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| - No one was happier than me to hear that Slyman's, that Corned Beef Nirvana, was opening on the east side. I had waited several months from its opening to allow it to go through the opening shakedown. Turns out I should have waited longer.
We were greeted politely, seated promptly and our order was taken quickly. The starter, Italian wedding soup as the soup du jour, arrived at room temperature and was sent back, returning only slightly warmer.
My "small" corned beef showed up quickly too, but it was clear that the bread had been sitting out (the "outside" of the rye was dry while the side facing the beef was not), as was the corned beef. It wasn't warm and it lacked the silky texture that was standard at the downtown location. A nice sized portion but the corned beef was dry and unappetizing. I ended up alternating bites of the sandwich with bites of the pickle, and the pickle won every time. By the way, extra pickles are 50 cents each.
We finished up with a piece of the chocolate fondant. A beautiful piece of cake. If we had been food photographers, we would have been in heaven because it looked far better than it tasted. Like the rye bread, the fondant was dry and lacked flavor. To our server's credit, when he noticed that each of us had taken one forkful and then pushed it aside, he removed it from the table and the bill.
It is perfectly possible that my experience was a one-off and that Slyman's will redeem itself when I go back to try the pastrami. So I'm not writing it off, especially because it is a terrific space with a variety of seating options and a toasty fireplace. But if I have to go downtown to get Slyman's signature corned beef, I'll be happy to take the drive.
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