Cafe Shenkin

I will start this off with the caveat that although this is called a "Rubes" it is technically not a reuben. This was clear upon reading the menu:
Toasted Rye sandwich filled with Pastrami (tick);
Sauerkraut (tick);
Lettuce (eeerr...);
Tomato (what?);
Onion (now you're just messing with me); and
American Mustard served with Pickles (the pickles were not actually in the sandwich).

I didn't know how to take this. If I judge it on its resemblance to what a reuben should be then it scores an all time low. Lettuce (and a LOT of lettuce) and tomato have no place in a reuben sandwich and this coupled with the fluffy light as a feather bread is just disappointing. However, if I wanted a pastrami and salad sandwich on-the-go, this would have filled the hole.

Where is the cheese? What is the unidentified purple pickled object on the micro-plate surrounded by olives and a slice of gherkin? Why does it come with a knife and fork?

It makes me confused just writing about it so I will stop there. This cafe has great food, just skip the "Rubes".

4/10

Website: Cafe Shenkin

Illi Hill

I don't normally blog on the same day of reuben consumption, tending to bide away a few days in between the two events. Today was different, and I am compelled to describe this latest endeavor before tomorrow rear's its head. Why is this? Maybe it is because I've had a full day of being productive and want to keep the theme going. Maybe it is because the reuben was so satisfying I wish to capture it in its essence while the memory hasn't been lost in the flavour of time.

Illi hill is a takeaway coffee cup's throw from the Henson (handy). Choosing to sit outside in the shade I was pleasantly surprised at the engagement of the staff who were genuinely friendly and up for a good old chat. Even before the reuben ($17) arrived I thought to myself that the service alone warranted a bonus on their reuben score. I was not disappointed. It may look like a monster, but it was gobbled up and did not leave me with even a crumb of reuben regret. The temptation to get my greasy little paws into the wedges was strong (which came as a standard side and also look delicious) but I resisted, not wanting to spoil my reuben appetite.

Upon inspection it appeared that fresh cucumber was deftly inserted under the pastrami, however my tastebuds identified this to be incorrect and my best guess was that it was a homemade pickled cucumber which probably hadn't been pickled that long and still looked fresh. If I had taken the time to look at the menu, rather than just asking for the reuben this may have given the mystery away. In any case, it was juicy and had the right amount of gherkin-y tang. The kraut was more of a coleslaw, keeping to the fresh theme I suppose, but the cheese meltage and pastrami were spot on. The dressing snuck up on my tastebuds like a ninja in the night and only once I'd may my way through the first half of the sandwich did I identify more spice than tang, which wonderfully complemented the juicy cucumber-gherkin hybrid.

Spend a lazy weekend afternoon here. Good servivce. Nice Coffee. Excellent reuben.

9/10 (inc half point bonus for awesome staff)

No website, Facebook link here: Illi Hill

Foodcraft

Foodcraft was bursting at prime time lazy lunch o'clock and the atmosphere (minus the baby which kept accidentally-on-purpose spraying water from its sippy cup at me) was a fun weekend local crowd. I made the mistake of arriving hangry and the first thing I saw was the mountains stack of Tella balls i.e. sugar coated spherical doughnut balls bursting with nutella. The sight of them alone was enough to start the makings of a sugar coma. But I was there for the reuben, well the "new york reueben" exactly.

The new york reuben (take away for $12, but sit down for close to $20) constituted of braised corned beef, saurkraut, swiss cheese and russian dressing. It also came with a hectic basket of chips - maybe that's why they call it the "new york" reuben. I was expecting a giant stack of juicy meat, given the new york reference and was left disappointed, with the hangry feelings not quite satisfied. Props to Foodcraft for the double cut stack, that in itself is the first double cut format of reuben that I've come across in Sydney. The sandwich itself was good, but not great and didn't have any star players. The chips were delicious and although the dressing on the side worked well to dip the chips in, the sandwich itself required some operation to get the dressing involved as an internal ingredient. A single slither of gherkin graced each layer and the bread wasn't as fresh as one would expect for a cafe that busy. The sandwich was also cut in half with a knife that obvsiouly was used prior for something that resembled pasta sauce, with the cut edges smeared with this unknown imposter condiment.

Come hungry for the Tella balls but give the reuben a miss.

7/10

Website: Foodcraft

Single Origin - CBD

Single Origin, or "Single O" for short is one of Sydney's leaders in making the most out of the humble coffee bean. Nestled among many other quick lunch fixes along York St is the bite sized spot where you can satisfy your caffeine addiction and grab something to eat on the go.

The Reuben is listed under the N.L.T (Next Level Toasties) list, at $14, and is simply listed as: smoked wagyu, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, green salad. The lack of gherkin was a bit upsetting but the green side salad partially made up for it. The bread was king even though it was a sourdough and not rye, with the perfect balance of crunch on the outside and soft in the middle. The wagyu was good, but paled in comparison to 2042's (in Newtown) smoked wagyu and felt more like a deli pastrami style. There also needed to be more of it to really beef up the filling (pardon the pun), and the same goes for the kraut and cheese. The upside of this was that it didn't leave me with reuben regret, which is often experienced after devouring a more sizeable counterpart. The dressing was nowhere to found and seeing as it wasn't listed as an ingredient on the menu board it probably has never made an appearance.

This reuben was not designed to be a monster, but a simple lunch solution. The lack of gherkin and dressing really let this down, but the bread was spot on.

7.5/10

Website: Single Origin Roasters

Reuben Republic

The name says it all: Reuben Republic - Artisan Pastrami. The casual cafe which specialises in meat sandwiches is set up on busy Marrickville Road, which makes the location ideal for a quick bite. The most difficult decision is which reuben to order - do you opt  for the more traditional "East Coast" reuben, or instead, shake up the neighbourhood with a "West Coast" reuben. I challenge you to read through these two options without the Ali G east side/west side sketch popping into your head. The third option is the bagel, for those who are looking for that extra jaw workout on a tougher bread variety.

 My favourite part of Reuben Republic is that you can order a plate of pickles as a side dish and not wanting to chance pickle regret, the pickle plate was ordered. Not expecting the plate to be that large, albeit it does say on the menu that it is a "large" plate, it was a substantial mound of pickles. As an avid pickle enthusiast who enjoys dunking a hand into a giant pickle jar to fish myself a pickle at any time of the day, I am disappointed to say that the pickle plate defeated me (and I even had some help). The pickles were thick cut and so juicy, with many stuffed into an East Coast reuben and would need at least 3 people to polish off.

Reuben Republic takes the prize of the neatest aligned slices of pastrami and the orderly sandwich remained so until the first bite. The meat itself was hot and without doubt backed their claim of having "artisan pastrami". The quality of the meat should have seen this rated a 9/10 but it was let down by the other ingredients not being as generously packed as the serving of meat.. The sauerkraut was delicious, in the classic european style and the cheese was as expected. More of these two ingredients yes would have made it into a monster, but would have added so much more to the overall package. The pickles on the side were the same as the ones in the giant plate but should have been inside preferably, not that it stopped me stacking in more than probably necessary. The light rye, both in colour and density, was a welcoming change from the sourdough varieties on other reubens.

Artisan pastrami lives up to its name - I'll be back to try the "West Coast" variety.

8.5/10

Website: Reuben Republic

Naked Duck

Dropped right in the middle of tourist strip of the Darling Quarter and tucked behind the IMAX, quacks the Naked Duck. Predominately a lunchtime business crowd busies this cafe, as a fast and healthy option in between a day at the office. I was unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your perspective) to visit during Darling Harbour's "Month of Love", where PDAs are encouraged and a sea of hearts and bright lights assault the senses even during the daylight hours.

The reuben is not on the permanent menu, but graces the "specials" board. Although how "special" this selection of treats is, is yet to be determined as it has seemingly remained the same for at least the past year with the reuben being one of the contenders. Greatness was not expected, mainly due to the fast in-and-out nature of the cafe and it leaning more towards a sandwich haven than anything else - not that there's anything wrong with that. I selected the take away option with no rosemary fries, which dropped the price by one dollar and saw me leaving the cafe with a neat styrofoam take away package in hand.



The specials board promised braised corned beef with sauerkraut and swiss on rye sourdough and that's (almost) exactly what was delivered. The braised corned beef had a slight deli ham taste and feel to it and the rest of the ingredients were something that your mum could whip up for you in a jiffy after soccer practice. The beauty in the sandwich was not in the end product, but how it was made in the hustle bustle of the cafe prep area. As I watched a number of other sandwich orders being placed, the method of constructing the sandwich is something I have not yet witnessed anywhere else. The filling of the sandwiches were meticulously stacked on top of each other on the large cutting board and lined up in a row, eagerly awaiting the separately toasted bread. For better or worse, the fresh sandwich ingredients were then swooped up by the toasted bread and delivered to their owner. The filling stayed fresh but the cheese suffered a lack of melt-age, but it was worth it just to witness a host of naked sandwich fillings lined up neatly in a row.

Come for a quick bite - the salads and roast meat looked a lot more delicious than the sandwiches and seemed to be the order of the locals.

7.5/10

Website: The Naked Duck

2042

I recall coming to 2042 at a time not toobmuch prior to starting this blog and ordering the Reuben. Was its undeniable deliciousness the catalyst that start this quest to find the ultimate one? Who knows. What I do know is that the Reuben did indeed match up to the one that was preserved in my memory from a few years ago.

One thing that stood out with this Reuben ($17) was that the different layers of ingredients were clearly defined. In order: rye bread, cheese, smoked wagyu, sauerkraut, gherkins, cheese, dressing and bread. The idea of marrying a slice of cheese immediately to each slice of bread was genius! Double the meltage and a touch of symmetry in the layers begged the question of what a symmetrically stacked Reuben would be like...

The Barossa smoked wagyu was one of the higher quality meats I've come across in hunting Reubens and it must have been sent straight from flavourtown to 2042. In the shadow of the wagyu, the pickles (tangy American style) and sauerkraut were good but were not the stars of the show. The sauerkraut may have potentially been straight out of the jar, as it tasted awfully close to the jar I buy from Harris Farm - which is not necessarily a bad thing seeing as that one is from Poland. The dressing, albeit tasty, was lacking in the "Russian" department and didn't have a tomato component but still worked.

Meat lovers unite for a quality helping of smoked wagyu.

8.5/10

Website: 2042

Satellite Cafe

Loitering on a corner not too far from Newtown's iconic Clem's chicken shop, is the very colourful Satellite Cafe. Pink, purple and blue chairs litter the footpath outside of the main entrance and if it wasn't situated in eclectic Newtown where anything goes, it would have come with a slight feeling that you have wandered into a "Honey I shrunk the furniture" scenario. The Reuben was ordered on my behalf to coincidence with my slightly tardy arrival, by my brunching companions. My experience of the cafe itself was solely from the tiny purple chair I was perched on outside, as my Reuben hunting adventures were contained to the footpath on this occasion.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Reuben still on the menu, as the website's "New Menu" is dated November 2012: pastrami, gruyere, sauerkraut, house made Russian dressing, garnished with baby cornichons ($16). This is the first Reuben where baby cornichons make an appearance as a side garnish in their own equally baby sized jar. In the whispering wind, I could just hear them longing to nestle themselves alongside the pastrami. Who am I to defy such an instruction? In they went.

 It was one of the oiliest sandwich breads I've experienced, across all filling varieties. It did give the sandwich a nice crrrrrrunch but upon squeezing the now oversized interior (recently stacked with the baby cornichons) into a single mouthful, the distinct drip...drip...drip of oil escaping from the sourdough found itself on the plate below. The sourdough resembled something close to Sonoma's Miche Sourdough which was a good choice considering it was holding together the substantial layers inside.

Thick, but not too thick, slices of pastrami were generously stacked on top of sauerkraut, whole grain mustard, and cheese - whether or not it was indeed gruyere was questionable. Purple cabbage was used for the sauerkraut but had such a similar taste to the traditional eastern european style that I'll let it slide. Dotted with caraway seeds and juniper berries (yes, juniper berries!) this kraut was something quite unique.

Come hungry and grab a seat outside for some people watching. Watching the dog from the table next to me lick my plate after I was done with it was certainly entertaining. I'll be back for this Reuben.

8.5/10

Website: Satellite Cafe Newtown

Porteño - Sydney Festival Meriton Village

The Village in Hyde Park that pops up during Sydney Festival every year always brings an air of magic: lanterns, outdoor art (both weird and wonderful) and of course the famous Spiegeltent. The crowd is always an eclectic mix of people but always promises a festive atmosphere.This year was no different.

Enter the Reuben. The team from Porteño have a stand next to Messina (food coma imminent) and offer a special Sydney Festival menu. The Reuben will set you back a cool $15, and includes "smoked wagyu brisket with jack cheese, sauerkraut, pickles and special sauce".

Lets explore the bun: technically the menu description of a "sandwich" is incorrect, as a bun variety is used instead of two pieces of bread. Given the consumption of a couple of beers prior, this fluffy and ever slightly sweet alternative (think supermarket hot dog bun style) was indeed quite enjoyable. It also prevented the insides dropping woefully out the side which is often the case when it comes to disconnected pieces of bread.

The heaped mound of sauerkraut was a pleasant surprise, which was prepared in a juicy European style. Hiding in the depths of the kraut was a single thick slab of brisket the precise length of the bun. The usual suspects of gherkins and something close to a russian dressing with a bit of a kick made an appearance together with the cheese. I would have enjoyed e a bit more cheese than a single thin layer, but the quality of the kraut allayed any further cheese judgement.

It was said to me that it looked more like a Philly Cheesesteak with added kraut than a Reuben, and I tend to agree.

8/10

Website: Sydney Festival Village

Update - January 2016

I have regrettably let a void of time build up since the last post. 2016 brings a new year, which provides the opportunity to reinvigorate both my love for gastronomic adventures and also sharing them with others.

I was originally disheartened last year by my laptop and mobile device both going *boom* and losing many of the photos I'd taken of Reubens yet-to-be-reviewed. However, the silver lining commands that I must now re-visit those lost to me and enjoy each offering for a second time.

Crowd sourcing is the way of the future and so I plan to continue to use the knowledge of those around me to source the next Reuben adventure. Drop me a line at annap@adam.com.au for Reuben locations not yet mapped and I'll add them in.

Happy Reuben-ing...