This is one helluva reuben. So good reminds me of one of the best bands of all-time. I’ll explain…
The band Cream formed with a simple ethos, to bring together the theee best musicians in england and form the best band on the planet. The ingredients were Jack Bruce – and amazing singer, piano and bass player, Ginger Baker, arguably the best drummer of his day and Eric Clapton, arguably the best guitar player ever. These best-of-the-best mergers don’t usually work, but this time it did (for a while). Fantastic ingredients came together and created an even superior band. It wasn’t about flash or image, it was about a top quality product.
The Bite reuben is a little like that. I’ll admit it ain’t a much to look at, I never really cared about presentation anyway. this reuben is about the ingredients. The corned beef is PERFECT, slow cooked and cut think like I got it directly from Sunday dinner at my Mom’s house. The sauerkraut is super-fresh and crunchy, with just enough swiss cheese toi glue it all together. The dark rye is the final piece of the puzzle. Perfectly toasted to keep everything together and enough thousand island to set it all off.
Honestly this is among the best reubens I’ve EVER had.
Price: $12 with fries
Reuben Rank: “Perfection!”
Visit:
Bite Restaurant: Farm to Table
Everyone is familiar with the 70’s arena rock band, BAD COMPANY. They were the band that everyone knew was going to be awesome, even before they played a note (or at least they should be awesome). Heck these guys were managed by Led freakin’ Zeppelin. They were the original band signed to Zeppelin’s “Swan Song” label. So, when you finally heard “Can’t get enough” it was no surprise these dudes could jam. By the time you heard “Feel Like Makin Love” you were almost bored with their awesomeness.
This is kinda like IZZY’s Reubens. As soon as I mentioned to anyone that I had a Reuben blog – they were all like “you gotta go straight to IZZY’s, they’re the shiz-nit.” I couldn’t believe they said “shiz-nit” either, but they did.
The first thing I see from the parking lot is the sign, screaming: “IZZY’s World’s Best Reubens.” Needless to say, that’s some serious hype to live up to.
I went for the “World Famous” – its pretty straightforward, the only thing to note: you gotta ask for “toasted” or “grilled” bread, otherwise it’s just plain rye. I went for grilled and it was great. The potato pancake was pretty good too. It’s pretty much one giant deep-fried french fry. I’m not going to give the title of “World’s Best”, but its “Freakin’ Awesome” for sure.
This “Rock Steady” Reuben is Freakin’ Awesome. Calling it “the World’s Greatest” is not nearly as silly as Bad Company writing and singing a song called “Bad Company” about Bad Company, featured on the album “Bad Company.”
A solid effort – nothing outrageous, pretentious or over-the-top. Just a good all-around Reuben
Price: $8.79 with potato pancake
Reuben Rank: “Freakin Awesome!” – I honestly “Can’t Get Enough”
Visit:
Izzy’s World’s Greatest Reubens
4766 Red Bank Expy
Madisonville, OH 45227
(513) 376-6008
Here it it. AC/DC’s “Back in Black” reincarnated in the form of a Reuben Sandwich. It’s mean, it’s simple and it’s first perfect score for the site. This may just be the best Reuben I can remember.
This one-of-a-kind sandwich is loaded with “Black Pastrami” not corned beef, a pretty serious twist that could spell disaster for other contenders. Not this one.
Russian Dressing instead of Thousand Island? Holy shit, these guys are playing with fire. Worry not, these ninjas of the subteranian, beer-pub Reuben have it on lock-down. This thing is toasted to perfection, with enough of the “stuff” (meat, sauce, cheese, kraut) that I’m… well, stuffed. It’s at the exact perfect temperature where it’s still steaming and crunchy, but not scalding the roof of my mouth.
This Reuben will not only “Shake you all night long” but might also “Give the dog a bone”
The cold pesto pasta on the side is damn good too. The verdict: clean plate.
Price: $9 with your choice of sides
Reuben Rank: “Perfection!” – flawless execution plus some unique twists
Visit:
The Corner Tavern
On first inspection, you would assume the Ramones were another shitty band in matching leather jackets. They look like the Munsters, and their 2 minute songs all have 3 chords – max. Defying all logic, the Ramones are freakin’ awesome, they are much greater than the sum of their parts.
This Reuben has a little bit of that going on.
Upon delivery, the Putters Reuben is extremely underwhelming. It’s got 2 strikes against it immediately. First, the meat and sauerkraut isn’t falling out the sides – it’s barely got enough in there to achieve full bread coverage. Second, the thousand island dressing is “one the side,” in a little cup. Big mistakes.
While other Reubens use “shock and awe” in their attempt to achieve greatness, this ‘lil Reuben is a compact and precise attack.
The ‘kraut and beef are done very well and are in a perfect portion to the nicely toasted rye, enabling me to achieve something which I have never done before. I dipped my Reuben in the thousand island dressing. Oh yes, Putters just turned my Reuben experience on its ear, and it was good.
Do I love 2 minutes and 30 seconds of pop-punk when it’s delivered by the Ramones? Yes.
I feel the same way about “Putter’s” Reuben.
Price: $8 with saratoga chips
Reuben Rank: “Freakin Awesome” – Not quite perfection – but no complaints here.
Visit:
Putters Sports Grill
5723 Signal Hill Ct Milford, OH 45150
(513) 831-5777
If this Reuben was a movie it would be “Oh brother where art thou,” it could be a contender, but it’s got a “Soggy Bottom,” boys.
This is a pretty great reuben minus just a few slight flaws. Very good marble rye toasted perfectly, but It sat for a minute so the bottom bread was a pretty soggy. For some reason they put the thousand island on the side, so I had to half dismantle the sandwich to put it on myself. C’mon guys. Not sure what thats all about, just take the extra 3 seconds and slather that orange goodness on there for me. The meat was very juicy, which when combined with the soggy bread, meant I needed a quick shower afterwards (not a negative).
Hot, pretty fast and cheap for $9. The fries were damn good too.
Price: $9 with fries
Reuben Rank: “Damn good” – Not quite awesome or perfection but worth a revisitfor sure.
Visit:
Cadillac Jack’s Sports Bar & Grill
9400 N Springboro Pike, Miamisburg
(937) 610-3200
By Golly’s Bar and Grill in Milford, Ohio is a “burger place” – they probably make the best “black and bleu” I’ve ever had, which is why I haven’t ventured to their other sandwiches. Today it’s onto the Reuben; it’s solid but nothing spectacular. All the parts are in the right place, it was hot, fast and cheap. No major complaints. The rye bread is pretty good, but as you can see in the pic, it’s slightly “well done.” This doesn’t bother me all that much but it’s far from perfection. There’s a modest amount of corned beef with adequate sauerkraut and thousand island. Plenty filling but nothing radical. For $0.75 I splurged for the waffle fries which were pretty decent too.
If this Reuben was a classic rock band it would be the Grateful Dead – Pretty darn good but just a little too burned out to be a real contender.
Price: $8 with waffle fries
Reuben Rank: “Respectable” – It’s good but I’ll be getting the burger next time.
Visit:
By Golly’s Bar and Grill
714 Lila Ave.
Milford, OH 45150
I like Reuben sandwiches. A lot. My wife is always asking me which is my favorite, to which I reply, “I dunno?” I have had hundreds, most are quickly forgotten, they come and go like billboards on the roadside. Good or bad, I have no written record of my Reuben conquests. This is the genesis of my problem. I finally found a Reuben I never want to forget because it was frickin’ terrible. It’s so bad I decided to setup a website dedicated to never revisiting this poor sandwich. I’m sorry Goldberg’s Bagels and Deli in the Atlanta airport, but you make a horrible Reuben.
This sandwich is the “Washington Generals” version of a Reuben Sandwich…it never had a prayer. (FYI the Washington Generals are the team that always play, and lose to the Harlem Globetrotters)
This “Reuben” looks more-or-less, “ok” on the surface. It has some nice faux-grill marks and was pretty hot right out of the box, it even smelled good enough to eat! So I did. The problem came on the first bite, there was absolutely no sauerkraut or thousand island to be found and the corned beef had been left under the lamps so long it should be called jerky. The soggy bread would have been ok if it wasn’t steamed so much that it could be rung out. The pickle was by far the best part.
Price: $20 with a cookie and a drink
Reuben Rank: “Shameless” – This sandwich didn’t even fit the definition of a Reuben (major ingredients unaccounted for)
Side note – If this website seems pretty half-assed, well it is. From here on out, it will be created entirely from my phone while I’m eating. Sorry no production value here. Just the facts ma’am.
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