Damn Yankees Deli and Catering

 

Located at 234 North Main Street in Kernersville, Damn Yankees Deli and Catering offers sub sandwiches for lunch and dinner. It is open from 10:30-7:30 Tuesday-Friday, 10:30-4 on Saturday, and closed Sundays. Hero of the Day sandwich specials change regularly. Online ordering is available.

 

Kernersville isn’t where you’d expect to find a legit New York-style sandwich shop, but here we are. Damn Yankees came about when a Long Island couple repurposed the former Deli on Main, revamping the menu and adding a lot of personal touches. Like many classic sandwich shops, it isn’t much to look at – blue walls, a deli case, a fridge, and a few tables – but the menu is where it really shines.

 

About that menu: Damn Yankees boasts more than two dozen sandwiches, and that’s excluding kid’s menu and daily special offerings. Each can be turned into a salad or paired with a side salad, and there are a few desserts as well. They even have knishes! The sandwiches range from simple classics (a BLT or a chicken salad) to glorious-sounding meat-and-gravy concoctions. While the meats are Boar’s Head, the breads and sauces are all made in-house

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For our first visit, my wife and I opted for the daily special (a Basilicole with balsamic chicken, basil pesto, tomatoes, arugula, and fresh mozzarella) and a Meat Head (pepperoni, salami, meatballs, melted mozzarella and sauce) with a side of potato salad. Earlier reviews suggested that Damn Yankees was still finding its footing – and adequate staffing – and so I anticipated a bit of a wait. Fortunately, there proved not to be much of one. For made-to-order, food was prepared fairly quickly, and co-owner Steve was a personable presence at the register.

 

Damn Yankees may charge more than most – both six-inch sandwiches were north of ten apiece – but you get your money’s worth here. They decidedly do not skimp on the toppings. The Meat Head lived up to its Ron Swansonesque name, offering very good meatballs and a quality tomato sauce (fresh and just slightly sweet). The soft, thick hero roll held everything together nicely. Even the potato salad exceeded expectations. The Basilicole was tasty as well though we’ll probably go in a different direction next time.

 

Kernersville is lucky to have Damn Yankees. As a New Jersian, I can say they make a damn good sandwich. 

Deadpool & Wolverine

Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), the soldier-turned-mercenary known as Deadpool, applies to become an Avenger but is rejected and also splits with his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). He settles into a quotidian life before he is apprehended by the Time Variance Authority. TVA operative Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) informs him that his timeline is deteriorating due to the death of James Logan “Wolverine” Howlett (Hugh Jackman), who was pivotal to the timeline’s existence. Paradox offers Wade an opportunity to join a different timeline, but Wade instead decides to hop across timelines in order to find a still-living Wolverine who can save his own.

 

Crude humor, violent slapstick, and fourth-wall-breaking self-awareness are Deadpool’s shtick, and that will always be divisive. Even those who find the character and sensibility off-putting, however, should at least be able to appreciate Reynolds’ wholehearted embrace of the role. Here, he’s paired with another performer whose dedication matches if not outpaces his own. Now in his mid-50s, Jackman has played Wolverine for nearly a quarter-century, subjecting himself to a ridiculous diet-and-workout regimen each time. It’s to his credit that this portrayal is markedly different, and not just because he finally dons a comics-accurate costume. In making Jackman a leading man, prior films also romanticized the character, accentuating his haunted, Byronic qualities. Here, he’s still haunted, but he’s also violent, surly, profane, and frequently drunk. His abrasiveness is both truer to the source material and openly contemptuous of past attempts to make the character more marketable and kid-friendly.

This reverence masquerading as irreverence can be found throughout Deadpool & Wolverine. There is biting-the-hand humor aplenty, but there is also a genuine affection for characters whose days have passed or who were never given their cinematic due to begin with. Within the film, the Void – a place outside of time first introduced in the Loki series – serves as a dumping ground for the discarded and a way for Marvel to pay homage to the characters it licensed (to Fox and other studios) before regaining creative rights. A list of Void inhabitants would spoil several (mostly welcome) surprises, but for viewers of a certain age, nostalgia is inevitable.

 

The Void is also home to Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), who serves as the film’s primary antagonist. For all intents and purposes Charles Xavier’s evil twin, she has all of his telepathic power and none of his empathy or morality. Corrin gives a fascinating performance here, often playing Cassandra as something like a curious child even as she inflicts horrible punishments on those who defy her. Unfortunately, her screen time is relatively brief, and the role as a whole feels underbaked. The same can arguably be said for several other supporting roles though Leslie Uggams as Wade’s blind, cantankerous, coke fiend of a roommate continues to steal every scene she’s in.

 

Story is always secondary to action and comedy in a movie like this, but even by those standards, Deadpool & Wolverine is narratively very thin. Fortunately, there’s enough excitement to make up for it, thanks to Shawn Levy’s surehanded direction. The expected throwdown between the title characters does not disappoint, and the franchise continues its proud tradition of treating drawn-out brawls as quirky music videos. Add to that a number of amusing Easter eggs (a shoe store, Liefeld’s Just Feet, mocks the inability of Deadpool’s comic book creator to draw them), and you’re in for a fun – if shallow – ride.

Taco Street

 

Located at 275 North Elm Street inside of the Stock + Grain food hall in Downtown High Point, Taco Street offers Mexican cuisine from 11-9 Monday-Saturday and 12-8 on Sunday. Catering and sangrias are available.

 

“Overpaying at Stock + Grain” is getting ready to join death and taxes among life’s certainties. Thus, the operative question shouldn’t be “Is the food overpriced?” but rather “Is the food good enough for me to not mind?” In the case of Taco Street, the food hall’s newest tenant, the answer, so far, seems to be “Maybe.”

Positives first: the menu here is commendably huge, and it boasts a few things not easily found elsewhere. As befits the name, you can get tacos with a variety of toppings: everything from pastor/fish/steak/chicken/birria to chicharrons, squash, or Hawaiian BBQ. If tacos don’t scratch your itch, there are also pastelitos, “drowned” taquitos, and pambazo sandwiches. On variety alone, Taco Street is winning.

I ordered a pair of tacos – one pastor and one mango fish – to go. At $4.50 each, they were (surprise) no value, but they were prepared quickly and delivered in the flavor department. The pastor especially was spicier than expected and very tasty. The mango fish was more subdued. Though not a disappointment, I don’t know that I’d get it again.

While High Point has an abundance of Mexican eateries, few have the street food emphasis that Taco Street does. That makes it worth investigating. Your taste buds will likely be happy even if your wallet will not.

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

In 2022, Salman Rushdie was about to give a public talk when an attacker rushed the stage and stabbed him nearly to death. Though he lost an eye in the process, Rushdie recovered. Knife is the culmination of that recovery. In it, Rushdie offers an unnervingly frank and measured account of the attack and the debilitating effect that it had on his life. The book is more than that, however. Rushdie, who has faced death threats for more than three decades, explores the perils – from censorship to violence – that writers increasingly face. He confronts the controversy and caricature (be it that of a hedonist or an egoist) long attached to his name. And yet, his message is fundamentally an optimistic one. He seeks to understand what happened to him, he expresses gratitude to all who stood by and supported him (especially his wife, Eliza), and he maintains a sharp sense of humor throughout. Despite the book’s power, Knife is nearly undone by one sizeable creative blunder: a self-indulgent series of imagined conversations between Rushdie and his would-be assassin goes on entirely too long. There are other irksome bits here (humble Rushdie is not), but overall, Knife’s vitality and humanity make it a worthwhile read.

Quanto Basta

 Located at 680 West 4^th Street in Downtown Winston-Salem, Quanto Basta offers Italian cuisine from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday (closed Sunday-Tuesday). There are nightly food and drink specials. Online ordering and family takeout meals are available.

 

Classier and pricier than a neighborhood red sauce joint but more modestly priced than Cibo, Quanto Basta is a solid option that unfortunately falls into the “looks better than it is” category. The downtown location is convenient, and the restaurant offers an attractive, intimate space. However, the acoustics and table placement are such that it can get loud when it’s near capacity. As Quanto Basta doesn’t do reservations, your best bet is to arrive early.

 

The menu here is short but well-rounded. It features salads, antipasti/appetizers, pasta dishes, entrees, and pizzas. Your classics (caprese, spaghetti and meatballs, eggplant parm, etc.) are accounted for, but you can also opt for the less expected such as parmesan and pork belly crab dip or short ribs with gnocchi, charred carrots, and tomato jam. The wine and drink offerings are similarly versatile.

 

Our group of four went with caprese and focaccia al forno starters and then shared stuffed peppers parmesan, eggplant parmesan, sausage & clams, and baked ziti with meatballs, followed by a tiramisu trifle for dessert.



We didn’t have long to wait for the food – service here is attentive and efficient – and the caprese was beautifully plated. However, it could have benefitted from salt. Flavors in general were understated even in dishes that were otherwise well-composed and satisfying. The sausage & clams came with a delicious hunk of herby focaccia, which QB would do well to offer as a side. Tiramisu in trifle form (layered inside a mason jar) is a concept whose novelty exceeds its practicality. It tasted great (if you like mocha), but by the time we got toward the bottom, everything was soggy.

 

Quanto Basta’s menu and décor are winners, but the food itself was a mixed bag. I wouldn’t rule out a return here though it wouldn’t be at the top of my list.

Fig and Olive Cafe

Located at 4507 West Market Street inside of Nazareth Bread, Fig and Olive Café offers coffee drinks and baked goods. It is open from 7-6 Monday-Thursday, 7-9 Friday and Saturday, and closed Sunday. Outdoor seating is available.

Greensboro is reaching the point of coffee shop oversaturation, but even amid the abundance of other options, Fig and Olive manages to stand out. The coffee drinks include homemade syrups not easily found elsewhere such as fig and honey or pistachio cream. So too it goes with the desserts, which include everything from eclairs to crookies (chocolate chip cookie stuffed croissant rolls, the kind of mad science we can all get behind).

I opted for an iced karak/adani chai, and, after being wracked by indecision (thankfully, staff here are patient and courteous) at the pastry case, a Biscoff New York roll. Prices here aren’t cheap – the 16-ounce chai ran $6 – but that and calories are likely to be your only regrets.

The karak chai was very good: stronger than the more familiar masala chai albeit not overwhelming. The best way to describe the Biscoff roll is “wrong in a good way.” Imagine layers of buttery, flaky pastry stuffed with cookie butter. “Delicious” doesn’t do it justice.

One final note: Fig and Olive is bright and clean with plenty of comfortable seating. If your memories of Nazareth are of it seeming slightly run down, prepare to see this side of the house in a very different light.

If Fig and Olive existed when I lived within walking distance of it, I might have spent a dangerous amount of time here. As it now stands, it’s a bit of a trek, but it’s one that I’ll gladly make. Those who live closer, go here now and enjoy it.

Waco Review Roundup

My brother-in-law’s wedding took me to the Lonestar State for the first time and gave me a slew of things to review, so here goes. Hours and locations can be found by following the businesses' links.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

A large airport with seemingly endless runways, DFW has a few bright spots but overall did not make for a particularly pleasant experience. The airport seems to be in good shape and looked neither dated nor depressing. The terminal-connecting Skylink train ran reliably every two minutes. Each terminal that we visited had a variety of shopping and dining options.

Like other large airports, foot traffic can be intense at times, and that much was to be expected. Less expected was our outgoing flight changing gates and terminals multiple times in quick succession or sniffing dogs handled by police in tactical gear, both of which made for a stressful layover.

 

Waco Regional Airport

The antithesis of DFW, ACT is a tiny regional airport that manages maybe three commercial flights per day. It offers no amenities – expected given its size – but the few folks working here are friendly. That said, TSA certainly took its time opening the security line for our outgoing flight, which made clearing security longer and less efficient than it could have been.

 

Springhill Suites Waco Woodway

Located a short distance away from Waco proper, this Springhill Suites location made for a comfortable home base during our trip. The front desk staff, housekeeping staff, and Jim the bartender were all pleasant and courteous. The room was spacious and the bed comfortable, and everything worked as intended. Aside from a brief spell of what sounded like hammering, the building was mercifully quiet. The nightly rate wasn’t unreasonable, either. The bathroom lacked a ceiling fan, but otherwise, there was little fault to be found here, and I’m glad that we went with Springhill.

 

Union Grove

Coming from a city where “food hall” is synonymous with “overpriced,” I found UnionGrove to be a breath of fresh air. That isn’t to say that the offerings here were dirt cheap but rather that I didn’t feel like the food hall setting was a license to jack up prices.

Union Grove boasts a respectable variety of vendors for its size, and the offerings range from Cajun to Asian to pizza and wings and more. I opted for the ironically named Health Camp, the Woodway outpost of a longstanding Waco burger-and-shake joint. While the shake selections looked tempting, I limited myself to a Health Burger (cheeseburger), tots, and a drink.

At the risk of courting pitchforks, the burger was a bit underwhelming. It was a fast food style single patty, very thin, and though tasty enough when dressed (lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup), not really worth $7. I realize that for locals, nostalgia is a powerful lure (Greensboro’s Beef-Burger had similar adherents), but if you didn’t grow up with Health Camp’s burgers, I’d have to believe that you could do better. To their credit, the tots were perfectly crisp and priced right.

One final note: Union Grove has plenty of seating, but it can also get rather loud. There’s an adjoining arcade, so expect kids running around. If the acoustics don’t bother you, however, then the warehouse atmosphere can be fun.

 

Common Grounds Woodway

The Woodway branch of this Waco coffee vendor is everything you’d want in a local coffee shop. There’s a drive-thru for patrons on the go, but there’s also plenty of room inside. With Slow Rise housed in the same building, you needn’t look far to find food to go with your drink.

Common Grounds’ menu is surprisingly deep and varied. You can get a classic drip coffee or espresso drink here, take on a fun flavor from one of the house specialties, or go with a multi-shot selection from the Sleep is Overrated section if you need an extra pick-me-up.  Common Grounds’ calling card is a housemade “Secret Sauce” syrup (spoiler alert: you can buy it by the bottle and ingredients are listed if you’re curious) and the Cowboy Coffee concoctions that feature it. If that isn’t enough, there’s also a rotating seasonal menu. Fortunately, the staff here are patient while you make up your mind, and they’ll promptly prep whatever you order.

I ended up getting an iced Caramel Coffee Crunch: a latte with caramel and Secret Sauce. It was rather sweet (owing to the aforementioned sauce), but on a hot day when I was somewhat frazzled, it was exactly what I needed. Were I a local, I could see making Common Grounds a regular stop. It offers too many options to pass up.

 

R & S Barbecue

Named for its owners Richard and Shannon, this tiny hole-in-the-wall BBQ joint is the real deal. It offers sandwiches, meats (chicken, brisket, ribs, sausage, chopped beef, ham, or turkey) by the pound or in combination plates, and desserts. From slaw and mac n cheese to peach cobbler and banana pudding, the accompaniments are BBQ classics though you can also get nachos and tacos here too.

I stopped by for a brisket sandwich. At $14 with chips included, it wasn’t cheap, but it was absolutely worth it. For starters, the sandwich was sizeable, a two-hander if there ever was one. It was also very tasty. The moist, smoky brisket was among the best I’ve ever had, and it paired well with pickles and onions. Though the meat delivered plenty of flavor, the housemade sauce added a welcome tang.

 

R & S may not be as big, as storied, or as well-known as some of Waco’s other BBQ establishments, but if you’re coming for the food above all, you can’t go wrong here.

 

Waco Mammoth National Monument

Home to a dig site featuring a slew of Columbian mammoth fossils, the Waco Mammoth National Monument is good for a quick diversion. $6 gets you a guided tour of the dig site. It isn’t particularly large, but it’s a welcome reprieve from the sun on a hot day, and the work undertaken to unearth and preserve the fossils is impressive. Guides are friendly and knowledgeable.

 

Fabled Bookshop & Café

This quaint downtown Waco bookshop offers a strong selection of books, bites, and beverages. It’s easy to lose track of time here taking in all they have to offer. While books are the primary focus, Fabled also features games, puzzles, stationery, and more. Shelves are clearly labeled, and staff seem upbeat.

 

Union Hall

The OG older brother to Woodway’s Union Grove, Union Hall is a bigger operation in downtown Waco. It boasts an impressive selection of vendors, including those specializing in Cajun, Cambodian, Thai, sushi, pho, Mexican, burgers, wings, pizza, juices, teas, and edible cookie dough, among others. As befits its size, Union Hall draws plenty of foot traffic though there is enough seating to go around.

My wife and I split a barbacoa pupusa plate from Pupusa Paradise and a tamale bowl from Wacool Tacos & Tamales. We then followed that up with iced matchas from Zuke’s Tea Bar and chocolate chip cookie dough from Cookie Dough Bliss. The pupusas were thin, crisp, and quite tasty, and the accompanying slaw was wonderfully tangy. The tamale bowl went heavy on the cheese and sauce, but the actual tamales themselves did not disappoint. The teas were refreshing though one was ordered with boba, which they forgot to include.

 

Nothing at Union Hall was terribly expensive ($7 for the pupusa plate and under $5 for a 24 ounce matcha), and the variety makes it hard to pass up. It may not offer the best of anything, but if you want to try several different cuisines in one spot, look no further.

 

Pivovar

A combination Czech brewery/restaurant/hotel/beer spa, Pivovar offers a one-of-a-kind experience. We paid the restaurant side of the operation a dinner visit and had an all-around terrific meal.

The ambiance here is attractive, blending wood and green leather with a view of the brewery. Our server for the evening (Ian?) was also tending bar, and he handled both roles capably without breaking a sweat. A manager later came around to check on us, which speaks to a dedication to customer satisfaction.

Pivovar’s drinks menu features pilsners and lagers brewed in-house while the food offerings have a Germanic bent. You can still eat lighter here (salads and sandwiches), but anyone looking to indulge in sausage, schnitzel, or steak will be pleased with what’s available.

My wife and I split a pretzel starter and then opted for the sausage platter and the classic pocket schnitzel, respectively. The pretzel was large, soft, and well-salted, and it came with a trio of dips. Of them, the beer mustard was commendably robust, but the honey mustard and beer cheese were more enjoyable. The sausage platter included what appeared to be a bratwurst and two other sausages alongside corn ribs and sauerkraut. All of the sausages were tasty and offered a firm bite while the corn tasted fresh from the grill. While the schnitzel would have benefitted from a vegetable pairing, everything on the plate was excellent, from the garlicky mashed potatoes to the schnitzel’s crisp batter, juicy pork, and cheesy filling. Dessert options included a crème brulee cheesecake that I couldn’t pass up, and I’m glad that I had enough room for it. The graham cracker crust had spice notes that reminded me of carrot cake, and the thin layer of sugar topping was very satisfying. My wife also spoke highly of the dark lager.

 

Pivovar isn’t cheap, and some of the menu offerings seem like reaches (i.e. $18 for a meatless salad). However, our entrees ($21 and $19) were reasonable for the quality of the food.

That Pivovar offers a kind of cuisine I don’t usually find made it attractive, but the combination of ambiance, service, and well-executed food made it memorable. Do yourself a favor and Czech it out.