Takeout Review: 1800 North Catering Company

If you happen to be shopping at the trusty Trader Joe’s location in Pickwick Place, you may have noticed a new sign go up on the corner where the pet store used to be, bearing the somewhat confusing name of “1800 North Catering Company.”  The address of the business is decidedly not 1800 North, it is instead 682 Roosevelt Rd, but I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason for the name. All that matters is the food, and my early take is simple: it’s good.

This is a brand new business and the word on the street was that their regular takeout menu was worth checking out. I was intrigued by this mysterious catering company that seemed to appear overnight so I had no choice but to place an order for two of my personal favorite lunch items: the Italian sub and the Italian beef.

I also decided I had to order the truffle fries, because honestly any time I see truffle fries on the menu a reflex takes over and I order them on autopilot.

Inside, the establishment is so expansive I almost had to squint to see the cashier. The space is not wasted, however, as rows of prepared food separate the front entrance from the counter. The next visual I noticed was a flat screen TV next to the door tuned to ESPN and the TCU vs Georgia bowl game. So far so good. As my attention turned back to the counter the first audible cues my ears picked up were a hushed “oh a customer” followed by “you must be Kyle!” Not much business yet apparently…

Which is a shame because this place has some serious potential. As I drove home the truffle fries taunted me, and unlike a trip to Portillos which always includes plenty of fry sampling on the way home, these fries were tucked away in a cardboard box.

The fries did not disappoint, and will never be left off of any future orders. I wasn’t quite hungry enough to take down both the beef and the sub, so I took a few satisfying bites of the sub before moving on to my main course.  Initially the sub met all of my expectations, but as I dove deeper into each bite my expectations were exceeded due to a mystery sauce that gave the sub a greatly appreciated touch of tang.

I am a self proclaimed Italian beef connoisseur so I was interested in the latest attempt at this delectable classic. The beef was wet, but not too much as the bread stayed together while maintaining just the right amount of sogginess. Whatever juices the beef was stewing in were satisfyingly spicy, and overall I was pleased with everything this sandwich had to offer with one exception: not enough giardiniera for my taste. Luckily I have some tasty backup giardiniera in the fridge.

While it wasn’t perfect, 1800 North showed a lot of promise and their menu is pretty impressive in scope. Late for work and need a hot meal? They’ve got you covered with hot breakfast boxes containing anything from a breakfast sandwich customized your way, to a french toast panini.  I’m not sure what that is, but I think I need to try it.

There’s also a wide variety of pizzas, including a breakfast pizza (not so sure about that one) as well as clubs, salads, buffalo chicken wraps, burgers, etc. and that’s just on the carry-out menu. If you want actual catering they pretty much can take care of whatever your taste buds desire.

Overall, I was pleased with the quality and taste on my first visit to 1800 North, next up on the list will be their pastrami reuben, of course with some truffle fries on the side. I honestly can’t wait.

Here’s a link to the carry out menu if you’re hungry:

Click to access Carry-Out-Menu-for-Website-1.pdf