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Bowling • Food • Spirits
open UTe NIGHT
POLL MR
7 pays a ween!
Mon-Thur 4pm-12am • Fri3pm-2am
Sat 12pm-2am • Sun 12pm-12am
2451 Jefferson Rd.
706-546-8090
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8ATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27
at CORPORATE OAMEDAY
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NEW DELI
Up-Selling: Not to sound all "I refuse to order something called
a'ventT on /all, but there are times when, faced with a bar
rage of questions in a corporate-type restaurant, that I feel
like reporting the overlords in charge of the company to OSHA.
Unfortunately, it's the poor folks who work at such places as
Sweet Peppers Deli (296 W. Broad St.) who end up feeling
the anger of the average citizen, and it's not their fault that
the/re forced to say things like "Would you like to finish up
with a delicious Heath Bar crunch cookie?" while you're still
at the counter. It's also not their fault that the up-sell works.
When asked, "Do you want a cookie?" the answer most of us
want to give, in our heart of hearts, is "yes." Still, the series of
questions ends up making one feel interrogated, which doesn't
exactly promote repeat business, at least on my part.
Thankfully, one way to avoid the Q&A is to order online,
which one can do at the restaurant's website, and, if you're less
grouchy than I am, you may well enjoy the cheerful attitude of
the folks who work there and reflect on how many of them it
appears to be providing a paycheck. The food at S^et Peppers
is nothing special. If you've bee* to Jason's Deli, you've got
the idea: sandwiches, soups, salads, loaded potatoes. It's more
that it's an easy place to meet, where everyone can find some
thing to eat, there's plenty of space and it's clean and consis
tent. It has a nice covered patio and the glasses in which you
receive your beverage are massive, plus, those heavily mar
keted cookies aren't bad, even if they're not nearly as good as
the ones at Espresso Royale Caffe. One difficulty is that there's
not much you can get that's both healthy and tasty.
The "Lite Baby Grande Panini" (that's pronounced
Grand-ay), for example, from the LiteLine section of the menu,
which promises shaved roast beef with horseradish spread
and provolone, roasted peppers
and onions on whole-wheat
ciabatta bread, pressed and
grilled, tastes, unfortunately,
like cardboard, not something
horseradish is generally known for. On the other end of things,
the pasta salad you can get as a side is loaded with Italian
dressing, to the point where you can't taste anything else, and
the potato salad is heavy with creamy stuff, making you want
to brush your teeth. The club wrap, with turkey, ham, shred
ded cheese, "crisp" (not so much) bacon, lettuce, tomato and
honey-mustard dressing, is similarly edible but disappointing.
The Bulldog, a sandwich that sounds like a new, weird and
potentially wonderful combination of ingredients (roast beef,
kielbasa, jalapeno cheese, BBQ sauce and whatever other
toppings you like), isn't bad, but it just doesn't quite come
together in a single bite at any point, and, no, it wasn't named
in honor of*Uga. It's on the menu at other locations of the
franchise, which are scattered throughout the Southeast in
towns like Gulfport, MS and Muscle Shoals, AL. .
My guess is that the biggest problem with Sweet Peppers
is its breads, which tend to be sugary and mushy, so your best
option is probably one of the loaded potatoes, which are the
size of a non-teacup chihuahua and could easily feed two. The
"Cajun shrimp tater" is, again, nothing to rock your world, and
the sour cream it comes with seems artificial, but it works OK
on the whole. Sweet Peppers does serve beer and it appears
unhaunted by the ghost of Phoenix Market. It does take-out
and catering (box lunches) and is open for lunch and dinner.
What Up?: In case you're not a regular reader of the Flagpole
website, here's some recent news you may have missed.
George's Lowcountry Table, from Reggie DiSante, ex-Harry
Bissett's, is open on South Milledge, by the loop. Eastsida
Hibachi Grill is open on Barnett Shoals in the former Ryan's.
The Beer Growler, retailing growlers (refilUble jugs of beer) in
some legal form I don't have details on yet is slated to open
late November/early December. Piccolo's Italian Steakhouse
should open later this month in Watkinsville, in the Belt's
shopping center on Hog Mountain Road. Cozy Yum Yum is
expanding, opening Cory Spice in the strip that once held *
the Bluebird, on Clayton Street downtown, once construction
is done. Silver Lining Cupcake Co., which has genuinely deli
cious cupcakes, is open on Baxter Street in the Baxter Street
Lofts near Karma Salon and Mirfco. And down the road a bit,
Off the Hook Steak and Seafood is open next to IHOP.
Hillaiy Brown food@ftagpole.com
...shaved roast beef
with horseradish...
12 FLAGPOLE.COM NOVEMBER 24,2010