11th Anniversary...The Sandwich Chronicles

 

Our first full day in St. Louis was last Thursday. As usual, I had created a very specific itinerary for our time away, but I had tried to build in enough down-time that we could adjust if needed for bad weather. I just didn’t expect every single day to be bad weather.

            We got up and had the nicest leisurely morning in the Airbnb, and then we headed out for lunch. I have wrestled with how to tell this story, because I don’t want to be unkind, but at the same time, it’s just too much NOT to tell the story. So I just will begin by saying that our experience very well may have been the perfect storm of bad circumstances – and maybe on any other day, this restaurant is amazing! But for us, it was not so much.

            I’d read multiple travel blogs that insisted this little local shop that specializes in sandwiches was a great find, so I put it on the list. We navigated our way to the little old-town area and found some parking, which is also when we remembered that in the city, you have to pay to park everywhere. We always forget that!

            After we got out of the car, Ryan said, “Well according to the GPS, we should have passed it, but I never saw it. Did you?” Indeed I had not. We backtracked and found it – by the address alone. We never saw a sign of any kind. Nothing painted on the window or door, no sign over the top, no awning, nothing.

            The place was much smaller than it had appeared online. Just eight tables in the whole restaurant. Four tables seated four and four more seated just two. The place was already about half full, and apparently earlier in the day, something was a little overcooked, because there was a smoky haze throughout the entire room.

            I wanted to get a salad, but the one I wanted didn’t come with meat. I asked the cashier if it was possible to have chicken added to it, and I hastened to say that if it was a problem, I would happily choose something else from the menu. The cashier sighed heavily, rolled his eyes, and shuffled back to the kitchen to ask. I felt like the biggest imposition in the entire world! He shuffled back and said, “Yeah we can do that.” So I ordered my salad, and he asked what kind of dressing I wanted. I asked if they happened to have any lowfat options, and he didn’t even bother to sigh that time. He just said, “Yeah I don’t think so.” Alrightie then! No dressing.

            Ryan ordered a sandwich, which came with a choice of soup or salad, and noting that the menu said, “Ask cashier about the soup of the day,” he said, “What’s the soup?”

            The cashier slowly closed his eyes and said, “Some corn and shrimp….” Sigh…and off he shuffled to the kitchen. He came back. “Corn and shrimp soup.” After all that, Ryan didn’t dare to NOT get it.

            We ordered waters to drink, and the cashier said, “That’ll be $37.” For a salad and a soup/sandwich? We really do eat off the Wendy’s value menu way too much.

            We went to the two tables that were unoccupied and both were dirty. I chose the least dirty of the two, moved the dirty dishes off it to the other table, and sat down. Ryan went back to the counter to ask if he could have a washcloth to clean off the table, and before I knew it, the cashier was there with one, angrily scrubbing the table clean. I started to apologize and then realized it is not unreasonable, when paying $37 for a sandwich and salad, to find a clean table a basic expectation.

            We waited quite a while for our food, and eventually my salad arrived. (It really was pretty.) 

            The cashier came out and said to Ryan, “Hey did you want yours for here or to go?” Ryan just stared at him, and then looked at me with my salad in a real bowl, and then looked back at him again and said, “I think I’ll stay.” He shrugged and left. Why in the world would he NOT eat in if I’m eating in??

            In a moment, he was back. “Did you want soup?” Yes. Yes please. And shortly thereafter, Ryan’s tray arrived. A sandwich and fries.

            I don’t think I need to explain the picture.

            For the record, the soup did arrive eventually, but it was the most confusing experience.

            We left, intending to walk around the “charming shopping area” the internet told me would surround this gem of a lunch stop. By this time, it was raining one of those bone-chilling rains, so we tried exploring under umbrellas, but it seems all those charming shops have gone right out of business. Literally never found even one. The closest we found were some apartment buildings under construction – set to open in the fall of 2022.

            To say it was a disappointing start to the trip is an understatement. But I had high hopes. I had a whole afternoon plan for Union Station, and I figured much of that would be inside, so we could avoid the elements.

            That part of the day was mostly free of drama. (Mostly.) But I hope you enjoyed The Sandwich Chronicles!