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This week is all about going out to lunch for a Diet Coke, a sandwich and maybe some fries. A staple of lunch is the turkey sandwich, and because a lot of restaurants have a turkey and cheese on their menu, I thought I'd see who makes the best one. The rule: When ordering, I ask for no special instructions or alterations to the sandwich.
, New Lenox
The turkey melt at Williamson's comes on a croissant with thickly sliced turkey that smells and tastes like roasted and carved turkey, not the stuff from a package. The big, flaky croissant was toasted, which dried it out. And what the menu promised would be melted cheddar cheese was actually a cheese sauce, not unlike what is served with pretzel bites at the movie theater. To add insult to injury, the fries were cold. Williamson's is usually quite good, but this lunch really let me down.
The good: Top notch, flavorful turkey breast.
The bad: Quality ingredients were ruined by poor execution and a cheese sauce that would only taste good on pretzels or tortilla chips.
, Mokena
Because Denny's almost won the , I thought I should get over my snobbery in thinking of Denny's as the place to go only when nothing else is open. I ordered the Super Bird with mashed potatoes as my side. The Super Bird, for those not in the know, has turkey, Swiss cheese, bacon and tomato on sourdough bread. And it was good! The bacon didn't overpower the sandwich (I'm not a huge bacon fan. I know; I'm odd) and the sourdough was perfectly grilled-- not too brown, not too light. The mashed potatoes were served with a generous amount of cheddar cheese (most of which I scraped off) and were also quite tasty.
The good: A hot turkey sandwich that hit the spot.
The bad: Some of the tomato was a bit underripe.
, Frankfort
The turkey melt at Pete Mitchell's is a very modified Rachel; it has Monterey Jack cheese, tomato and Thousand Island dressing on sourdough and is served with seasoned waffle fries or homemade potato chips. I went with the waffle fries. The waffle fries were a delight and all of the components of the sandwich were great, especially the Jack cheese. However, the warmed up Thousand Island became thin and runny, making the sandwich soggy.
The good: Tasty sourdough bread, turkey, tomato and Jack cheese made a nice, satisfying sandwich.
The bad: The abundance of Thousand Island dressing was unappealing. Next time, I will order it without dressing and it will be a terrific lunch, especially with those crave-worthy seasoned waffle fries.
THE WINNER: Denny's. The sandwich was warm and yummy. Turns out, it is safe to order non-breakfast items at Denny's. Who knew?
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Next week's challenge is chocolate cake. Who has the best chocolate cake in Lincoln-Way?
To everyone else who commented, make sure to check today's new Chowdown Showdown on chocolate cake, and you'll have a chance to win.