A prodigious roast beef sandwich to go made by the experienced counter help at Sickles Market. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
By SUSAN ERICSON
The range of choices for freshly made sandwiches is wide open on the Greater Red Bank Green. Don’t believe it? Look here. There’s no shortage of delis and sandwich shops, so the competition is pretty fierce. If you’re a sandwich maker, do it right or don’t bother.
In Little Silver, Sickles Market deli department doesn’t disappoint when it comes to house-made takeout products. There wouldn’t be a line of people waiting to place an order if they did, but lunchtime can get hectic in this gourmet food store, so on occasion it becomes necessary to weigh the options of free parking and perfectly roasted mouthwatering meat as opposed to just quick service.
A mom grabs a pint-sized lunch on the fly for her little student from the deli counter at Sickles Market. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
In a carnivorous mood, PieHole made its way to the market for a beefy lunchtime sandwich this week.
Dan Niles, one of the experienced and quick countermen, said the in-house roast is a top-round of beef. At $8.99 for the sandwich, it isn’t the biggest bargain you can find, but the roast beef is fresh, well seasoned and not full of nitrates, the chemical that keeps processed meats looking pink.
With slices of slightly bloody meat piled high on a fresh kaiser roll, and slathered with an assertive horseradish sauce, this jaw-cracking sandwich didn’t need anything more. One caveat on that horseradish sauce: not for the faint of heart, it’s extremely strong, and you’ll feel it right in your sinuses. Tomato and lettuce offered a bit of crunch and extra flavor.
While waiting on line, and chatting with the other customers a slightly hurried mom was handed a cute child-sized, firehouse-themed cardboard tote that she said contained a kid’s lunch.
What exactly does the younger set get in their to-go lunches? For $4.99, the box contains a Mott’s Apple Juice, a fresh apple, a choice of sandwich – such as PB&J, tuna salad or bologna – and a bag of pretzels or a bag of Gold Fish crackers. Nice deal if you’re in a rush.
And in addition to lunch to go for yourself and your little one, you can grab a little something extra for dinner at the same time. The key is to not let yourself be distracted by all the other delicious options at the market. It’s easy for a foodie to be sucked into the vortex of culinary temptation.
