i might be wrong

I love club sandwiches. I always have. Chicken, lettuce, bacon, bread, mayo – what’s not to like? Combine it with fries and you have a staple of most restaurants, particularly pubs. It’s usually the first thing I order at a new restaurant. To me, it can be representative of what the rest of the food is like. If you can’t make a decent club (or give it your own twist), close your restaurant. Or take it off the menu.

I’ve eaten a lot of clubs. Some have been memorable, most have not. Miss Halifax Eats suggested I start reviewing them. So here it goes. But first, Mitch Hedberg on the history of the club sandwich:

Pogue Fado
http://www.poguefado.com/
1581 Barrington Street, Halifax NS

Pogue Chicken Club
Grilled chicken breast served on a toasted baguette, and topped with lettuce, tomato, bacon, and honey mustard or the traditional way with bread slices and mayo.

Price: $8.99

Chicken: The most crucial ingredient in a club is of course the chicken. It’s what you’re paying for. It’s what all the other ingredients are hopefully complimenting. The downfall of many clubs is dry chicken. It simply ruins the entire meal. The chicken this time around was on the edge of dry. I ate a chunk that was hanging over the side on its own, and it was a bit dry. It was borderline though, so I give it a pass. It was otherwise well-cooked, and the portion was good for the price.

BLT: All of the toppings were great. The lettuce and tomato were fresh, crisp and vibrant. The bacon was nice and crunchy, but not overdone.

Sauce: I ordered the honey mustard version, and it is a nice twist. The mustard was nice and sweet, and it complimented the chicken and toppings well. I could have used a bit more to make up for the slightly dry chicken.

Bread: The baguette is an interesting choice for a club. I was expecting something a bit hard and slightly dry. It was actually quite good, albeit quite thick for a club. It worked though, and I give them points for putting a little twist on both the bread and the sauce.

Fries: I am really getting tired of restaurants being lazy with their fries. A lot of them seem to order in the same frozen, plain, and boring fries. And then they don’t cook them well and they end up being mostly mushy. This is where Pogue Fado gets high marks for having some great fries. Thin cut, dirty (with some skins), some very cripsy, some slightly soft – a nice combo. I went with ketchup this time around (instead of mayo, or both), because there was a bottle of Heinz on the table. Tasted like Heinz, so I don’t think they do the “no name ketchup in a Heinz bottle” trick.

Overall: I was pleasantly surprised with this club. It was 4:30 on St. Paddy’s Day, and the place was packed. I don’t think the kitchen was totally slammed, as most people were just there to drink, but good on them for serving some quality stuff on such a busy night. I cleaned my plate, and it all went down nicely with a Guiness.

Worth It? Definitely worth the $8.99, and worth stopping into the Pogue if you’re looking for some pub grub at a decent price.

Pogue Fado Club - Apologies for the terrible photo. It was very dark and I only had my iPhone on me. And I ate half before thinking of taking a photo. :p