Sauce on the Side — Restaurant in Carmel

Some Great, some Good, and a few things I'd still like to see.

Let's start with the Great, and Sauce on the Side the service level and environment is great! The level of service provided by the staff here is fantastic, and it's almost like you are at full service restaurant, but without the tip, although you can if you want to tip. :)

I want to give a special mention for excellence in service to: Amanda Demond Hannah Bobbi Bringa Mike Hammond Kelli Watson

The Good, is the food. The calzones are great and have some really unique flavor options. You can have the traditional calzone, or you can have one of their unique options on the menu, or you can build your own.

The salads are the same, some creative options and the choice to make them your own. The food quality is high and tastes delicious. The pricing is affordable and well worth the money in my opinion, which I guess a review actually is, right? :)

Things I'd like to see are an option for a pick two. You can't have a salad and calzone without bringing a friend and splitting something you both agree on when you eat. In a world of Panera, McCallister's, and Newk's, a pick two option is almost a given, but unfortunately not here, and the owners don't seem interested in doing that anytime soon, although they did leave me a little bit of hope.

The other thing I'm always looking for is an option to eat out, that is safe for my wife, who has Celiacs, dairy, and soy allergies that make her very sick. When I reached out to Sauce on the Side, they shared this with me...

"Regarding the "pick two," we are not currently interested in this type of option. Who knows what the future holds though. All of our facilities make dough in house, so flour does tend to float around in the air. Although our salads never actually come in direct contact with flour, it isn't recommended that those with Celiac Disease consume our food. We are working on a gluten-free recipe for our dough, but we haven't perfected it yet.

Anything can be made dairy or soy free though."

I really appreciate that they are working on an option for people like my wife! This does limit my options to patronize them with my wife, at least for now, hopefully that will change soon! I'm also grateful that they were willing to dialogue with me openly and honestly. At the end of the day, this is their business to run and run profitably. I'm just one customer out of many.

I will say this again, if you offer a safe place for my wife to eat with her food allergies, I will patronize you often, very often, and the gluten free and allergy free community will patronize you too, and they are loyal and grateful, and they will tell everyone when they have found a good and safe option.

The sodas are often confusing to new guests. I don't drink them, but i watched several people, my friend who took me included, who really struggled to figure out what options they had that were the equivalent to Coke, Diet Coke, Root beer, etc.

In summary, the service is GREAT, the food is Really Good and the menu is creative and has options for you to customize the food choices and make them your own unique creation. You won't be able to do a pick two, and if you have Celiacs or a gluten intolerance it may not be safe to eat there yet, but they are working on it, and I'm very...

I’ve been waiting for months now for SotS to open. I’ve been driving past it constantly and was so excited to see today that it was finally opened! I stopped in for dinner and here are a few thoughts.

RESTAURANT (9/10) The facility itself is brand new, colorful, feels a little like a brewery in certain ways, there are plenty of TV’s for watching sports, and all-in-all would be a great place to bring friends for a fun evening. Parking is also very easy; there is plenty of it. It’s a neat place on the whole, aesthetically pleasing and comfortable but also doesn’t take any substantial risks to differentiate its “feel”. Not a big deal though; it’s very functional and looks great!

PEOPLE (10/10) Everyone here, I could tell, was very excited about the launch! They believe in their food and are obviously amped up for Indy to get to taste what St Louis has had for a while! The gal I worked with was super friendly, walked me through the menu, laughed a bunch and made me feel welcome. I’m looking forward to coming back!

MENU (9/10) I gotta say, I love me a calzone and the options here aren’t just your standard pepperoni and cheese. The crazy combos gave me a ton of reason to want to come back, which I can say confidently will happen. I ding it a point simply because neither of the desserts get me fired up much, but I’m open to trying them. Simple, easy menu to navigate, you can go safe or crazy; tons of awesome options within a relatively minimal menu.

FOOD (9/10) I’ve had quite a few calzones in my day and man... that was one dang good calzone! I got the Meet Me In St Louie and it was truly awesome. The cheeses were delicious, it was cooked perfectly and that dough... holy cow. It’s fantastic. I’m already craving more of it. I’m curious to see if quality is maintained or even improved as the restaurant ages. As of day one: homerun.

DRINKS (10/10) While I’m not a huge drinker, talk about an awesome beer selection! If you’re hoping for delicious food with an incredible local beer on tap, you MUST give SotS a try. Their selection leaves nothing to be desired and makes this an incredibly viable option for sporting events. Also, their cups are really, really cool looking. You can buy them too! I almost bought one!

OVERALL (9/10) We’ve all left restaurants before where you feel that excitement to come back. I feel that here without a doubt; there are tons more options to try and hopefully equally as great food on...

An excellent experience! The location was easily found and very accessible. We went on a Saturday at around 2 pm and the atmosphere was very laid back. I don't know what it's like during a lunch or dinner rush, but the staff was very friendly and helpful with it being our first time. They were happy to offer suggestions and walk us through the menu to consider substitutions. I got the Roasty Toasty, which was really good, especially if you like ricotta and pesto. It was rather heavy, so I'd consider getting it with red sauce in addition to the pesto. I started out with a fork and knife but ended up holding the second half like a sandwich. Both methods worked just fine. My husband got the Meat Me in St. Louie, and the bite that I stole was very nice. Good flavors, and the red sauce cuts the heartiness of the meat very well. We also tried the Buffalo Chicken Bite Side with ranch. We had our toddler with us, and it wasn't too spicy for him to enjoy. The good quality and flavor of the ranch felt like it was made in-house, though I didn't ask, so I can't say for sure. Finally, the soda. Instead of the typical brands, they have Excel brand as their fountain options. I'd never had it before, so I had to give it a shout-out as being an excellent beverage. I didn't miss the name brands. I would absolutely go again and recommend to...