EVERETT — Santa needs to add a special category to his famous list: for restaurants that expand their hours so holiday shoppers don’t go hungry.
Sandwich Xpress owners Rick and Tasha Schwartz would be at the top of the list because they’ve decided to open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays through the holidays.
The Schwartzes opened their small, East Coast deli-style restaurant about a year ago, and Herald readers recently sent e-mails recommending a visit because of the house-roasted meats and house-made soups. One reader wrote, “…the best pastrami sandwich that I’ve experienced outside of Manhattan!”
After some shopping, my friend and I looked forward to our trip to Sandwich Xpress because we avoid chain sandwich shops with their pre-packaged, assembly-line system.
The Sandwich Express experience includes seven house specials, or you can build your own from one of seven breads, five cheeses, a host of spreads and veggies, and nine meat choices. The turkey, roast beef, corned beef and pastrami are roasted in the deli’s kitchen. Whole sandwiches cost $6.75 and soups are $2.75 for a bowl. Soups include a daily special plus chicken noodle or matzo ball and vegetarian vegetable. There are six salads: Caesar, chef, Cobb, garden, fruit and sesame ($2.75 to 4.25).
For our lunch, Rick Schwartz made our sandwiches. My friend ordered a “Swiss Alps,” which is made with turkey, bacon and Swiss cheese that’s heated and served on a warmed French roll. My friend added lettuce and sweet-hot deli-style mustard that’s also made by the Schwartzes. I had the Reuben on caraway rye. We added side orders of house-made macaroni and potato salads ($1.25 each) and sodas from the fountain.
The deli is on the corner of a shopping center and across the street from the Mariner Park and Ride. The corner location with its expanse of windows gives Sandwich Xpress an airy, spacious feeling that’s enhanced by the mirror on the back wall of the dining area. The tables and chairs are a fun combination of black wrought iron with tile tops.
My friend’s sandwich was a great choice because it had lots of turkey and cheese on a fresh, chewy roll. It was just as delicious as Herald readers predicted. My sandwich, stacked high with corned beef and sauerkraut, was a slippery, tasty delight, and our salads were better than any in recent memory.
As I paid for a freshly baked peanut butter cookie and headed toward more shopping, Schwartz said, “Tell all your friends about Sandwich Xpress being open on Saturday.”
I might tell Santa, too.
Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review and arrive unannounced. The Herald pays their tabs.
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