The Eagle Creek Coffee Company is nestled in the village area of Zionsville. Unless you are walking, it's pretty easy to miss the place. No garish signs to alert you from the road. However once you're there, it's like your neighbor's kitchen in there. The light filters in a warm glow which illuminates the room from the wall of windows along the front wall. A few couches and chairs invite you to drink coffee and socialize with your friends while the kids play quietly nearby.
The coffee company offers a number of fragrant coffees, but keeping with my usual habits I ordered hot tea instead. I ordered my Reuben with pretzels and proceeded to the dining area to help the others push tables together. Once seated, we renewed acquaintances and struck up conversations surrounding our favorite subject. The wait time for the Reubens wasn't really too long and they began to arrive. The sandwich was not grilled, as most Reubens are. It was constructed sort of the way one might create a cold cut sandwich. While the ingredients were pretty good, it really lacked character without the hot steaming grill. This singular fact became a major conversation at the table. The bread was good and tasted and appeared to be fresh baked. Despite the freshness of the ingredients, it was kind of lacking as a Reuben.
The staff was obviously interested in why the group had all ordered Reubens and joked that we must be some sort of club. We didn't deny this, but didn't really carry on too much. One of the group appeared late at the restaurant about the time most of us had finished eating. He ordered his Reuben and sat down to wait. When his food arrived, it was apparent that the crew had heard the remarks about the lack of grilling. The latecomer's sandwich was grilled! It appeared to have been cooked on a "George Foreman" grille and not as one would expected from a regular grill. As soon as the group saw this, we, almost in turn remarked about it.
The coffee company's Reuben is okay as a sandwich, but really doesn't meet the description for a grilled sandwich. The atmosphere, though, is real friendly. If you're walking though the "village" on a shopping trip, stop in and have a cup of coffee, but skip the Reuben.