As most of you probably know. I have seemingly been relegated to Pinko Punko's not terribly efficient go-fer. Our conversations, both via e-mail and in real life, often consist of something like:
PP: "Hey, whatcha doing?"
F: "This or that."
PP: "I heard of this cool thing."
F: "Oh?"
PP: "Yea, it's XXXXX"
in this particular instance, it is the legend of a Chicago style Italian Beefery in the greater Bay/Yay area
F: "You're right, that sounds neat."
PP: "We should totally check it out."
F: with great enthusiasm"Wow, you're right."
days, more likely weeks, go by
F: "Hey, whatever happened to XXXXX."
PP: "It is cool but it is ______" - the options here to date are [note: I am not claiming this is a closed (or complete) set]: a) too far, b) costs money c) occurs on a non-Saturday d) conflicts with dog poop schedule e) does not involve a stunning red track suit.
So now that we've got the preliminary snark out of the way, read the rest if you want to see details of the iBeef
Gumbah's does live up to it's claim. It is an unabashedly Chicagoan restaurant. In fact it could probably be considered a gratuitously Chicago style restaurant if it weren't for the semi-retired owner who sits inside and makes chit-chat and clearly takes pride in the Chicago feel.
photo 1: Let's set the scene. I described it as "Bulls jerseys from when they were great, Bears jerseys from when they were good, Blackhawk jersey (singular), Sox jerseys from when they were bad, and Cubs jerseys that represent their everlasting failure.
photo 2: Behold the juicy, greasy, and unquestionably delicious iBeef. The bread is a solid match. It is thick and chewy to absorb a solid quantity of juice and yet allow me the minimally sufficient time required to ingest the sandwich. The only possible flaw is the quality of roast beef. It is high quality roast beef with nary a hint of fat or gristle, and for anyone who's eaten their share of Italian Beef sandwiches, this can come as a little bit of a shock.
Overall, the sandwich in this iteration deserves an 8+ (out of 10). I think the addition of Polish sausage to this sandwich or, alternately, the use of crunchy hot peppers instead of the sweet peppers could bump this sandwich to at least a 9. Unfortunately, we had already been treated to lunch at the meeting so I was unable to follow up with the appropriate gusto.
The owner assured me they are open most Saturdays and has previously supplied his phone number so we can call that day and ensure we won't end up disappointed in Vallejo. I believe that this eatery is worth another visit and I am already working on how to arrange additional work-related functions that require my presence.
Addendum (Jonah Goldberg style): There may be an instance from this very week wherein PP did initiate and agree to participating in an activity. I then proceed to ignore his entreaties to make this a reality and then laughed mercilessly when it was unable to come about. However, I don't think that in any way changes the truth of my larger point.
posted by fulsome @ 4:11 PM
