Vidalia (sandwiches, etc.) -Ravenswood/Lincoln Square

Vidalia, from the owners of Dante's Pizzeria and Haywood Tavern (I haven't tried either one of them) opened in February in the former Last Pit Stop bbq space, next door to Chez Simo bistro.

I visited the other day to give their Montreal smoked meat sandwich a try. Not knowing how they serve it, I requested my meat on the fatty side. The sandwich is a half pound of meat, served warm on rye, with dijon mustard. Take a look:





At $14 and served with only a pickle spear, I thought it might be a tad bit expensive, a feeling I got looking at the whole menu. The menu uses the phrase "responsibly sourced," but I really have no idea what that means and they don't seem to be trying to sell the concept outside of the couple words on the menu. But the meat was delicious, and plenty moist and fatty. It had the garlic/black pepper/coriander flavor profile you want from pastrami or Montreal smoked meat. My lone complaint aside from slightly high price is that it was a little too heavy on smoke. Cut that down, charge $1 less, and I've got a big, fat, happy smile on my face. Note that it also took a while to prepare, but I hope that just means that they're steaming and slicing to order.

The horseradish and dill potato salad was a little on the bland side, and $3 for a pretty small portion too, so I'll try out a different side next time.





Still, some other interesting items on the menu, so I definitely plan to give them another try. On the plus side, the smoked meat blew away anything I've ever tasted at the best, best, best sandwich shop in Chicago (Jerry's) . . . I kid, I kid.

Vidalia
1964 W. Lawrence
773.293.7608
Hours: 11am-10pm every day (according to Google & Yelp)
Street parking: easy

I had the High Street Pork sandwich several weeks ago, really enjoyed it. I agree that it's a very high quality sandwich, but also thought it was at least a dollar too expensive. It was $12 with a pickle. I would be willing to pay that with a tiny side, but on it's own, it was a little high for me. I'm not eating sandwiches or pizza at the moment, but I may stop in again and try a salad.

I walked past there yesterday, they had a sign out that said a free side with a sandwich between 1:00 and 4:00. Not sure if that's just weekdays or not.