St. Benedict Street Sandwiches

I just wrote about St. Benedict Street Marketplace, as it's where Jen had her rehearsal dinner, but my first experience was earlier that day at lunch. I met up with a former professor (and the chair of our TV/Radio Production Department) for lunch. I hadn't seen him in a long, long time, so it was great to catch up with him. He also brought along a graduating senior student, and I talked with her about where she'd like to go, and gave what I hope was helpful advice. But this post is really about the sammiches. ;)

I stopped in during the busy lunch hour, and the place was hopping. We took a seat by the window and browsed through the menu. I was a bit busy talking to Dr. H and hadn't quite decided when our server came up. We asked for a 2 more minutes, but it was more like 20 before another server came back and took our order (I'd read reviews online that said the food was great but service was spotty). The student joining us, Andrea, ordered the chicken salad, which comes on a croissant. She said it's what she always orders because it is just that good. I thought about it for a second, but then something else caught my eye.

I had noticed the Tori sandwich (Andrea explained a lot of the employees come up with their own sandwich combos, and they get their creations named after them), which had chicken, pepper jack cheese, bacon, and ranch dressing on a sourdough bread. Yes, please! Dr. H ordered the same.

As I had read earlier, the service was pretty slow. It took us about 20 minutes to get the food once we ordered it. I didn't mind having the chance to catch up with Dr. H, but I was also technically still on Maid-of-Honor duty, so I was watching the clock and hoping I wouldn't have to rush out once the food came!

While the food was a bit slow in coming, they never let your iced tea glass get more than half-empty. I drank more tea last week than I think I've had all year in NYC! Fortunately, it was excellent tea. NYC may have just about everything, but I've yet to find more than a place or two that can really nail iced tea. I never have that problem in OK or TX!

Then came the sandwich. It took a while to get there, but oh, was it worth the wait! I didn't realize the chicken was sliced, deli-style, but I really enjoyed it. The sandwich was perfectly toasted--crispy and crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside, snaptastically crunchy bacon, hot and spicy cheese, and just the slightest hint of ranch (I've never been a huge fan of ranch, so I was glad it was in the background). I was surprised how awesome it was! Seriously. Yum.

I'd chosen the fruit salad as my side, and it comes with a little dollop of whipped cream on top. Bonus! The grapes and strawberries were super-fresh and super-sweet all on their own, and I even ate a piece or two of canteloupe. I ate everything but the melon, which is probably my least-favorite fruit. It was a lovely, bright, cooling companion to the tangy, zippy sandwich.

This sandwich was absolutely outstanding. Dr. H and I ordered the same thing, and we both agreed it was awesome. If I ever find myself back in Shawnee, I'll be sure to try something new. Okay, I'll probably just get THIS sandwich again, but whoever is with me will have to let me try theirs. ;)

Benedict Street Marketplace
613 N Pottenger Ave
Shawnee, OK 74801
(405) 273-2001 (Phone)

Rehearsal Dinner

My friend Jenezuela got married this week, and her rehearsal dinner was at a popular place in Shawnee, OK (where she & I attended college and met for the first time). Benedict Street Marketplace is tucked away outside of downtown, but it appears to always be packed.

We started first with a salad of mixed greens and pecans, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, goat cheese, and blackberry vinaigrette. The dressing was delicious, and the vegetables were super-fresh, but I wish I had thought to get it on the side like Laura did...by the end, most of my greens were swimming above a pool of sweet dressing, so I only ate half my salad. All the more room for dessert later, right? ;)

Our dinner that night was a choice of brisket made from grass-fed Oklahoma cows, or chicken. Um, yeah. Brisket. Exactly! It was delicious. I heard someone say it was a little fatty and I said "I know! Isn't that the best??" Not so fatty that it made me gag (because too much visible fat does still freak me out), but just enough to make it melty and flavorful. YUM.

The sides were a twice-baked potato and asparagus spears with Hollandaise sauce. These were great! The potatoes were amazing, with a hefty dose of cracked black pepper, and the asparagus spears still had crunch to them. I even enjoyed the buttery sauce that went with them, making sure to clean my plate.

Sadly, I had to leave before dessert to pick up ABF, who was arriving that night from NYC. They were kind enough, however, to pack up an entire dinner for him, since I knew he'd be hungry when I saw him. The choices for dessert were either cheesecake or carrot cake. I heard rave reviews for both. I also had lunch at this spot earlier that day, so that post will be coming as soon as one of my lunch companions mails me her photos!

Benedict Street Marketplace
613 N Pottenger Ave
Shawnee, OK 74801
(405) 273-2001 (Phone)