Rudy’s Eat and Drink
My lunch meeting at Rudy’s Eat and Drink was one of those classic adventures where I scoured the dining room room for his familiar face before being sat down in the lounge and then spent the rest of the time looking at my watch and thinking that perhaps I had the day or the meeting time wrong. In the mean time, he was in the dining room doing exactly the same thing. He had just sat back down after doing another lap looking for me, when we finally intercepted.
While I was alone, I was entertained and content. Not only could I get caught up on my Blackberry messages but the bar is equipped with TV screens that displays their Twitter feed and I was challenged by seeing my own message appear on their screen. So too, the male servers at Rudy’s are particularly gorgeous and I know handsome when I see it (my husband of almost 28 years being quite the catch)!
But, as usual, I digress. To the food…
My friend had Rudy’s Reuben and was well pleased. Stacked high with pastrami, it also contains sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. The latter is very similar to Thousand Island dressing and some say that they are interchangeable. My guess is that on a Reuben, they would be hard to distinguish, but that is just my hunch. My eye was drawn by the house bacon that I spotted on the salad. Bacon in a Caesar is a treat that we like to make at home.
While I had spent time on my own, one of the servers came over and asked if I had dined at Rudy’s before. When I told him no, he proceeded to tell me the quality story of Rudy’s kitchen and their “from scratch” cooking style including the fact that they cure all of their own meats on premise. He was very sincere about their philosophy and it was recited in such a genuine way that I was duly impressed. This, having worked behind the scenes in the restaurant business, is the sign of excellent training.
When it was my turn, I made a combative choice of the Dueling Tuna. Said to be a battle between carpaccio and tartar, my natural demeanor must have taken over, because they tasted quite harmonious to me. I do recall having to have some fruit before my dinner time because I was not fully satiated after my light lunch. Next time I may chose something a bit more substantial.
Kath’s quote: “’Hey, Earthman? You hungry kid?’ said Zaphod’s voice. ‘Er, well, yes, a little peckish, I suppose,’ said Arthur. ‘Okay, baby, hold tight,’ said Zaphod. ‘We’ll take in a quick bit at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.’”-Douglas Adams
Love-that is all.
I arrived for a staff farewell luncheon, a first at Rudy’s. The first scene is very inviting with the look of comfy lounge type chairs, retro pics on the walls, and softly played tunes (of a similar era).
We chose instead, to sit on the patio, due to the warm weather with minimal humidity. Around the group we ordered a variety from the lunch menu.
I would normally grab the first Reuben I see, but instead chose the Max Cheese. 2 grilled cheese sandwiches with a ground patty, bacon, sliver of lettuce, a couple of pickles and a fried egg! Came with lightly seasoned but fried to perfection shoestring fries.
The fries outshone the sandwich, unfortunately. Why offer a grilled cheese to bookend this food is beyond me, but if doing that, perhaps a cheese that offers some “flavor” would be wise. Otherwise the result is a bland layer of gluten not adding anything to the ‘wich’, other than a means to hold onto the insides. The patty was charred to black which is a little more charred than I would like. Perusing the guests with similar meal choices, each patty was likewise as dark!
Overall, not a bad meal, in a nice location and styling, but not anything more memorable than that!!
So I guess sticking to the Reuben would be your advice?