My roommate and I decided to get lunch at Paradise Bakery around the corner from the apartment. I ordered the ham and brie grilled panini and he had the turkey and cranberry sandwich. We both had a side of their pasta salad and a cookie, that comes with every sandwich. Both sandwiches were ready just as we found a table. The service is excellent and prompt. The decor on the inside is what you would expect at any paradise bakery cafe. They offer seating outside as well as in. Although it was lunch time and the place was packed, the staff seemed to be on top of everything.

Not only do they serve great specialty sandwiches and baked goods for lunch and dinner, they also have a breakfast menu which they serve until 10am. Also in their bakery section they have  several cookies and cookie cakes they can customize to your order.

In the past I have also had their chicken salad sandwich. The only thing I have against it is the walnuts. I don’t like when restaurants add either nuts or berries to their chicken salad. To me, it takes away some of the chicken flavor and adds unnecessary ingredients. Besides that I don’t have anything negative to say about their food. It is fresh and cooked as ordered.

After you order your sandwich you can add either pasta salad, salad, soup or additional cookies to your order. The set up is quite unique and seems to be efficient. I would recommend trying them if you haven’t already. The sit down Paradise Bakery setup is pleasant and comfortable with bar style tables, regular tables or even lounge type leather seats with built in mini tables. Give them a try!

Pastis is a clean deli offering entrees for lunch and dinner. The Stuffed Pastis Burger is a thick, well-done patty on a soft white bread roll. It is topped with tomato, cabbage, and mayo. The dish comes with a side of thinly sliced fries and ketchup. It was a good meal, although, a slice of cheese on the burger would have been nice.

Since we don’t get to enjoy the service or ambience when one guy brings back for everyone, I’ll hit a few key points about the food.  I chose the meatball sandwich.

While the sandwich is long, it isn’t very wide.  The bread is not particularly crusty, which sort of leaves it soggy.  There isn’t as much sauce as there could be.  While the meal stays tidy, it lacks a certain gloppy excess.

For some reason, it comes with a pickle.  Who eats a pickle with a meatball hero?  More sensible is the small cup of Parmesan cheese– a sensible offering.

Overall, I see potential in their take on the meatball sub, but a potential that is not satisfied.  A more memorable bread would help to vault them above other similar chains.

First Impressions

Pastis took over from the now-defunct Oasian Noodle Bar, which in turn took over from the now-defunct China Lite.  The new owners went for a fairly minimalist decor, augmented with a few flat-screen televisions showing a Spanish soccer match and use of rough-cut mirrored surfaces to expand the visual mass of the place.  In the front is a large refrigerated cooler promoting their secondary purpose– a delicatessen and pastry shop.

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For many years now I have been going to Citrus Heights farm (located west of Greenfield on Mckellips in Mesa, AZ). They have the best oranges, to die for cinnamon rolls, and orange rolls that taste amazing. I was excited when I heard they were going to start doing lunch. We decided to go during the opening week and try it out. And boy am I glad! This place is great. They serve an assortment of sandwiches on homemade breads.They all come with your choice of soup, and a homemade cookie.
I decided to go with the chicken salad sandwich on a homemade croissant with tortilla soup. The sandwich was great and the croissant tasted like it just came out of the oven. The tortilla soup was excellent and the sugar cookie at the end of the meal was amazing. I will continue to go to Saccy C’s and I recommend that you stop in for lunch. Make sure you grab some oranges and cinnamon rolls on your way out.

Today was another rather busy day in the office so when it came time for lunch the boss said he would run out and pick us up some sandwiches. When he asked for any recommendations I threw out Neds Krazy Subs. With out too much being said the boss headed out the door and we all continued our work. Shortly after the boss walked back into the office with two bags of sandwiches and some Jones Soda. (more…)

Ok, so this last week Jason’s Deli gave us a call and told us they would like to treat our employees to lunch.   We couldn’t refuse.  Ever since going to Jason’s Deli I have been a fan.  They have great sandwiches, salads, soups, and they even have free ice cream for dessert.  I would compare the place with a Paradise Bakery but better.  If you have not tried Jason’s Deli, you are missing out!!  Don’t take my word for it, read the rest of the reviews on the site.  They have a couple locations in the valley so I’m sure wherever you are located, there is a Jason’s Deli close to ya.

In the past one of the few restaurants that we have all enjoyed has been Jason’s Deli. When the fine people (specifically Katherine East) at Jason’s Deli offered to deliver us catering how could we turn them down? (more…)

A few weeks back we all headed out to Jason’s Deli for Bills birthday lunch. While none of us had been to Jason’s Deli before, but we had all heard good things. I am a pretty big fan of Dilly’s Deli so I was excited to see if they had a contender on their hands.

When we arrived I noticed a lot of people walking around outside eating ice cream. I just figured that there was an ice cream shop near by and it just so happened to be the place to be on a Thursday afternoon. Perhaps people were heading to the ice cream shop after getting some Jason’s Deli? I couldn’t say for sure but I was intrigued. (more…)

First Impressions

Jason’s opened a few years ago in the “newer” strip mall at Stapley and Baseline roads.  It’s stuck into a small cluster of mobile-phone stores and coffee bars adjacent to the strip-mall proper.  The inside was overstuffed with many tiny tables, obscuring a clear path through the self-service facilities and making the place seem mildly– but not offensively– unclean. (more…)