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The veggie sandwich with onion rings at Down on Grayson is good enough to appeal to a devoted carnivore.
The Reuben sandwich at Down on Grayson served with house-made chips.
The JK Club sandwich with house fries at Down on Grayson
Down on Grayson, which has large outdoor and indoor seating spaces, offers a solid lineup of sandwiches.
The interior space at Down on Grayson, located near the Pearl.
The menu at Down on Grayson
Down on Grayson opened in 2016 near the Pearl and receives a lot of accolades for its outdoor seating area, which is dog-friendly and gives off a modern vibe. It also doubles as a bar and triples as a kitchen that churns out a large menu with shared plates, soups, salads, entrees and, of particular interest to this series, sandwiches.
The restaurant and bar is owned by Pat Molak and Mary Jane Nalley, who also own Josephine Street nearby and the landmark New Braunfels properties Gruene Hall and the Gristmill.
This summer with its seemingly endless days of 100-degree heat has taken its toll on the outdoor space, even though it's outfitted with misters and a network of fans, but that hasn't stopped the crowds from filling the large bar and table seating inside. Once temperatures drop, people will flock to Down on Grayson after attending the weekend farmers markets for a cold beer and a good meal outside.
The sandwich menu comes with seven options, plus a chef's choice grilled sandwich du jour. They come with a choice of fries, coleslaw or chips. All the sides are made in-house, and you can substitute them with thin and crispy onion rings, sauteed broccolini, corn off the cob, fresh fruit and more for an up charge that ranges from $3 to $6. But trust me: Go with the chips. They are a crispy, salty delight cooked just to the brink of being overdone and served hot. They might be the best straightforward potato chip you have ever tasted.
Location: 303 E. Grayson., 210-248-9244, downongrayson.com
Hours: 11a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays-Wednesdays; 11a.m.-11p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays
Best sandwich: You just know it's good when a card-carrying carnivore like me gives the blue ribbon to the veggie sandwich ($13). Just to be a little naughty, I got it plated with the thinly sliced onion rings, which were lightly breaded and had huge hits of salt that made them yummy. Served on multigrain toasted bread, this sandwich tasted like a fresh, vinegar-based salad on the go. Huge slices of savory feta cheese cut as thick as a burger patty dominated but also respected the cucumbers, tomato and ripe slices of avocado that tasted like silky butter.
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Other sandwiches: Down on Grayson doesn't cure its own meat, but the Boar's Head corned beef used in the Reuben ($17) does right by this sandwich classic. The sauerkraut is tangy but not overbearing, allowing the mixture of garlic toasted rye bread and dressing to do the heavy lifting, with the plentiful beef teetering on the edge of something you could get in a New York City deli.
The grouper sandwich with coleslaw at Down on Grayson is filling. It's also the priciest sandwich on the menu.
The fried grouper sandwich ($23) is the priciest on the menu. It came crispy, with breading similar to the onion rings that wasn't overly greasy, and with tomatoes, pickles and coleslaw. This may have been my first experience with grouper outside of seeing one while snorkeling in the Bahamas years ago. It made for a good sandwich. The fresh, flaky meat was more than enough to fill your belly, though the taste of the grouper didn't compare to other types of fish, such as cod or halibut.
There also is that standard, the club sandwich ($16). Down on Grayson's combines ham and smoked turkey with chunky bacon, tomato, lettuce and a hard-cooked egg on toast, which sounded great. Except the egg was as rubbery and hard as a hockey puck, and after a few bites into the first of four quarters of the club, I discovered I didn't want to finish the game.
cblount@express-news.net | Twitter: @chuck_blount | Instagram: @bbqdiver
Chuck Blount is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience at the San Antonio Express-News, and a tenure split between writing and editing about food, drinks, poker and sports, where he was part of the team that covered four of the five Spurs' NBA championships. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa.