fast-food restaurant’s secret sauce that I like.)
The Odd Couple is Troyer’s Brown Sugar Ham with melted French brie, cranberry chutney and lettuce on toasted seed bread. I was so full with my soup, sandwich, chips and dessert (more on that later), I didn’t even get to taste Wendi’s sandwich. “I like things sweet, so I liked the sweetness the chutney added,” Wendi said. “Applesauce goes with pork, so it made sense the chutney went with the ham.”
My former colleague Dan Starcher and I have been known to frequent Spoon Market & Deli. On one of our visit, I ordered the Hot Italian Grinder (I am Italian, after all), Troyer’s Off The Bone Ham, salami, and pepperoni topped with melted fresh mozzarella, mayo, banana peppers, red onion and roasted red pepper on a toasted Italian baguette.
Dan settled on Spoon’s version of the classic Reuben, called the City Slickers, which consists of Troyer’s Corned Beef, sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese and tangy homemade Russian dressing on toasted marble rye.
I can eat Swiss cheese, but I prefer not to. I am not fond of corned beef, I prefer pastrami. I don’t like rye bread, and I don’t like sauerkraut. Nothing about the City Slickers appealed to me. So, don’t ask me why, but I suggested to Dan we exchange half of our sandwiches, probably so he could see how good the Hot Italian Grinder was. I ended up eating all of my half of the City Slickers sandwich, and it was pretty good. Would I ever order it for myself? No. Not a chance because I prefer other flavors. However, it was not bad.
On Friday, I finished my meal with dessert: A cheesecake cone. This is a “cone” made of sugar and almonds. I asked owner Jordan Smith how the cone was made (because it looked like it was made in a similar fashion as a parmesan crisp … cook it in a pan until it crisps and then it is ready). Jordan confirmed my suspicion, saying it had to be made on a flat grill and when it reaches a certain consistency, it is rolled into the cone shape. This dessert is soooooooo sweet. I enjoyed it. The filling was closer to a cheesecake frosting than a dense, New York-style cheesecake, like the kind I make. But, it was good.
Oops, one more thing: You can make your own iced coffee. In their drink station is coffee specifically for iced coffee … it is not hot, so you don’t have to worry about the ice melting and watering down your creation.
I definitely recommend checking out Spoon Market and Deli.
