Chief Pittsburgh Correspondant: August Henry's City Saloon

(412) 765-3270
946 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
www.augusthenrys.com

By Edward Sandwichhands

James Beard wrote of the Club Sandwich:

“. . . it is one of the great sandwiches of all time and has swept its way around the world after an American beginning. Nowadays the sandwich is bastardized because it is usually made as a three-decker, which is not authentic (whoever started that horror should be forced to eat a three-decker three times a day the rest of his life), and nowadays practically everyone uses turkey and there's a vast difference between turkey and chicken where sandwiches are concerned.”

That is exactly how I would describe my club sandwich (the “Saloon Club”) at August Henry’s: bastardized.

My sandwich was boring. Like meat and potatoes boring. Like NASCAR boring. If I wasn’t really hungry due to a nasty hangover, I probably would have just gone to sleep in the restaurant after suffering through a cup of flavorless bisque. However, I somehow managed to wolf down the two pieces of white bread with slimy lettuce, grainy tomato, reasonable turkey, unnoticeable ham, and decent bacon. My lunch included lousy potato chips, a tub of mayonnaise, greasy roasted red pepper bisque, and no pickle – no pickle!!! When I finished I declared to my lunch partner that I would never come to August Henry’s again. He was similarly disappointed by his flavorless mussels.

The lousy jerks who made my sandwich should be forced to eat it three times a day for the rest of their lives. That way James Beard won’t be forced to haunt the staff of August Henry’s from beyond the grave.