Date of Review 2004-10-06, 12:35 p.m.
Sandwich name Classic Rueben [sic]
Price Per Reuben (PPR) $7.95
Reuben Delivery Time (RDT) 9 minutes 
Reuben Dimensions 16x10x4 cm (640 cm3) 
Included side items Pickle and choice of potato salad or cole slaw. Served with lettuce leaf and red onion slices.
Bulk to cost ratio 81 cm3/dollar 

Reuben Ingredient Matrix (RIM) Rye bread Corned beef Swiss cheese Sauerkraut 1000 Island
CJ's Deli & Diner X X X X X Island

Description (taken from the menu):
Classic Rueben [sic]: Corned Beef on Rye, Sauerkraut, Swiss cheese & Island Dressing

Sandwich presentation:
The Reuben was cut in half somewhat diagonally and presented on a paper plate next to a pickle spear, rings of onion and a lettuce leaf holding potato salad. The sandwich was on rye bread with Island dressing spread on the bottom slice of bread. Atop the dressing was the corned beef with the sauerkraut tucked into its folds, followed by the Swiss cheese beneath the top slice of rye bread.

Reuben Eater Rankings
Chris Rowland C B- B+ A- A- B
Katherine Rowland C- B- C+ A+ A+ B+
Summary C B- B- A A B+

Reuben Ruminations:

: This deli had a intricately written, pretty and crowded menu board stretching the entire length of the restaurant. They also had great kid's meal offerings and offered wireless internet service. The first thing I noticed was that the dressing had some sort of a mustard flavor to it--probably why it is advertised as "Island" dressing and not "Thousand Island" dressing. The crust of the sandwich was way too crunchy and the bread was very dry, it tasted toasted and not grilled because I couldn't taste any sort of butter applied to the bread. The corned beef and sauerkraut tasted okay, but I couldn't taste the cheese at all. Their potato salad was pertty good. I got their fresh squeezed lemonade, which was delightful! The staff was very friendly and the atmosphere was also nice. I would gladly eat here again, but probably pass on ordering the Reuben. ()

: I liked this place, and I really wanted to like their Reuben. The staff was very friendly, and I am partial to handwritten menus, which they had. It stretched the entire restaurant length and had tons of variety, everything from breakfast to desserts. They even offered a service where they would prep food and then you could take it home and cook it yourself. They tried really hard. They also had the best children's menu I saw on any of the Hawaiian islands, bar none. The Reuben was a disappointment. The bread was very dry and not overly rye. I couldn't taste the cheese or the sauerkraut, though the beef itself was very good. I thought that they had put some sort of mustard on the sandwich, but further investigation revealed that the mustard flavor was part of whatever the dressing was. The cole slaw that I got with my sandwich was far better than the sandwich itself. The slaw had the standard ingredients plus raisins, which IMHO was a stroke of genius. It was unexpected, but delightfully so. The lemonade (which I shared with my fellow reviewer) was good, but too sweet and not lemony enough for me. I probably wouldn't have paid $2.50 for it. On the whole, I wished we had discovered the place sooner on our trip so we could have eaten there more times...skipping the Reuben, natch. ()