Food poisoning the day before gave me a great reason to treat myself to a mid-week dinner out. I chose TooJays for my meat-free meal, and I’m glad that I did.
The day before my trip to try the TooJay’s vegetarian reuben, I spent part of the day and all night laid in my bed in the fetal position trying to sleep away the pains that were shooting through my stomach. I’m still not quite sure what caused my discomfort. Because of this, I pretty much threw away any and everything that I had consumed the day before and the morning of my stomach sickness in the hopes that I had gotten rid of the culprit. I had absolutely no food left at my desk, and I didn’t want to chance eating the dinner that was previously prepared. So, I did what any person would do in my situation. I took the opportunity to try something new!
I have been to TooJay’s a time or two before. On those occasions, I opted for the black bean burger, which is pretty good. I had planned to order the same thing on my recent trip, but the moment that I saw “vegetarian reuben,” I knew that I had to try it. With the help of the really nice cashier, Farrah, and the kind and talented cook, David, I walked away with a great, classic sandwich stuffed with lots of veggies!
Here’s the gist: the Vegetable Reuben Ciabatta, as it is called on the menu is filled with pretty much everything under the sun. There were mushrooms, sauerkraut, onions, spinach, red and green peppers, and, of course, swiss cheese.
Here is what I loved about the sandwich:
- There were a lot of veggies! I mean the sandwich was literally stuffed with vegetables, which is exactly what one would exact from a vegetable sandwich, right!
- I could actually taste the vegetables! If you’ve read a few of the recent reviews that I have done of dishes that are filled with veggies, you will notice that I am a stickler for veggies with taste. Not salty veggies, but veggies that are cooked to display their natural flavors. These veggies were a good example of great flavor. I especially enjoyed the spinach. It had flavor for days. Each time that I got a bit of spinach in my bite, I knew it very quickly.
- The bread was such a great touch. You can never go wrong with Ciabatta bread. This bread had just the right amount of crunch to it. It was the perfect choice for this type of sandwich.
Here’s what I didn’t love so much:
- Very greasy. To cook veggies, you really only need a drop of oil. Actually, you don’t need oil at all. The water sautéing method would’ve worked perfectly. It would have brought out the flavors even more. Because it was so greasy, it made the ciabatta bread soggy in some places, which was quite disappointing.
- Too much cheese. Yes, I know that it is a reuben, but I could have done without so much cheese. I think that’s just more of a personal preference, though. Next time I know to request only a light layer of cheese.
Although there were a few things that could make this sandwich better, I thought that it was pretty good. If you find yourself out and about and happen to pass by a TooJay’s, stop in and try the reuben– meat free, of course!
Be sure to check out the pictures from my recent visit below.