Reuben #1 – Papa G’s Pizza N’ Grill

In my first edition of Ron’s Reubens, I travel to Papa G’s Greek and Italian Pizza and Grill restaurant owned and operated by my fiance’s Uncle, Greg Cook. Located in Sylvania, Ohio, Papa G’s offers terrific Greek and Italian dishes including: pastitsio (a greek style lasagna dish), moussaka, grape leaves, lasagna, and obviously, amazing pizza. Without bias, I can truly say that Papa G’s offers up some of the best pizza in town.

When I went in, totally expecting to order a pizza, I discovered that just one day earlier, Papa G’s introduced a reuben sandwhich to the specials section of their menu! Greg; Papa G himself excitedly explained that this was not just some ordinary reuben, but a 100% homemade reuben, with carefully selected bread and carefully prepared corned beef. It was not long into his description that my mind was already made up and my mouth salivating.

Here is what I thought of the brand new Papa G Reuben Sandwich:

Size/Portion:

While Papa G’s reuben was not nearly the largest I’ve ever encountered, it was by no means small. Definitely large enough to feed a man of my appetite, and let’s be honest here, I have a wedding to get ready for – I don’t need a double quarter pounder sized reuben. I was very satisfied with the size of the sandwich.

Bread:

Papa G assured me that the bread was carefully hand selected to make the perfect sandwich. I think many people underestimate the bread. Too thin, and there is a total lack of body – too thick, and you are giving your mandible an unnecessary and unwanted workout just trying to get to the meat of the thing. Too soggy, and the sandwich feels gross in your mouth and the quality control is highly questioned. Too crispy and it will decimate and mutilate your gums, making the entire meal a painful experience.

Papa G’s bread was pretty damn good! It was flavorful and had a slight peppery spice to it. While it was just a bit too stiff for my liking, it was still very easy to chew and very tasty! Papa G found a nice balance between body and flavor, which resulted in the bread accenting the sandwich in harmony rather than overpowering it.

Corned Beef:

Oh wow. You can tell this was not frozen corned beef, thawed and thrown on some bread. You can tell Papa G bought a really high quality brisket and prepared the meat for a long time. The corned beef was juicy, tender and perfectly seasoned. It was absolutely delicious, and really made this sandwich enjoyable.

Sauerkraut:

The beauty of sauerkraut is that it is a cool temperature feature on a warm sandwich. Papa G’s kraut was not cold, but just slightly above the meat’s temperature and I love that contrasting temperature in the flavor. It was flavorful, well portioned in terms of meat/sauerkraut ratio, and carefully placed in the sandwich. No sloppy joe stuff goin’ on here!

Thousand Island:

This is the one area where I will detract points on Papa G’s reuben. I love me some Thousand Island on my reuben sandwich. There is an art to properly applying the sauce to the sandwich. You don’t want so much that it gushes into your mouth and drowns out the flavors of the bread and meat, but you want the reuben to be just a little juicy from the dressing. Papa G’s reuben, while using a delicious thousand island sauce, just slightly under-did the ratio of sauce I personally like. I wanted just a bit more, otherwise, it was a delicious variety and really complimented the other ingredients well.

Conclusion:

I rate the Papa G’s Reuben Sandwich a 90/100! Papa G’s makes a delicious reuben sandwich. The carefully selected bread, the personally prepared corned beef, the friendly amounts of sauerkraut and a delicious thousand island sauce all come together to make a menu item that I very much hope they keep around for years to come. I am really excited that I was one of the first to order it, and I know that I will make it a repeat order time and time again.

If you are ever in the Toledo Metro area, make sure to stop by Papa G’s, say hi to Greg, and tell him Ron sent ya!

Cheers!

Written By

Brew Review Crew