Thursday, Feb. 04, 2010
Big Ass Sandwiches Kick Ass
Big Ass Sandwich Co. and Saloon
Setting the Table
You are entering the pleasantly relaxed world of "Who cares what the place looks like, just gimme more food!" Mike Casale and his family are working hard to make their new restaurant, Big Ass Sandwich Co. and Saloon, have an inviting atmosphere. They're still getting there.
Casale brings much culinary experience with him from Philadelphia, where he and his wife had decades of restaurant ownership experience, including having their own line of Italian sauces and foods.
Tables, both high-tops and regular height, are grouped near the front door, and tablecloths are butcher paper. To the left is a long bar with 14 retro early 1980s black leatherette bar stools, and to the right is a $1 pool table and a free-play foosball table.
The airbrushed art of Michael Tisdale adds a lot of character to the space. The local artist has painted freehand black-and-white murals on the walls depicting Italian television and movie stars, and they are crazy-good. He is working on a new one that also features regular Big Ass customers.
Down the Hatch
But even crazier-good than the art are the sandwiches. Casale makes sandwich bread fresh to order. It's flat bread, sort of a cross between pizza crust and pita, that he rolls, twirls and then grills to browned perfection. Many sandwich fillings are offered, including house-cooked pork butts, fried turkey, ham, barbecue beef brisket and top sirloin. There's even one combo with a fried egg and fried bologna.
If you order a steak and cheese, Casale will cut thin slices off a big raw top sirloin, sauté it with peppers and onions, top it with a choice of cheeses, and put that on the flatbread. On top of the meat and cheese he places freshly fried hand-cut French fries, and on top of the fries he puts his special mild oil-and-vinegar Bud Lite Beer Slaw. The bread is folded in half over the fillings to make a half-moon, secured closed with toothpicks, cut in half, wrapped in butcher paper and served.
It tastes absolutely fabulous, but that isn't the amazing part. What's incredible is that Cheese Steak sandwich costs $6.95. I told you it was crazy. Most menu items are less than $8.
A friend tried the Grilled Chicken Sandwich and loved it (he managed to eat half of it, took the rest home), and on my second visit I had one of the Big Ass Burgers. The burgers are served on the same fresh flat bread, and it's a good thing mine came with a fork and knife because it's too messy to pick up and eat, even if you were in a bathtub. But that burger was glorious; I picked the South of the Border Chili Cheeseburger, and love the spicy-sweet house-made chili.
You can also get a bowl of that chili topped with cheese and onions; a What's Up Dog where the hot dog is wrapped in dough, deep fried and served with cheese sauce; personal-size Big Ass Style Pizza; Chicken Fingers made from fresh chicken breasts; hand-breaded Fried Mozzarella; and Big Ass Salads served in Big Ass Bread Bowls.
Check Please
Smoking is allowed at Big Ass Sandwich Co. I don't smoke, and I did not smell any cigarette smoke during my two visits. If you are worried about someone lighting up while you're trying to enjoy a sandwich, there's always carry-out.
Casale is working on offering a Big Ass Challenge, and he might have it ready to go by the time you read this. It involves a $25 sandwich filled with roast beef, fried turkey, roasted turkey, barbecue beef brisket, ham, bacon, bologna, hamburger or Italian sausage, chili, six cheeses and an egg. If you can eat that within an hour the meal is free, you get a T-shirt and your name goes on the wall.
Big Ass Sandwich Co. & Saloon is at 4378 U.S. 17 Business in Murrells Inlet, catty-corner from River City Café. Look for the barber shop sign. It's open starting at 11 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and the number is 651-1000.
Becky Billingsley serves up fresh news daily at MyrtleBeachRestaurantNews.com.
