Just Good Food Review

To sandwich, or to not sandwich, that is the question. If you're willing to take a hop skip downstairs to a basement, you can sandwich. Just Good Food is nestled on Rose Street, just two blocks from downtown. If you're coming from Kalamazoo College, your land marker is the Radisson where you turn left. Next, you keep your eyes peeled for Rose Street Market, which is one the left side of the street. There is a sign for Just Good Food, and if you walk inside the building, you'll see a ballroom. This is not what you want. What you want is the flight of stairs going to the basement, where you will find the deli. There are more signs if you get confused.

Once inside, you'll look up and see the lovely florescent lights that have a half glass bowl on top of them. It's very retro. If you look left, there are wooden tables and chairs. To the right, where you avoid a blue trimmed white pillar-because basements need support, you'll see the deli. It glows white, and the glass dome covers all the refrigerated "sides" you could want. The sandwiches are out of sight, because they're prepared fresh. To choose what you want, you look at the row of black signs atop the deli case and choose a sandwich. That is a harder task then said, because it looked like there were more than twenty four signs. The ones on the left side had meat, and the ones on the right were vegetarian. My two companions and I stared at the choices until we threw our up and hands and guessed. Each of us got a whole sandwich, one side, and a drink. My side I had was the Curry Chicken, which had a thick layer of mayonnaise on both the chicken and cashews. There was a faint curry taste, but nothing I would recommend. One poor friend had the Pesto Chicken, which had softer chicken chunks and green peppers, but only tasted of mayo. The best side was the Green Beans Gruyere, which tasted of lemon vinegar that covered the almonds, green beans and cheese in a sparkling combination. Finnegan's Choice was a different combo of coleslaw, cheese and ham on rye bread. It reminded me of a Ruben and was served hot. The Secret Dan's Ham had the softest sourdough bread I've ever encountered, and on the inside the sandwich the ham was layered with mustard and the soft crunch of tomato and lettuce provided contrast to an otherwise okay, but fresh, sandwich. Lincoln's Walk in the Woods was sliced chicken breasts covered with melted cheese and lettuce, also on sourdough. I thought it was rather plain, but the friend who had it is a huge cheese snob and loved it. In the background to this meal was smooth jazz coming from the speakers, and the place had emptied out by the time we finished.

Nonetheless, Just Good Food is a place to go during your downtown lunch break, grab a sandwich and eat somewhere else. But I wouldn't make the trek down town for a sandwich, I would only go if I was in the vicinity. It's not a pilgrimage kind of place. Everything was fresh, and the leftovers where just as good on the second day. A bit of advice, don't order a whole sandwich- it's enough for two people. The service is very friendly and helpful when you have to wrap up your seconds though.

The basement has handicapped access by an elevator, and there are kids chairs. For drinks, there are assorted soft drinks stored in an upright standing cooler. They also have coffee. I had a Stewart's Cream Soda, all vanilla fizzy bubbles in glass, that contrasted well with the ham sandwich I ate. Prices for sandwich range from five to eight dollars, around five if you get a half sandwich. You can also split a whole sandwich for an extra dollar, which is very economical. Sides are four dollars. For three people who ordered whole sandwiches, one side and a drink each, the total came to just under fifty dollars. You could also just order the "sides" by the pound from the deli, and it ranged from Thai cucumber salad to a homemade fruit salad, which looked pretty good. Their hours run from 9am to 9pm, except Saturdays, which are from 9am until 4pm. On Sundays Just Good Food is closed.

If I was an office worker who wanted a healthy place to eat lunch for not very much money, Just Good Food would be a great place to do it. As a Kalamazoo student though, I could always make myself a sandwich. If you're bringing your parents to town, don't eat here. It's not that kinda place.

Curry Chicken and Secret Dan's Ham

Pesto Chicken and Finnegan's Choice

 

Lincoln's Walk in the Woods and Green Beans Gruyere