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| - In a location that can only be referred to as "completely out of the way", even if you're from Garfield Heights or even Cuyahoga Heights, Gourmand's is quite possibly one of the best sandwich shoppes in the Cleveland area, location be damned. The wannabe strip mall that houses this hidden gem is bookended by a sign shop and a Mr. Hero that looks like it was transplanted straight from Beirut itself.
Forget the ambiance, forget the location. Let's talk turkey -- which is fantastic. If we talk beef? Fantastic. Pork and Chicken? Equally fantastic. Breakfast sandwiches and bagels? If you guessed anything other than fantastic, you probably need to take a remedial course on reading.
The best thing about Gourmand's are the owners and staff. Always friendly, always willing to chat for a minute or two while you wait for one of their creations. Most of the time, they'll talk you into trying one of their smoothies -- just a taste. I've done wheatgrass shots with them two or three times, and I've gotta say that wheatgrass is pretty darn tasty. It's disconcerting when you start burping up a flowery, grassy taste when you've been chugging beer, but whatever. It's the shot that keeps on giving, I suppose.
In our office, the Fajita Wrap is Queen Sandwich. Fajita seasoned chicken, peppers and onions in a wrap make for a quick, tasty lunch. The Buffalo Bill with nice, tangy buffalo sauce and cooling blue cheese combine well with the broad leaf lettuce and tomato.
If you want corned beef, go to Slyman's. If you want a good, tasty sandwich made with just about anything else under the sun, take a hike down to Gourmand's. Just get there before 2 -- if they're not busy, they're not going to stay open for one or two customers, maybe. They say on the menu that they might be closed -- believe them. They will be.
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