McAlister's Deli

McAlister's Deli opened last week on Wanamaker in Topeka. This is the fourth restaurant to open there in about three weeks. The deli opened Friday, (it had a soft opening Thursday), and every day since I've heard the line's been out the door at lunch time. I went at 3 p.m. so it was busy but it wasn't packed and the line definitely wasn't out the door.

Pasta salad

It's a nice, newly-built restaurant with booths and tables. You walk up to the counter and order, then a server brings you your food. The menu was like most delis but with a variety of baked potatoes added. I only had the appetite for a sandwich, so soon I plan to return and try one of their many baked potatoes because they all looked good. Each sandwich comes with a choice of side, pasta salad, potato salad, bagged chips, fresh fruit, coleslaw etc. 

I decided to get the McAlister's Club -- 13 layers high, with honey mustard, Black Forest ham, smoked turkey, bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato all on wheat toast. It comes with a pickle and a side, I got fresh fruit. I was able to try the pasta salad, too but I wasn't too impressed. The noodles were curly and not done enough for me, tossed in a pesto with small pieces of bell peppers and black olives. It was alright, but not as good as it could have been.

The sandwich was pretty good, and it was big enough to fill me up. I wasn't able to eat the entire thing, it's a good thing my

The McAlister's Club

husband was with me, he ate the rest. The honey mustard was tangy and sweet and was a nice change on a club sandwich. My only problem is that the cooks could have spread the meat out on the bread more so the middle wasn't thick with meat and the edges with none. I had to take mine apart and spread out the meat evenly. As you can see in the picture, there seems to be a lot of meat, but it's really just bunched up in the middle.

The fresh fruit was fresh fruit: Pineapple, grapes, honeydew, and cantaloupe. It was good but it was also just fruit. I didn't think the portion looked like much, but with the pickle I was happy.

I want to return and try a potato and see what all the rave is about. I've heard from a couple people that the spuds are tasty. I must say though, I wouldn't wait in a line that went out the door, but I do plan to return. Stay tuned for pictures and my review.