Our food arrived shortly, and the savory scent that immediately hit my nose had me salivating. We sat down, and proceeded to feast. The first bite was an explosion of flavor. A little avocado, lots of cheese, and that savory turkey complemented by bacon and chipotle ranch created a wonderful sensation in my mouth. I wasted no time devouring the sandwich. My favorite part had to be the ciabatta. Not too hard, yet not too soft. The bread had perfect structure, and made my meal so much more enjoyable. The sweet tea was quite refreshing, and served as the perfect sidekick to such a sandwich. The baked potato was loaded with flavor. The only aspect that I could critique was the fact that the sides were a bit rigid, and the lower layer was a bit dry. It was, however, a great side snack to share. The sandwich and drink totaled out to about $9, making it a once or twice a week treat. The Spud Max came out to around $7, so definitely bring friends if looking to enjoy one.

All in all, I was impressed. I thought the service was great, my meal was delicious, and the price fairly reasonable for the quality I received. I must add that I am someone who hasn’t yet eaten at Fraser Street Deli, so I have not yet experienced the full array of delis State College has to offer. I recommend McAlister’s, and definitely suggest the Southwest Turkey Melt.

I am deep believer in the club sandwich as arguably one of the best sandwiches that lunch has to offer. Without too much hesitation, I ordered the McAlister’s Club, which was a little different compared to how I stack my clubs. Starting from bottom with a slice of wheat bread topped with mayonnaise, they stacked smoked ham and turkey, swiss and cheddar cheese topped with the second slice of bread. On the second layer, they stacked the middle slice with honey mustard, bacon, tomato, and lettuce, topped with even more honey mustard.

After observing the stacking order of the club sandwich, I thought it was a bit unorthodox. Normally, I prefer to have both layers of the sandwich mimic each other with an equal distribution of meat, cheese, etc. Then again, I’m not the one running the show here. The executive decision to automatically substitute wheat bread for white bread turned out to be a huge payoff, as it tasted very fresh, almost as if it was made that morning. Also, the honey mustard added a different twist to your conventional club sandwich. It was a nice complement on the sandwich, not overpowering but enough to add a little extra flavor.

Like I stated earlier, the bread was very fresh, but what grabbed my attention was the freshness of the entire sandwich. I don’t normally get tomatoes but these were flavorful and very succulent. The lettuce was crisp and green and the cold cuts tasted like they were sliced that morning.

With the combination of the various cheeses, meats, and toppings, an absolutely perfect club sandwich is everything but possible. Of all things that could go wrong, it had to be the bacon. I felt it was hard and crunchy contrary to how it should taste — crispy yet chewy. Also, they were a bit frugal when layering it on the sandwich. I didn’t count the number of pieces, but relying on my knowledge of various pork products it seemed as if they only used two to three slices. Not cool, as I was expecting at least four to five given the size of the sandwich.

Overall, this club sandwich looked and tasted even better. As one of McAlister’s top sellers, it certainly did not disappoint. I would highly recommend this sandwich if you choose not to wait for the Chick-Fil-A sitting under a heat lamp.

For my side choice, I opted to go with the mac and cheese. This was pretty standard tasting as far as I’m concerned. It wasn’t Mom’s homemade dish crafted with love, but it definitely wasn’t the shit that Kraft labels as mac and cheese. The cup size was a decent portion, but it lacked the flavor and spices to make you go, “Wow, this is damn good mac and cheese.” There was plenty of melted cheese throughout the cup and the noodles were warm and soft. It was a solid dish all around. I would categorize this side as something you put on as a reserve when you can’t make up your mind.

I thought the spud we ordered was average at best. It was very impressive-looking considering the combined two potatoes topped with pepper jack cheese, turkey, ham, bacon, onions, and black olives. While it sounds and most definitely looked appetizing, the potatoes were dry and a bit overcooked. There seemed to be a little too much pepper-jack as it overpowered the rest of the toppings. I guess it didn’t help that I forgot we had a cup of sour cream, but I’m not sure that could have saved this already-dying beast. For the price of what we paid for it, I would not choose to go down this path again.