Today was my wife’s regular scheduled Wednesday off work. We dropped Scully in for a wash and groom at the dog groomer and then we drove out to a suburb I’d never heard of before, Wheeler Heights. I’d suggested yesterday that we grab some lunch somewhere and my wife said she didn’t want anything fancy, just a sandwich or something. So I searched for the best sandwiches in Sydney, and found a place called Tothy Brothers Deli, which boasted a delicious sounding menu. Most of the other places on the list I found were either in the heart of the city, or in less convenient suburbs, so I chose this one.
We drove there and I chose the Reuben sandwich. Now, any Americans reading this will no doubt know what a Reuben is, but it’s not very well known or popular in Australia, and so it’s difficult to find anywhere that makes them. In fact, this is the first place I’ve ever been to in Australia that has offered a Reuben on the menu.
I remember the first time I ever had a Reuben. It was in Baltimore in 1991, when I was doing my Ph.D. and spending some time studying at Johns Hopkins University. The day I arrived, I checked into my accommodation and went wandering in search of dinner. There was a deli right near where I was staying, so I walked in and looked at the menu. I saw “Reuben” and I’d never heard of it before, so I ordered it, and it felt at that time like the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted.
I’ve since tried Reubens again in Salem, Massachusetts, and Burlingame, California, and neither were as good. Today I had my fourth Reuben sandwich, and the first one in Australia.
It was really good. I will have to go back to this sandwich place again some time.
Also, they had muffins. It looked like they baked a batch of just the one flavour, which I assume they change each day. I ordered one without even asking what it was, because they looked so good. It turned out to be mango and passionfruit and oh my goodness, it may have been the best muffin I’ve ever eaten. So moist, and laden with fresh fruit. I had to stuff it in after the Reuben, but it was worth it.
We ended up not cooking anything for dinner just eating a few toasted crumpets and a mango. Lunch was definitely the big meal of the day!
New content today:
See https://theburrowcherrybrook.com.au/menu/ for another place with Reubens.