The Brown Sack

This is a brown paper sack. It doesn't make for much of a picture but what's in it was something fantastic. The brown sack came from a neighborhood sandwich place called, surprisingly enough, The Brown Sack. When I moved to my present location, The Brown Sack had just been opened in an unassuming storefront on the main road that I live off of. It has since moved to a higher profile corner location but still is pretty low key. The Brown Sack is owned and operated by a couple that were both chef's in higher end ventures. Malaika Marion came from Lula Cafe and her partner Adam Lebin last managed Red Light (as well as helping to open the former Planet Hollywood and Rainforest Cafe). Coming from the higher end establishments is actually an advantage because while the food they are doing now is pretty simple, it is done very well. The present location is pretty low key and casual (as was the last location). The tables and chairs are mismatched and seem to be, while sturdy, definitely showing their age. This does actually give the place a bit of a homey feel. The walls are covered with Phish, Medeski Martin and Wood, and other jam band posters and the background music is almost exclusively jam band although their is sometimes some reggae thrown in. They are very friendly and if you order something regularly, they will remember your order. I do switch things up so I do actually have to order but they do remember me. They do offer a wide variety of hot and cold deli-style sandwiches and well as soup, salads, and some phenomenal shakes. They also offer breakfast sandwiches all day but when I get there something always sounds better so I have unfortunately never tried any of them. What I had this time around was a very good reuben on marble rye with a side of mustard potato salad and a pickle. I also got a chocolate cookie because I can never turn away a good chocolate cookie. The corned beef was thinly sliced and stacked high. The sauerkraut wasn't too wet. The swiss cheese melted through the interior of the sandwich and the thousand island dressing tasted house made. I am really glad that The Brown Sack is close. While I don't go there often, the food is really good and it's a short trip when I do want to go.