International Sandwich Shop — Restaurant in Chicago

I ordered an Italian Sandwich and a Chicken Wild Rice soup. The bread was good and sweet - I know people may not like that sometimes but I think it adds a nice fluffy sweet flavor to the sandwich and I think the sauces were good. The soup was good but not as hot as I would like it to be.

Please keep in mind that they charge extra due to inflation and those prices are not reflected at all on their menu prices. I order an 8inch, a 12 Oz soup, and a Gatorade and found myself charged $20 (they told me soup was 5.50$, 3$ for Gatorade, and 7.75$ for the sandwich). I turned around after paying and saw a faint sign that they now charge extra due to inflation. My coworkers speculate there's about a 20% charge added, which would make sense.

In my opinion if a local join charges extra or raises prices I can totally support that. I think local joints are vital and add a lot of good flavor to a community. And with rising costs it's important to keep up with prices to make a living. I will always, always support price raises and would have gladly paid $10 for this "$7.75" sandwich. But I think transparency is very important. I think you should always be honest and upfront about costs so people know what they're paying for and they don't get a nasty surprise at the register. Why are soup prices blotted out on the menu? Why is the extra charge sign not behind the register where people can see it naturally? Why is the extra charge amount not specified? I am sure the owners can tell you the prices themselves but that adds a layer of inconvenience. When asking how much a Gatorade cost I was just tossed a hand wavy "I think it's like $3 or something". You gotta list this out or have this knowledge ready at the register.

I might come back...

I had the gryo that was delicious (so they get 2 stars for that) but then the last three things I have ordered were not good at all. One was the croissant breakfast sandwich and it was just a bland greasy mess. I suggest eliminating the hashbrown. It makes the sandwhich disgusting and too processed. The next thing I had was the garlic chicken pita. While I was happy that the chicken was very meaty and not processed, the pita wrap overall was lacking a lot of flavor. The pickles were weird in the wrap as well. The sauce was ok but it was a pretty dry even after getting extra sauce. While I feel that this is subjective, the pita also was very very dry and not like the pita I had on my gyro. The one on my gyro was super fluffy and fresh. The one used on the garlic chicken pita was very dry. To help this garlic chicken pita wrap out, I suggest adding tzatziki sauce to this pita wrap. I think it might make it taste better. I also had a caramel apple bar and after the first bite, I couldn't eat it. It tasted raw and mooshy. Not pleasant at all or fresh. For a $17 lunch, I wish I could get my money back. Not sure I will be back. Maybe one more try but not any time soon. I suggest if you're going to spend this much, try FARE across the street. Never had anything bad there. Always...

This was my first time in and I ordered the "Chicago Cheese Stars", which is quite literally a sandwich with 4-5 different cheeses on it, with the thought that it could be toasted. When I asked if they could toast it for me, one woman behind the counter explained that they don't their sandwiches because the bread is fresh and it ruins the taste (totally understandable once explained). When grabbing my sandwich, the other woman behind the counter decided to repeat this information at me as if I offended her by just asking the question. Giving 4 stars because as someone that honestly eats sandwiches mostly for the bread, it really is delicious! The attitude of the woman behind the counter though definitely soured my experience. No need to get upset over a simple question with a new customer who...