I also took Rich up on his offer, but would have been happy to pay for this lunch. This place is now solidly in my rotation. I had the chicago steakhouse, and Jman had the lamb. I'll let him tell you about it, but he loved it. When we came in they were sampling the sandwich of the day which was pork belly. While I like pork, a full sandwich of porkbelly seemed a bit over the top for lunch, and I had a good work out this a.m, so the delicious, but fatty pork wasn't calling my name. However, I did sample a piece and it was delicious, and just the perfect amount of smoke and juiciness.
I can't really comment any further on the Chicago steakhouse, it as described above, the pickled veg really make this roll.
I had a side of the cheesy potatoes, and I don't have any complaints about them. They were warm, a generous scoop and very cheesy. The mac and cheese side however, should be pulled from the menu. It's as everyone said, dry in a weird way. No cheese or tangy flavor.

I was very happy with my lunch today. It certainly was filling. I think this may be the good and the bad with the place. I can see a lot of guys eating in there, but I think they may need some lighter offerings for some of us that don't want to be in a food coma coming back to work. I went with the multigrain roll and it was very dense and very good, but I wouldn't mind having a turkey or tuna choice with some fresh vegetables once in a while. The turkey with stuffing sandwich sounded really good, and I saw aschie30 ordering one. Next time, I 'll try the slaw or salad side. Maybe the menu will evolve with a salad of some sort with a protein mixed in, and a choice of a dressing.

Service was spot on for us, with a very friendly girl at the counter, that knew everything about the menu.

All in all an A from me.

nicinchic wrote:The turkey with stuffing sandwich sounded really good, and I saw aschie30 ordering one.

It's true; I had the turkey/stuffing sandwich on a multigrain roll. (I paid for my meal.) It was a good sandwich and maybe they were listening because my sandwich was filled to the ends. I really don't think the dense multigrain bread is anything special (I actually ordered the housemade roll), so I mostly ate the filling with a fork. The turkey and stuffing were moist and well-seasoned. The New Englander in me says that this sandwich would be much improved with cranberry sauce to add some needed tartness.

The real standout for me, however, was the Mushroom soup of the day, which, despite its rich and flavorful profile, was vegan. I'd order this any day.

Not sure my office is close enough for this to be in my regular rotation, but I'd go back, especially to try the steak sandwich.

Went to lunch at Lunchrolls today; wanted to try it again after my mixed review on the first page. I tried the three-sides option. I had the cumin turkey vege soup, the roasted beets and the grilled vegetables. I loved the soup and the beets, grilled veges were fine but it was a lot of food in the end. Two sides would enough for me. It will be a good alternative for this Trotters to go devotee. I also had had some issues with salty side salad; my dining companion ordered that and I asked her if it was salty and she indicated it was not. Also today the place was packed the entire time we were there.

I went to lunchrolls today and thoroughly enjoyed it. Had the lettuce roll with pork belly, pork is firm and has a nice char (usually i like pork belly to be fall off the bone type but for a sandwich, if its too soft, the texture would have been odd so i like the firmness of it), there is a sauce in roll that i cannot decifer but it tastes good

had the jambalaya as a side, loved the amount of heat, generous chunks of dark chicken meat, sausage and rice

the special they have going on is if you buy a sandwich, you get either a free side or a free drink
my lunch came to $7.01 in total

service was very good, the cashier was helpful and the chefs were friendly

For $7.01, i seriously will walk there every week (i work in East Loop so its not exactly next door)... its a much better choice than those chain fast food restaurants we have around in downtown.

i hope this place will stay

Hit lunchrolls again. I am firmly into this place now. Salads instead of the lettuce wrap! yippee! I had the salad with brisket topper. Perfect brisket, charred bits, not a lot of fat, which is the style I like for lunch, and the onion jam topping and sauce really made it for me. Next time, I will ask for a side of salad dressing, because I did have salad left. Jman had the brisket too, but on the white roll, which really did make the sandwich. It didn't look like the one in the picture on page one. Appears the wheat roll is gone and replaced with a whole wheat pita. I had the turkey cumin soup, which was full of fresh veg and bits of turkey and nicely seasoned. A great departure from the downtown (commercial) soup base and whatever the resto throws into it. Good fresh brewed iced tea. The only downside this time was the cheesy potatoes, which had the texture of the mac and cheese I had there last time. Dry as a bone. The last time I had them they were fantastic, and creamy. Seems they are still having a consistency problem. The service people were Ok, but still some kinks to iron out behind the counter. The line was to the door as we were leaving at 12:15. I'm excited to try the steak sandwich as a salad next time!

The pork belly roll has been replaced by the "Pig on Pig".

Pork shoulder, sherry apples, bacon bechamel.

Outstanding.

i partook in the offer :]

pig on pig:


a bit of a sloppy sandwich, but good. the bacon bechamel could've been anything... maybe my buds are off, but i missed the hint of bacon in it. the tomatoes were delicious though, marinated in an apple-ish sauce (sherry too?).

mac and cheese could've used a little more seasoning but was acceptable. (and I usually assume silverware is included in the bag in a "to go" order, but it wasn't.. Thanks Corner Bakery for the fork I stole on my way to Millenium Park)

it's a bit further than i'd usually trek for lunch but i'd go back to try something else.

they use biodegradable cups and corn silverware, which i appreciate. (even though it's debatable if they will compost on their own any better than anything else...)

Lunchrolls has a $5.00 lunch special in June. You get the sandwich of the day and a drink. I had an outstanding steak sandwich with house made pickled onions/peppers. I would highly recommend this particular sandwich.

Had time in the Loop area between doctor appts. and remembered Lunchrolls so I decided to stop by.

Had the $5 lunch special which in this case (Wed) was turkey. They offered two variations of a roasted turkey sandwich - one with smoked tomatoes, caramelized onions, and cranberry mayo and the other a Thanksgiving style with stuffing and cranberry sauce. I went with the first and also tried a cup of the green pea coconut soup. The soup was good; I wished for a little more pea flavor which was somewhat masked by the other ingredients including ginger, coconut milk, and lemongrass. Luckily I like ginger, coconut milk, and lemongrass so it was still very enjoyable. The sandwich was a deal for $5 with lots of juicy (not dry!) roasted turkey and fabulously luscious tomatoes. The cranberry didn't really come through in the mayo (except for the color) and the bread is just okay - more of a vehicle, but I did enjoy the sandwich. And, again, if we're comparing this to other sandwiches you can get in the Loop for $5 (or even $7) at Potbelly's, Subway, etc., I think it's heads above those.

they must be continuing the $5 sandwich of the day special, which to me is a great deal for lunch downtown.

last week I went in for pulled pork (Thursday?), which I really totally enjoyed - tender and flavorful. my friend got the lamb on pita and I had a bite - and will definitely go back for that. I loved the combination of textures w/the cous cous and raisins, and thought the lamb was also really tender and had a great flavor. this week we picked up Monday's special - buffalo chicken - which was sadly disappointing. buffalo anything is my secret guilty comfort food pleasure, and the sauce here was just kind of weird, and the chicken came in massive slab-like chunks that were not appealing to bite into.

so, avoid the chicken, go for the lamb or pulled pork special. still waiting to try the bread pudding though, I've heard great things.

On Monday the special was crispy pork belly with zucchini. It was probably my favorite roll that I've had there so far.

jesteinf wrote:On Monday the special was crispy pork belly with zucchini. It was probably my favorite roll that I've had there so far.

Aw dammit, I was just there an hour ago, and I looked at that pork belly roll on the specials menu and thought to myself, "Ewww, zucchini", so I skipped it. However, after reading your take on it, to quote Ron Burgundy, "I immediately regret this decision".

Instead I got the Chicago Steakhouse, which was quite good...very generous amount of steak, nice pickled veggies (a little heavy on the onions though), but a little too juicy overall...the bottom of the roll all but disintegrated, so I had to eat it upside-down like a big, steaky bruschetta. That said, the steak was cooked very, very nicely...not too chewy, not too dry.

The only other sandwich I've had is the pulled pork, which I thought was fantastic. I purposely don't want to go on Thursdays for a while, because I don't think I'd be able to resist the temptation of ordering the pulled pork rather than trying something new.

I tried the mac & cheese, just to see if it would match up to the not-so-glowing reviews I've previously read...it would appear that someone over there is listening, because it wasn't dry at all. However, I found it to be a bit bland, and had to add a bit of salt & hot sauce (but then, lately I've found myself adding a bit of salt to everything, and I've been adding hot sauce to stuff all my life). Last time I tried the cheesy potatoes, which were pretty "meh". I think I'll hold off on the sides from now on (except for that bread pudding, I'd like to try that).


Edit: Fixed a minor typo

The zucchini almost turned me off too, but it actually really works with the belly (both from a flavor and texture standpoint).

I just hit up Lunch Rolls for the first time, and I have to say, I was quite impressed with my sandwich. I opted for the Cajun Shrimp Jambalaya. Normally when I order a salad/sandwich with shrimp, I usually get three of four meager pieces. But this roll was brimming with a generous amount of perfectly cooked shrimp and chicken andouille sausage in a nice, hearty sauce. The roll was very soft, but it withstood the sauciness and didn't fall apart on me at all.

Overall, I was very satisfied. The only complaint I had was that it could have been spicier. But luckily, there was a bottle of tobasco on the table, just for me

Lunchrolls and its sister, Salad Spinners, have closed up shop.

The website says lunchrolls is closed for renovation and re-opening in early 2010. If it really is closed for good, it's pretty surprising. Every time I've gone all the tables were full.

turkob wrote:The website says lunchrolls is closed for renovation and re-opening in early 2010. If it really is closed for good, it's pretty surprising. Every time I've gone all the tables were full.

There's a sign on the door. Something about falafels.

Yeah, quite interesting..... I didn't realize Salad Spinners and LunchRolls were related. The guys at my office just spied the closed Salad Spinners on Wells.

The LunchRolls is becoming I Dream of Falafel. There is another location on Jackson or Van Buren, grand central for quick-service middle eastern/med spots as of late.

The other I Dream of Falafel is across the street from my building, on the east side of Franklin near Van Buren. I had a nice lunch there with eatchicago back in November and there always seems to be a crowd waiting in line at lunchtime.

Suzy