Hal's Deli

Tom: My parents often talk about how my family would go to Hal's Deli a lot when we children were younger, but I had never been there since I could remember. Thus, I didn't really know what to think about going to Hal's Deli. It's always been there, I'd never really seen the inside, but I'd passed by it multiple days a week for many years. Frequent special guest Annie was there for this particular meal.

(The dining area which took Tommy's breath away)

When we went in, what I thought would just be like a countertop and a few tables was actually a full-fledged restaurant, and we were immediately greeted by Hal's wife, the man himself having passed away some years ago. We were quickly shown to a small table, and the restaurant was decently full with people eating their modest meals. Hal's has a pretty nice menu for a deli, with extensive sandwich choices and salads and the like. I ended up ordering a hot turkey with gravy kinda deal, and some fries.

It was pretty good! Getting turkey with gravy and fries cheaply can result in some pretty scary looking dishes, but Hal's pretty much solidly delivered. Service was pretty quick, and the prices were incredibly low for a sit-down restaurant.

(T's sandwich)

Sam: My memory is a little fuzzy on this trip due to the fact that it took place at least three months ago but i'll try my best here people, i'll try my best. As Tommy mentioned above the prices were really low. Like, REALLY low you guys and that's usually not a bad feature. It could lead to some nervousness concerning the quality of the food but Hal's has been around for long enough that I wasn't too worried about being horribly poisoned.

(My club. Sam's club)

(Side o' fries)

Based on the photographs i've got from this trip it seems that I ordered some sort of turkey club. It also appears that my sandwich came with chips and I ordered an additional side of french fries (I am so cooky). Alright, the pictures also show that Annie ordered some soup maybe? And also a tuna melt. I apologize for the vagueness of this review but it was oh so long ago! I don't remember being upset at this meal, which happens a lot, so i think it's safe to say we enjoyed ourselves enough.

(Annie's soup)

(Annie's meal)

I think I can honestly say that i'd eat at Hal's again if the opportunity presented itself. It's pretty good food for cheap and I'm not one to turn that down. The real problem is the location: The commons. I ate goin' down there. It always seems like such a hassle to me and has been a point of contention between Tommy and myself in the past when we've tried picking out a place to eat. Luckily we don't have that problem anymore since the invention of the blog but I can still resent him for other things.

Wildfire

Jonah:
Due to a series of miscommunications, Sam is in Boston and Tommy and I are not. As such I will be replacing Sam on this review. When I asked Tommy where he wanted to go, he mentioned that there was "this new comfort food place where The Lost Dog used to be." The name of the place was Wildfire, and it had a sort of fancy-looking online menu that blended good old-fashioned home-style cooking with the fast-paced trendiness of a silicon valley cafe where everyone is wearing designer jeans and semi-formal collared shirts. We decided to check it out.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we discovered that the setup was more or less identical to that of the Lost Dog Cafe, so much so that I briefly questioned if it had actually closed. The waiting staff and the ambiance were all pleasant enough, but unfortunately that is about the best thing that can be said about Wildfire. Before the meal we were provided with bread rolls and olive oil, a combination to which I am quite partial. I initially told Tommy that the bread was quite good, but quickly realized that by "good" I meant "tasteless yet warm." Which is still saying something, as many restaurants do not give you warm bread.

Tommy sitting. Note the candle: that's called ambiance.

For an appetizer we ordered fried mozzarella sticks coated in pine nuts. This sounds pretty good in theory, and they tasted slightly better than your average microwavable fried cheese. However, this has to be weighed against the fact that it cost $7. I know for a fact that you can get over twenty-five microwavable mozzarella sticks for less than that. As a main course I ordered the Grown Up Mac and Cheese with Lobster, a dish which really put the nail in the coffin in which my positive feelings towards Wildfire would be soon buried. First of all, they chose to have three cheeses as opposed to one in the Mac and Cheese sauce. This was a mistake. The trifecta of flavors clashed in my mouth in a way that was only rivaled by the new trailer for Clash of the Titans (March 26, 2010). Also it is possible that some of the cheese was burnt. In any case, the dish was barely tolerable, especially considering that all the lobster bits were also irrevocably coated in the three-cheese sauce. Partly due to the bad taste, and partly due to the fact that my schedule forces me to eat all three meals in the space of four or five hours, I was unable to finish the Grown Up Mac and Cheese with Lobster. Not wanting to waste food--even food I don't like--I asked for a box to take the dish home, and lo and behold there was a silver lining: the box was pretty nice.

That's a nice box!

Tom:

As you may have noticed, this Jonah character is somewhat different than your traditional Sam. What he lacks in photographic ability he seems to more than make up for with fiery passion and venomous wit (we mean no ill will toward Wildfire, he is just having a fun time on the internet being mean). I guess everyone needs to vent sometime.

Whenever I hear "comfort food restaurant" I get really excited, but I don't seem to have the best time at any place that claims to be one of these. This includes several recent contenders in Ithaca and one or two places I have tried in Philly. I'm not gonna pretend to know what makes a great mac and cheese or meat loaf or whatever, but whatever take these places have on the genre seems to be pretty boring most of the time. The menus also tend to be pretty small. That being said, I didn't mind my meal at Wildfire. The service was very quick for a restaurant of this nature and the waitstaff was attentive. I basically agree with Jonah re: the mozzarella sticks. I wouldn't really have noticed that they were pine-nut encrusted if the menu hadn't told me. It might have been more enjoyable treated as a pseudo-salad than actual mozzarella sticks.

One interesting thing about the menu was the large amount of vegan options. Neither of us ordered any of them, but they sounded like the best things on the menu apart from their vegan-ness. If any vegan readers are feeling adventurous you should at least check this place out (and tell us if it was good). For my main course I got a chicken pot pie, which is pretty much a staple of these mid-level comfort food places. It wasn't bad, though the plating (oh my god I can't believe I am complaining about plating) was kind of awkward. There was a puff pastry on top of a sort of souffle dish filled with the "pie," but when I tried to combine the two it all overflowed onto my plate, which had some kind of napkin on it. The pie itself was sort of your standard pot pie mush, with gnocchi in it and nice hearty chunks of chicken. It was a bit salty and I couldn't really tell what was in the mush (though I'm sure it's on the menu).

Ultimately I can't say I heartily recommend Wildfire, though there were definitely other options (both appetizers and entrees) on the menu that looked enticing. Neither of us tried their french fries, which are always an excellent litmus test of a restaurant. I wouldn't count Wildfire out, as new restaurants can always be a bit shaky and there were definitely the makings of something good there, though I do seem to be a sucker for repeatedly going back to restaurants that disappoint me.