#46: A Slice of Goodness

I’ve been looking forward to A Slice of Goodness since starting this mission.  It was one of the first little places I started to notice that I had been driving past for years without paying any attention.  Last Monday I had a good opportunity with the day off to get lunch here.  They close at 2pm so during the week it’s not normally an option for me (yes, they are open on Saturday though).  The front was slightly confusing because they share an entrance with the watch repair shop next door.  The original doors are no longer used.  Inside is a small hallway with a couple whiteboards listing specials for the day and is where you are greeted, then taken to your table.

The dining room is small, but not too cramped, with big windows that keep it well lit.  We were sat at a table towards the back wall which is covered with photos of the owners and their families.  Also this one, which might just be a random kid with an awesome tank top:

The lunch menu consists of sandwiches, soup, salad and of course pie.  The turkey bacon avocado and the turkey asparagus both sounded pretty good.  I had almost picked one of these when I saw The Burnett, which is tuna, bacon & cheddar.  I haven’t had many tuna sandwiches, probably less than 5.  I didn’t grow up with them so I never think about them as a lunch option, but for whatever reason it sounded really good this day.  I ordered it on rye bread.  Other options were sourdough, white and wheat.  Our server (who was all over the wall of photos) appeared to be the only one working the dining room that day, but he was on top of things the whole time and very friendly.  He asked each one of us during our order if we would be having any pie.  I wasn’t sure yet if I would want some or not, so I told him I might order a slice to go later.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Although not listed on the menu, Dr Pepper was available and I ordered it as usual.  It was a bit watered down and not very carbonated.  It wasn’t bad enough to send back and try for something else though.  My sandwich came out with a small scoop of potato salad, a small slice of watermelon, a slice of orange and a few grapes.  Sometimes I’m in the mood for potato salad, and this must have been one of those times because I devoured it.  I even went on to eat the watermelon, orange and grapes, which I would usually leave untouched.  All three were tasty.  All of our sandwiches came with sprouts, which we commented was nice since so many places seem to have done away with them.  Other than sprouts and the other ingredients mentioned above, my sandwich also had tomato on it.

The rye was soft and fresh, and went very well with the tuna.  Each bite of bacon was excellent, it was crispy and flavorful.  The sprouts added some additional interesting texture.  The cheddar wasn’t particularly strong, but worked well as a background flavor.  I don’t recall tasting the tomato at all, it was a pretty small slice though.  The tuna itself was great.  I’ve decided that I need to order more tuna sandwiches in the future.

Finally it was time to make a decision about pie.  I realized that it would probably be ridiculous to eat here ant not order pie.  Anytime I see A Slice of Goodness mentioned anywhere it’s almost always due to the pie.  I picked hot caramel apple.  Of course this was hot and it was also served with ice cream, so instead of taking it I just had it there.  I wasn’t in any hurry anyway.  Now, I should say that I’m usually not crazy about apple pies.  Mostly it’s the texture of apple slices which are still rubbery or have some sort of crunch to them still.  This was not that at all.  It was hard to recognize it as a slice of pie.  The ice cream scoop was plopped right in the middle of a mass of crust, apple/caramel filling, and all drizzled with more caramel.  THIS.  WAS.  AWESOME.  Everything about it was great, the crust was brilliant, the ice cream delicious and not so soft that it would melt into a puddle and the apples pretty much melted in your mouth.  I’ve heard it for years but I’m now convinced.  Best pies around.

I feel like A Slice of Goodness is a place many people have at least heard about but not tried and are curious about.  I was one of those people for a long time, and now that I’ve been there I would say to the rest of you: “Go!”  The only thing preventing 5 of 5 here was the soda.