Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Hamming it up
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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Most of these "ham delis," as I call them, are pretty much the same. And while Padow's is not substantially different than the rest, they're good enough for a mention.
I ate a recent lunch there and found the food to be fresh, the sandwiches hot and made to my order with soups and sides. The price was certainly right. I got a respectable and filling Brunswick Stew and sandwich for less than $8. A fellow diner had the grilled chicken, bacon and cheddar, served on a fresh Kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato and dressing for only $4.95.
Padow's, a small franchise that started in Richmond from a meat and ham store, has grown to a small franchise with about a dozen restaurant/specialty stores. . Though mostly a restaurant, the Roanoke location carries shelves of traditional Hickory smoked and honey cured Virginia hams, city and country hams, smoked turkey breasts, bacon, peanuts, canned items and their brand of coffees. You can pick up a catalog to order these items along with mixes and candies.
The restaurant serves made-to-order sandwiches of great variety: ham biscuits, veggie subs, salami, bologna, hot dogs, knockwurst, corned beef, pastrami, turkey, roast beef, ham, BLTs and barbecue. You can mix it up with a choice of breads, toppings, cheeses and condiments. Salad sandwiches offered include egg, tuna, country ham and chicken salad.
Combination sandwiches are delicious and include a nice looking club, roast beef, Italian sub, and Jason's house special (Smithfield ham, turkey breast, and American cheese). For $8.95 (about the most expensive thing you'll find on the menu) you can choose from a handful of "Mile High Sandwiches" with such names as Destroyer, Torpedo, Virginia and Manhattan.
This size of sandwich comes standard at any New York City deli, but here in the South we're not so accustomed to thickly stacked sandwiches. The Earl of Sandwich, who invented this method of eating meat and condiments without the aid of cutlery, would be astounded at these towers of meat and bread.
Having said all of that, of course there is a "lighter side" to the menu, featuring chicken Caesar salad, chicken salad platter, chef's salad, small salad, garden salad, tuna salad and something called the "triple decker salad," which is like a sandwich on lettuce but without the bread. It's a combination salad with white tuna, all-white chicken salad, potato salad and tomato wedges. Thank heavens there are NO wraps (hate 'em) or claims about "low-carb" items.
These ham/restaurant/delis are a good quick solution for office parties. They also do a lot with platters that could feed an army. Most are priced to feed 12-15 people, but you can get combination platters to-go that will feed up to 30 people for $119.95.
You can even get a submarine billed big enough to serve 32 people. It's a 5-foot sub with all the trimmings. I actually tried this for a party once (from Subway) and found it to be a quick, clean and fun way to feed a party, providing you add some nice sides to keep it interesting.
Padow's offers box lunches and party platters and, of course, ham biscuits by the dozen, $9.95, or 20 bite size, $9.95.
The restaurant is bright and clean and well organized. They were doing a brisk business one recent cloudy Saturday when I was there. The service is friendly and fast. They're open every day except Sunday.
Padow's Hams & Deli
Townside Festival Shopping Center
3617 Franklin Road SW
Roanoke, Va. 24014
(540) 345-4267
