FT had been bringing up some place for reuben sandwiches that finally, we hit up Refuge in San Carlos. I had been putting it off because it seemed like such a long drive for just sandwiches - why bother, when there's so many place nearby?
We ordered a reuben sandwich, garlic fries, and brussels sprouts with bacon.
And here is where I will proclaim FT to be correct. I like pastrami. I've had pastrami, some okay, some good. I LOVE this pastrami - so tender, juicy, and flavorful. The reuben itself has generous portions of pastrami, crusty bread, and lots of tangy goodness.
Brussel sprouts were okay - the flavor is good, but I think I like my brussel sprouts with a bit of char, and these were a bit soft and boring to me.
A good helping of fries. We didn't order the special fries that would have all sorts of toppings on it, but the garlic fries themselves were fresh and hit the spot. They do offer fries that have pastrami topping it which, in retrospect, I would have loved to order.
Since it was noon and we had driven, alcohol was out of the question, but Refuge had a very good offering of beers on tap and wines as well.
I wouldn't normally recommend driving out of your way for a sandwich of all things, but the pastrami here is amazing. I'll be back. And when I am back, I'll be having pastrami on top of my fries, in between bread... on everything.
San Carlos, CA
