Sundried Tomato :: 127-3 Smithtown Blvd, Nesconset

Sundried Tomato Café and Pizzeria is tucked away in the middle of the Nesconset Plaza Shopping Center on Smithtown Boulevard. You could easily miss it, but don’t! They have a more interesting menu than your average pizza/pasta joint.

Jennifer ate:

The Da Vinci Panini (without chicken) — ($8.50)

I’ll be honest. I’ve eaten at Sundried Tomato at least a half a dozen times and have tried only two things, both of them paninis. I don’t know why. Probably because I’m not a big pasta eater, or maybe because they were both so good, there’s no need for me to try anything else.

I suppose it wouldn’t be a post of mine if I didn’t mention how COLD it was inside. I’m still trying to understand why restaurants cannot regulate their thermostats properly. Perhaps they have only one thermostat and it’s located in the kitchen. But how hard would it be to install a two-zone system. Moving on…

My two menu-items-of-choice are The Da Vinci Panini without chicken, and the Calabrese Panini. All of their paninis come with a mini gravy boat-full of tasty macaroni salad, and a side of dipping sauce/dressing. For The Da Vinci, the dipping sauce is a balsamic concoction that is perfectly suited to the sandwich. Fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil on a toasted ciabata roll. They really pile on the mozzarella cheese, which is tasty, but can get to be too much at times. What else can I say? It’s delicious. I only wish they had some outdoor seating for nice days so I can enjoy my food without shivering.

The bottom line:

The Da Vinci Panini without chicken – very, very good.
Overall rating: If you’re local and you haven’t tried Sundried, I’d suggest a visit… soon!

Chuck ate:

Crispy Chicken Panini ($8.50)

Yes, Chuck did eat here too, and he did eat the Crispy Chicken Panini. Only, I can’t get him to write a review about it so suffice it to say he enjoyed it!

Johnnie’s Subside :: 75 West Main Street, Smithtown

Johnnie’s subside is a small hero shop (just west of Schubert’s Auto Body) that’s been around since 1970. If you’ve driven down Main Street in the past 3+ decades, you’ve certainly passed by, and most likely have eaten at (or at least heard about) Johnnie’s Subside.

Jennifer ate:

Provolone Hero on Whole Wheat ($6.95)

I was reasonably sure there would be few options for a healthy-eating vegetarian at a hard-core sub shop, and my suspicions were verified quickly. While it was somewhat reassuring to see that Johnnie’s now have whole wheat hero rolls, it was dismaying to see only two viable options on the menu. Eggplant parmesan was the obvious choice, but since it was close to 90˚ and 100% humidity today, I opted for provolone and swiss on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, onion, oregano and oil and vinegar.

This is not unlike any sandwich you can get at Blimpie or Subway, and was not as tasty. I’m not sure how a whole wheat roll can be so completely flavorless, as was the iceberg lettuce, onion, and diluted vinegar. The tomato and oregano were the only ingredients with any flavor, but that makes for a pretty boring sandwich.

The garlic pickle, which we shared, was just an average dill pickle. The garlic flavor was nearly non-existent and the pickle itself wasn’t especially crisp or fresh. We didn’t finish it between us. The iced tea that came with Chuck’s sandwich (free with any hot hero) was actually tasty and I believe it is made fresh on premisis.

For the price, the sandwiches are remarkably large (I could barely finish half!). If filling your stomach is the top priority, with flavor and nutrition far below, then by all means, stop by Johnnie’s for a sandwich. Otherwise, you’d do just as well at Subway or Quiznos, and you’ll probably enjoy more flavor less expense.

The bottom line:
Provolone Hero on Whole Wheat – Boring and virtually flavor-free.
Overall rating: You might want to walk on by. There are so many good places to eat in Smithtown. Just read our other posts!

Chuck ate:

Philly Steak w/ Onions & Muenster ($8.45)
Garlic Pickle ($1.35)

I’ve lived in Hauppauge most of my life and have been around Smithtown since my dad took me to get my first haircut at Mr. JP’s (which is still around, BTW). I know of Subside, I’ve eaten there before and it does have it’s good points. My brother swears by it (even makes special trips to Smithtown just to eat there) Price-wise it’s reasonable, especially if you’re hungry since the subs are enormous (seriously, they’re impossibly large) and for the price, it’s good stuff.

I gotta tell you, though, maybe this was just a bad day, but this outing at Subside was unappealing (which I was surprised about). Jennifer and I wanted to make a quick lunch stop today (since we’re quite busy) and decided to get something to go instead of having a sit-down lunch. Subside seemed like a good bet.

I went with the Philly Steak since I’ve had it here before and really enjoyed it (plus I was in the mood for it). I would have assumed that the default cheese for a Philly Steak would be American (since that is what was done the other times I’ve had the sandwich), but it was made with Muenster. The odd thing is that I wasn’t asked what I wanted, but I figured, hey, let’s try something different, right? The hero was hot, but the meat was a bit sinewy and bland and without the bolder flavor of American cheese, the sandwich fell kinda flat for me. The onions were not as caramelized as they should have been and were thus less sweet. The pickle was good, but it’s tough to f’ up a pickle.

The bottom line:
Philly Steak: big sandwich, not much flavor
Overall rating: Certainly a better bet than Subway, with large sandwiches and NY-style attitude. But with its inconsistent quality, it may be a catch-as-catch-can.