DC Sarnies - Deerfield

I'm surprised to be the first to start a topic on this place. I know it was mentioned in the New Openings thread, but it's hard to believe that no one else on here has tried it and posted about it. They are a new place owned by the Highland Baking Company. They are even going to have a Test Kitchen for guest chefs to come in and let the public try their creations. The primary food items are upscale sandwiches of various kinds and burgers.

I ended up having dinner there tonight almost by accident. My plans to meet someone in Vernon Hills fell through, so I decided to check it out. I expected to try one of their burgers, but I couldn't resist the temptation of the French Onion Roast Beef sandwich. It's basically a french dip with crispy onions, spicy dijon aioli, and a side of au jus on a long toasted roll. I had mine with the dijon on the side as I am not normally a big dijon fan. I was going to try it with the dijon, but I forgot all about it once I started eating! I thought the sandwich was excellent. The roast beef was tender and lean, the crispy onions had a spicy kick to them which I liked, and the bun was perfect for this sandwich. It came with house made potato chips which were decent, but nothing special. I have to say, even if the burgers are no big deal, I'm happy about this sandwich. There are some other interesting things I am looking forward to trying.

As mentioned in the other thread, this is located in the old Bennigan's next to the Home Depot and the Metra station. They have a decent sized bar and outdoor seating as well. You can also purchase numerous kinds of bread and buns from Highland Baking Company there. Having recently been to Labriola Bakery in Oakbrook, I was looking forward to this place being somewhat of the North Shore version of that. It's not quite as big or elaborate as Labriola, but so far so good.


DC Sarnies
649 Lake Cook Rd
Deerfield IL 60015
847-509-2000
http://www.dcsarnies.com/default.htm

They have a great selection of beers on tap...which is rare in the suburbs.

Stopped in for a few minutes one night right after they opened to watch the Bulls while my son was at karate class. Just intended to grab a beer--the selection is indeed excellent, especially for the burbs-- but ended up having a cup of chili, too, which I found quite good. Pleasant enough atmosphere and service, too. I am looking forward to a return trip to try a burger or the aforementioned roast beef sandwich.

i tried the roast beef sandwich and found it lacking. yes, the bread is a star here, but the quality of the meats is a bit lacking. went back to try it again....got the blackened skirt steak, which was not all that tender. grilled cheese that my mom ordered was nothing special either.

the beer selection is top-notch, decent bar set up to the right. it's an interesting concept and nice to see a local place create something unique, but just feel there are better options in the vicinity that i'd rather go to right now. maybe still just working out some kinks.

makisupa12 wrote:but just feel there are better options in the vicinity that i'd rather go to right now. maybe still just working out some kinks.

what's better in that area? i haven't been here but that location doesn't have a ton of great options (As far as i know).

dudefella wrote:

makisupa12 wrote:but just feel there are better options in the vicinity that i'd rather go to right now. maybe still just working out some kinks.

what's better in that area? i haven't been here but that location doesn't have a ton of great options (As far as i know).

What type(s) of food are you looking for?

Dave148 wrote:

dudefella wrote:

makisupa12 wrote:but just feel there are better options in the vicinity that i'd rather go to right now. maybe still just working out some kinks.

what's better in that area? i haven't been here but that location doesn't have a ton of great options (As far as i know).

What type(s) of food are you looking for?

similar to sarnies, i guess: burgers/sandwiches, beer and maybe a TV for sports?

In Highland Park - http://nortons-restaurant.com/

I went back with my brother and my girlfriend. He had the Cuban Panini and thought it was very good, though he likes a crispier bread for it. My girlfriend had the crispy cheese burger, which had mozzarella sticks and marinara on it. She loved it, and she's not a big burger fan. She also had the sweet potato tots which she liked. I tried a build your own burger with crispy onions, bacon, and spicy dijon aioli on a pretzel bun. I thought my burger was great. It didn't seemed to be freshly formed, but I was very happy with it. I was happy that the server asked if I wanted the bun toasted or not. I'm definitely a fan of this place.

Hubby and I ate at DC Sarnies for the first time last night. Were pleasantly surprised and thought our sandwiches were delicious. I could have made a meal out of the bread basket which included a french onion roll, cheese bread and sweet raisin crisps. I had the grilled fresh tuna sandwich. The quality of the tuna was excellent and it was prepared rare like it should be. The roll it was served on was nothing special and I'm sorry I didn't get it on a different bread choice but the wasabi aioli and pickled ginger really added to the sandwich. My husband is on a low salt and low fat diet and ordered the chipotle grilled chicken sandwich. He had to eliminate the bacon and cheese that came on the sandwich but had it with the guacamole and vegetables on cracked wheat bread instead of the chipotle roll. He couldn't stop talking about how good his sandwich was. We both had steamed asparagus as our sides. Over all a really good experience and we will definitely go back to try some of the other things on the menu that sounded really good.

HI,

A visit to the DMV finally got me over to D.C. Sarnies.

At last week's Culinary Historians meeting, Barbara Fairchild, former editor of Bon Appetit, put a premium on bread and coffee service. It can be very well executed or perfunctionary, well D.C. Sarnies would certainly rate well in her estimate.


Bread service by cal222, on Flickr

I liked the variety of bread, especially the crisp raisin and the cheese studded breads. I really liked the butter was not fresh from the refrigerator. This butter was easily spreadable, which I adored.

And when we ran out of bread, they not only offered more, they brought back exactly what I wanted: cheese bread and raisin crisps.

I skipped the fountain beverage service when I learned it was $2.00 with refillables. Looking over the take-out menu, canned soda is also $2.00. At those prices, I can drink happily Lake Michigan on ice.

My friend Helen uncharacteristically ordered The "Sandwich" Salad consisting of ham, corned beef, turkey, roast beef, bacon, Romaine, mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumber, artichokes, Feta cheese, brioche & marble rye croutons and substituted blue cheese for Balsamic vinagrette.


The "Sandwich" Salad by cal222, on Flickr

She spent quite a bit of time integrating the dressing into the salad while doing an accounting of the salad's ingredients. She complained somewhat at only finding one artichoke, though we eventually found a few more. Despite everything, she said she liked what she ordered.

I wanted a burger without a lot of fuss, I ordered D.C.'s Classic Burger, which is a half pound Angus Prime burger with lettuce, tomato, onion and sesame bun. Our waitress advised if we didn't want fries or chips, we could select any side without an upcharge. Kid in the candy store moment when trying to decide between fried pickles, sweet potato tots, roasted garlic Yukon Gold smashed potatoes, housemade seasoned fries, housemade potato chips, steamed asparagus with citrus vinaigrette, fried onion strings, sauteed spinach and mac 'n cheese.

I settled on mac 'n cheese when advised they topped it with crushed Cheddar Fish. After questioning if they really cooked their burgers to order, I settled on rare with fresh and grilled onions.


Classic Burger with Mac 'N Cheese by cal222, on Flickr

Once the food arrived, the waitress hovered until she was certain I was happy how my burger was cooked. She also inquired if I felt the Mac 'N Cheese was crunchy enough. It was on the surface and creamier underneath, a nice contrast of textures.

I liked this place from the bread service, to the variety of sidedish options without an upcharge and the better than expected service. I may not buy a Coke there, though I will certainly dine there without any hesitation.

Regards,

Unlike Cathy2, I had a better reason for being in the area last night. Caught a late afternoon movie with my wife at Northbrook Court. Decided to celebrate the first day at her new job.

I chose the Classic Turkey Club with the housemade chips. The sandwich was huge and quite tasty. The chips were not heavily seasoned and appeared to be freshly made. Next time, I'll probably sub them for another side.

My wife had the Roast Pork Sandwich which she declared to be quite good and never bothered to offer me a taste. She subbed the chips for asparagus.

I asked out server if they use the same menu for lunch. They do. But they're considering a lunch menu with smaller portions of the regular menu items.

Overall, a nice dining experience. Definitely adding it to the local dining rotation. Nice bathrooms. Hopefully, they'll survive the pain in the (fill in the blank) construction project along Lake Cook which has been keeping the crowds away.

Cathy2 wrote:I settled on mac 'n cheese when advised they topped it with crushed Cheddar Fish. After questioning if they really cooked their burgers to order, I settled on rare with fresh and grilled onions.

by cheddar fish, you mean the cheddar goldfish crackers?

dudefella wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I settled on mac 'n cheese when advised they topped it with crushed Cheddar Fish. After questioning if they really cooked their burgers to order, I settled on rare with fresh and grilled onions.

by cheddar fish, you mean the cheddar goldfish crackers?

Yes, thanks for clarifying.

We took our kids here for lunch over the weekend and were pleasantly surprised by DC Sarnies. They have a large menu with a variety of different sandwich, salad, burger options. I had the cubano. while not completely authentic, it was very good served with a very flavorful roast pork. My bride had the sliders which they allowed her to mix and match. she had a mini burger, brat and rueben--and there were other choices as well. i will definitely be back to try some of the other options.

I had a burger at Townhouse in Deerfield (the old Red Stripe spot on Deerfield Rd) and thought it was considerably better than the DC Sarnie's burger.

sujormik wrote:I had a burger at Townhouse in Deerfield (the old Red Stripe spot on Deerfield Rd) and thought it was considerably better than the DC Sarnie's burger.

Good to know, another burger to try, thanks!

sujormik wrote:I had a burger at Townhouse in Deerfield (the old Red Stripe spot on Deerfield Rd) and thought it was considerably better than the DC Sarnie's burger.

You should start a thread for it. I'll check it out, thanks.

We had a very enjoyable lunch at DC Sarnies last weekend.

The first thing I noticed was the beer list, which was very good and much better than I expected


Beers on tap



Bread Basket
As Cathy posted above, the bread basket contained some nice goodies. Being owned by Highland Baking, it makes perfect sense that the breads are showcased so prominently.



Hoisin Ginger Calamari
This appetizer was very tasty and delivered a lot of flavor and heat. The menu describes it as containing serrano, bell and jalapeno peppers. If there were serranos in there, they were very mild. I did especially like the red and green jalapenos, though. Unfortunately, it wasn't particulaly hot temperature-wise but it was still very crispy and tasty.



Chipotle Grilled Chicken
Very respectable, if you happen to like boneless, skinless chicken breast. In all seriousness, the sandwich was very tasty and included guacamole, cumin-dusted bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion and pepper jack cheese. Breast was moist but I cannot speak to its provenance. It was served on a chipotle telera roll. The house-made chips were terrific.



Beef Burger
We ordered this one with gouda, spicy dijon aioli, crispy onion strings, avocado, bacon and a fried egg. It was very tasty even though it was cooked a bit over the medium rare we'd requested. The patty tasted good, even though it had very pre-formed look and feel to it. Fries were fine but not nearly as enjoyable as the house-made chips pictured above.

I'm glad to have this so near my house. It'll be a nice place to grab a burger and a beer when we want something close to home.

=R=

I've been trying to get over to this joint for lunch with some office mates for a while now. Needless to say, ronnie_suburban's photos have moved this place on the "must do this week" list. That squidamari looks good as hell.

It's worth fighting the pain-in-the.....construction on Lake Cook.

Got this email today:
Today Only! Kuma's Corner head chef in our test kitchen. Head chef Amalia Obermeir-Smith will be taking over our test kitchen. She'll be preparing 3 Kuma's Corner specialties for you to order and enjoy!

I called Sarnies, they said 3 burgers will be served, and they will be Kuma's burgers, not Sarnies burgers with Kuma's toppings.
1 - The Kuma Burger
Bacon, Cheddar, Fried Egg
2 - High On Fire
Siracha Hot Chili Sauce, Prosciutto, Roasted Red Pepper, Grilled Pineapple, Sweet Chili Paste
3 - Plague Bringer
Roasted Garlic Mayo, Tortilla Strips, House Made Hot Sauce, Fresh Garlic, Pepper Jack, Sliced Jalapenos

So I guess DC Sarnies is "Kuma's Corner North" for a day.

A few of us had a very pleasant lunch at DC Sarnies the other day. I'm not sure if I consider DC Sarnies a true food destination but it's a very good local option. On my 2 visits, the food has been fresh, tasty and well-prepared. Service is excellent and friendly, and the taps are the best I know in the area.

Here's a brief and incomplete photo rundown of our meal . . .


Pulled Pork Nachos (special)



Hoisin Ginger Calamari



Burger #1*
Not sure who ordered this one; details unknown.



Burger #2
Not sure who ordered this one; details unknown.



Burger #3
Not sure who ordered this one; details unknown.



Steak Sandwich
Not sure who ordered this one; details unknown.



Classic Turkey Sandwich
I liked this club sandwich but it was a little much. Not only did it have cheese, it had 2 kinds. I'm really used to a classic club having no cheese. I took off the orange cheese, as it really overwhelmed the rest of the sandwich. The rest of the components were really good; delicious sandwich...and the house-made chips are tasty, too.



Fried Pickles
We shared this side. The crust was pretty hard and maybe a bit out of proportion for the size of the pickle because it was somewhat hard to discern the pickle flavor.



Onion Strings
Nice, light and crispy. I munched some of these and added a few to my sandwich.

I like DC Sarnies and am definitely going to try to get over there a bit more often. The tap list -- especially this close to home -- is a nice draw for me and the food is completely respectable.

=R=

*since almost everything is customizable at DC Sarnies, it's hard to know if these were standard menu items or not.

Burger 1 is the Black and Bleu? Looks tasty.

Burger #1 is indeed the black(ened) and blue. It was excellent. I liked their willingness to cook rare and medium rare.

-Will

WillG wrote:Burger #1 is indeed the black(ened) and blue. It was excellent. I liked their willingness to cook rare and medium rare.

-Will

While I didn't have a burger this time, I did on my first visit and I completely agree. It's getting harder and harder to find places that are willing to do this. I thought the burger I had at that first visit was very good.

=R=