Have been seeing quite a few foodies check out Joe's Deli lately. On the face of it, none of them appeared to have been invites, so naturally the prevalent foot traffic had me very curious. That's why I went to try it out with my foodie lunch buddy Brisvegustation last week. Meeting prior to 12, we had hoped to avoid the lunch rush. Unfortunately there was already quite a queue by the time we arrived, but the line moved quickly enough.
I went to grab a table for us, so didn't get to take a closer shot of the menu. Needless to say it was full of sandwiches, hotdogs and sides as implied by the menu.
Water and cutlery were available on an DIY basis. There were also metal knives on request to cut any sandwiches apart.
Despite the queue, our food was made in less than 15 minutes. Between the two of us we shared a Joey's Special Hoagie, Joe's Chilli Dog, Fries and Prosciutto Mac and Cheese Balls.
The Special was my pick as the signature dish. It was a bread roll filled with wagyu pastrami, swiss cheese, slaw, pickles and horseradish. I didn't have too much by way of feedback on this dish, it was as I had expected, neither better nor worse. The bread was fresh, fluffy and on the sweeter side. I would have enjoyed it more if it was a little bit toasted. There was a generous amount of filling inside but again this was served cool. The flavours were quite harmonious and it made for a tasty lunch. The mac and cheese balls were served hot, after being freshly fried, but I didn't see too much prosciutto in it, nor was there too much truffle in the aioli. For the price, it was also not particularly good for value either.
Brisvegustation's pick was originally the Lobbie Roll, but I had convinced him to change his mind after mentioning a few reviews I had read about it. Instead we had the Chilli Dog. Despite being priced similarly, the portion size was drastically smaller than the Special. I did however find the bread to be a stand out in terms of how soft and fluffy it was, as well as being lightly toasted. The fillings were definitely on the sloppier side, dropping out as we ate it, but it was definitely a flavour bomb. I would have rated this a lot higher if it were bigger, but as it stood, it was barely larger than snack side. The fries were also fairly average and lacked a crunch factor.
Overall, we had a solid experience. There is room to improve but I can see why the store is so popular in the city, however unless asked to go with a friend, I don't see any particular reason to return.
Taste: 6.5/10
Value: 5/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10
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