Bliss-ful experience Pure Bliss & The Sandwich Co. reopens with a tasty menu
By Anne Chovey
Special to The Herald-Mail
Pap Ricka and I stopped in on a busy weekday at lunch time to get reacquainted with Pure Bliss & The Sandwich Co., which is back in business at its original South Pointe Shopping Center location. We were joined by our friend, Al Fredo, who is a notoriously picky eater.
The interior of the restaurant is much the same as in its prior incarnations: small tables of two or four, a counter for ordering and a self-serve beverage center. Choices are printed on the “Tasting Menu” with specials and the soups of the day listed on a whiteboard.
All the sandwiches are given names such as Shiffy’s Bliss (white bread topped with turkey, ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato and honey mustard-mayo) or The Lindz (“choice of wrap, turkey, provolone, horsey mayo and all the veggies from the patch”).
The menu notes that all the breads are made fresh daily by a local Mennonite bakery and include cheddar cheese, bacon-onion, white and wheat. A variety of wraps are also available. Most of the sandwiches are $5.95, with a few at $6.25. Each sandwich is served with a pickle and homemade chips.
Sides, including potato salad, pasta salad, mac and cheese and fruit may be added for $2 for a small and $4 for a large. Salad options include tossed, grilled chicken, chef and spinach, ranging from $3.50 to $5.95 for a small and $4.95 to $7.95 for a large.
Any sandwich filling can be served over greens as a salad as well. There is a whole page devoted to grilled sandwiches, wings and pasta specials available after 4 p.m.
With so much to choose from, it took us a minute to place our orders. Eventually, I decided on the chunky chicken special. I had the option of having it on my choice of bread, in a wrap on or a bed of greens. I decided upon the cheddar cheese bread, which was toasted with tomato and lettuce. I wanted to try the one of the soup specials as well. Although the chicken corn sounded good, I chose a small cup of the cheeseburger ($1.50).
Pap selected the Sunny SMC: a spinach wrap filled with hummus, pesto and fresh vegetables. The young woman taking our order proudly informed us that this wrap was her creation.
Al ordered Justyn’s burger: cheese bread topped with roast beef, bacon, provolone, pickle, lettuce, tomato and Old Bay mayo. He asked for no lettuce and tomato.
We were given large plastic foam cups and got our drinks (Pepsi products as well as sweet and unsweetened tea are available.) After a very short wait, our sandwiches arrived. They were served in plastic baskets along with the pickles and chips. The chips were nicely browned, yet still lightly crisp, not hard and chewy as they sometimes can be, and not a bit greasy.
What you first notice is that the sandwiches are fairly small but don’t judge the book by the cover. The bread on both mine and Al’s sandwiches was the cheese bread, and it was this that determined the size of the sandwich.
What it lacked in size, it made up for in flavor. It was delicious. The bits of cheese were visible and the crust was rustic and browned beautifully. Both of our sandwiches had ample filling.
My chicken salad was full of bits of chicken and crunchy celery with a creamy dressing. The dressing was seasoned well with a nice dash of pepper to add some punch.
I really liked that the chicken was cut up small enough so that it was easy to eat. I hate it when the chicken chunks are either so large that the sandwich comes apart when you eat it or so small that the salad is like paste. This was just right.
The cheeseburger soup was served in a small plastic foam cup. It was the perfect amount and was very tasty. The beef was crumbled up into tiny bits and was accompanied by bits of potato and carrot in a creamy broth. It truly tasted like a cheeseburger.
Al was delighted with his “burger.” It arrived without the tomato and lettuce as requested. The toasted bread had melted the provolone a bit, which was a good contrast to the crisp pickle in the sandwich.
“This is one of the best sandwiches I have had in a long time,” he declared.
As Al is a college student and exists primarily on sandwiches and pasta this is high praise, indeed.
Pap was equally happy with his choice. Often vegetarian sandwiches or wraps taste watery and bland. His was very flavorful and zesty. The spinach wrap was fresh and stuffed full.
The young woman who had taken order came by to see how we liked the food. Pap told her how much he liked “her” wrap. She agreed it was wonderful.
While we were in the restaurant, there was a steady stream of customers – at one point there was a line of about eight people. Everyone was served promptly and by the time we left, about 45 minutes after we arrived, everyone had received his or her order.
This is an excellent place to come if you have only a short break for lunch and want a healthier and more delicious option than the usual fast food fare.
Pure Bliss also sells ice cream and fruit smoothies.
What sets Pure Bliss aside from the ordinary sandwich shop is that so many of its sandwiches have a bit of a twist on them. Whether it is the addition of mild pepper rings or tomato-basil mayo or Italian cream cheese, each dish has been carefully created to give a fresh interpretation.
The freshly baked bread also lifts the sandwich from run of the mill, to truly “blissful.”
It is good to have Pure Bliss back.
Restaurant review – Pure Bliss & The Sandwich Co.
3 (out of 5) STARS
Food: 3 1/2 stars
Service: 2 stars (the restaurant is designed to be self-serve)
Ambiance: 2 1/2 stars
Value: 3 1/2stars
Address: 120 E. Oak Ridge Drive, Suite 300, South Pointe Shopping Center, Hagerstown
Hours: Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Phone: 301-393-8100
Style: Casual
Food: Sandwiches, wraps, salads and soup. While vegetarian options are somewhat limited (one vegetarian sandwich was listed), the menu suggests that you can “build your own” sandwich and the special “Sunny SMC” was a delicious vegetarian option.
Range: Sandwiches range from $5.95 to $7.50
Bathrooms: Restrooms were large and clean.
Parking: Parking and handicapped accessibility: There is ample parking in front of the restaurant and for theshopping center. The restaurant was totally accessible.
Reservations: No reservations are necessary.
Website: Pure Bliss does not have a website but is on Facebook, where its daily specials are listed.
