Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The Hill is Home: Taylor Tops?

An author from The Hill is Home finds herself disenchanted on recent visits to the sandwich shop. For the record, David was there when I ordered the Art Museum on Monday.

39 comments:

monkeyrotica said...

The roast pork/broccoli rabe/sharp provo is one of the best sandwiches in DC. That is all.

Anonymous said...

They are no Litteris, but the sandwiches are good I stopped by on Sat and noticed the bread was harder than normal, but the sandwich was still divine. I don't understand how one bad sandwich could erode the author's confidence so quickly. The conclusions seem a little premature or at least hasty. I like the place, and will keep going back.

-Robby

MJ said...

David was at the H st location on Friday as well. They were out of the pork/broccoli so I walked to the K street location (full disclosure- it was good). I've gotten the occasional "off" sub there but overall they're consistently good, but even the "off" subs were nothing like what she describes. If I were in her shoes I would have brought this up with David/Casey before writing an 8 paragraph blog rant that can be summed up as "I used to like their subs a lot but they've had quality issues recently" and ending with "rumor has it...." especially when that rumor isn't true; some people prefer to curse the darkness.

Anonymous said...

My main problems are also stale bread and failing to get my order right about 50 percent of the time. A Litteris is better and more reasonably priced.

Trinidiad said...

I have not noticed any drop of quality and I order from there at least once a week. I understand the bread is not for everyone but I love all their sandwiches. The only issue I have had is with one of the guys that answers the phone and takes in delivery orders. He has completely lost our order twice, but as long as that guy does not answer we usually get our food within 20-25 minutes.

Is this Kyra woman the same person that was spamming the FT comments section a while back to get her blog going? I think Inked put a stop to that.

jaybeas said...

I agree with monkey - the Pattinson Square sandwich is (to use a haughty food critic term) a revelation.

I also think the post was a little unfounded - you have one bad experience there, and you're going to rail against it? Early on my wife and I had one bad experience with Taylor. I called them, spoke to David/Casey (I forget which is which), who was extremely apologetic and refunded my money, no questions asked. He even offered to refund my money for the parts of the meal that were not problematic, which I declined, but was an extremely nice gesture.

These guys clearly want to make their business work and provide quality foods for the neighborhood. If you have a problem with something, LET THEM KNOW. I guarantee they'll want to fix it.

Anonymous said...

I agree that the bread isn't the best-- in fact, I think that their sandwiches would all be better on a flaky french bread. Had a sandwich last week and the bread wasn't stale, but was hard. Not good. If they would address this, I think they would be hands down the best shandich shop in DC.

ro said...

I'm a huge Taylor fan. By far the best sandwiches in the city. But there has been a small, yet noticeable, amount of quality issues since the owners' turned over a lot of the food prep to their workers. ie: the cold precooked cutlets. Please go back to the hot freshly made cutlets. yes, it slows down the line a bit, but it was so worth the wait.

Anonymous said...

I agree Taylors has one of the best things going in the city,as for thier sandwiches.I had one bad experience with "The Delaware".All that to say.......based on that one experience is not a true representation of Taylors .

diane said...

While I did find items great when Casey made them and then when the one short Spanish dude makes them....this last time someone else finished making my Pattison Ave and what is suppose to be David's juice reduction wasn't. My sandwich dripped of grease like he had taken the ladel and poured olive oil in it then on my sandwich. The minute the drippings hit my plate they jellied up and it wasn't very pleasant. The first time I had it I couldn't get enough. This will not stop me from going to Taylor's but I may not choose that particular sandwich again if that taller dude is in the back.
I did try to call and talk to David that day as he was there, but was told he is "unavailable".

massachusetts Voter said...

I'm feeling particularly pissy about the MA special election, so while it's probably best not to say anything, and this is not directed at any one person in particular, here goes anyway.

Ok, just one observation: if you prefer "soft, flaky French bread" to hard-rolls, or you prefer, say, pumpernickle, or rye bread. Or you like gobs and gobs of mayonnaise on your sandwich. Or maybe you like that kind of baloney with pimentos baked in... If any of these are deal-breakers when it comes to sandwich selection, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LIKE TAYLOR SANDWICHES.

If you're in the mood for pizza, you should not go to Chipotle.

Get the F over it. Jesus. I used to think there was a finite amount of imbicility that our universe could contain, but that appears not to be the case.

Bleh.

Massachusetts Voter said...

...and, no, I'm not talking about complaints about quality, which are perfectly legitimate.

Tom A. said...

I went last night and my bread was as hard as the bread they refused to serve us when they first opened because it was stale! (we eventually begged them to let us try it even with stale bread.) There was NO flavor. There were three tiny pieces of mozzarella on my chicken breast. To try to salvage the sandwich, I had to ask for some marinara. If I had taken it out, there would have been no way to eat it- because it was so flavorless and hard. I'll be back, but I'll ask to check the bread first.

the poo is a realist said...

we ordered chicken cutlet sandwiches earlier this week. they were meh. like folks are saying, the bread was pretty stale, fillings meager... it just wasn't the taylor's we knew. that's a big deal, because if you can't see or test the quality in the store, why would you take a chance and order for delivery? i won't be ordering for delivery anytime soon. it'll have to wait until i can walk in, and believe me, that will be much less frequent than when i order. methinks it's just a problem of them spreading themselves too thin too quickly.

i hope that when they leave the h street store (which i'm betting will be sometime in the relatively near future), a decent, consistent place like souk opens up there. they can't keep business the way it used to be at this rate. at least the renovated the entire building!

ChewingItOver...andOver said...

I had a chicken cutlet last night that must have been made from a rubber chicken. I was not happy throwing out half of a ten dollar sandwich, but even the cats wouldn't eat it. I used to think the sandwiches were decent if overpriced, but now I just think they're overpriced. I have no idea how the quality could have gone down so fast. I'll try again in the spring.

Anonymous said...

Taylor's is very mediocre people.

Anonymous said...

On Saturday the two sandwiches I got (one for me, one for the wife) were excellent, as usual.

Christina said...

The allegations in that blog entry really annoy me because they are unreasearched. It is clear that the author is not very familiar with Taylors or Casey and David. It would not take much to find out that they still live upstairs and that they still spend time on H Street and on the Hill. Someone who is a self-proclaimed supporter of the Hill should have discussed these issues with Casey and David before ranting about them in a public forum. Taylors has done a lot for H Street, lets quit whining.

Mark said...

I've had good experiences with Taylor. Once, they screwed up my delivery and promptly re-delivered the right order with an extra sandwich. The manager also unexpectedly called me back and apologized. I thought that was a great gesture and happily have been patronizing ever since.

Rob said...

In the past I've overheard the owner (one of them) say that their delivery driver goes to Philly to get the rolls.
I asked myself, how on earth do they make money while doing that????
What I'm hearing in these comments suggests to me that they may not be "Delivering the rolls fresh daily" any more in order to cut costs. Either that or people around here like really soft rolls.
Maybe they should find a local bakery that makes rolls that style? If the rolls are good, you won't have to tell me they come from Philly to get me to come.
Will have to investigate
:-)...I've never had anything but a fresh roll from Taylor but I only go once every two months or so.

Anonymous said...

Twice in the past month, I've order a salad and sandwich, but they were out of chicken. They failed to tell me that they were out of salad dressing as well until I received the order.

JRO said...

Great article. 100 percent on. I woudl still eat Taylors over any generic sub shop, however at almost 10 bucks a pop, I am not looking for a hoagie that is better than a subway or potbelly's I am looking for a "to die for" hoagie. I agree that when the H Street location was the only Taylor's they delivered amazing results 9 out of 10 times. Now I feel lucky if they deliver a to die for sub.

Anonymous said...

had a delivery today that took a long time and when it arrived the bread was soggy and my mozarella sticks completely cold. should've sent it back but didn't bother.

jamie said...

I love Taylor, and unlike most of the commenters here, I have yet to get a bad sub. But Christina's comment is one of the most predictable and tiresome reactions to any negative reaction to an H Street business here. There will be businesses that fail to deliver for their customers, either on occasion or regularly, There is nothing wrong with discussing that--we all want H Street to thrive, but we also want to get what we're paying for.

Tom A. said...

I did have a bad experience there this week, but I WILL be back. I thnk they just need to train their new staff better. And they need to remind them to never use stale bread! I also wonder if they have any bilingual staff for training purposes. The guy who made my sandwich could barely speak english- so I'm sure he would have mised a lot in an english-only training.

Anonymous said...

Something I've always wondered...how is Taylor able to operate, while my favorite food establishment, Cluck U, was shut down for being a "fast food" joint.

Did they get zoned to be a fast food place before they opened?

If so, why no outrage from the ANC about being "over run by fast food."

If not, what allows them to continue to operate?

TMK said...

I have always enjoyed all the sandwiches I have had at Taylor. For the people who complain about the price, go to Subway this way I wont have to wait so long in line

Anonymous said...

Interesting blog post? I love this place, cant get enough. If I were this bitch/complaining woman on the Hill and had such a bad experiance do you know what I would do?

Send an email, write a letter or make a telephone call to the Taylor boys. From my dealings with Casey/David they always seemed open to constructive critism

Kyra said...

Christina,

I did do my research. I know they live upstairs, in two different apartments that they remodeled. I know their kitchen cabinets are from Ikea. (I even know what color they are! They are as green as their design.) I know they found some wall tile for their apartment on ebay. I even talked to Casey one day about my love of Taylor pork roll and how they came to call the deli Taylor. Hell, I even know they both went to Penn State. Is that enought to prove that I know some background information?

I've been three times since Christmas, and have not seen the guys once. I'm not saying they aren't there. I just haven't seen them.

And my issue with quality doesn't mean I won't get my fav salad or the risotto balls at a future visit. My gripe is with the sandwich... not even the guys! I want the sandwich that made me go back week after week. Hell, I just want something consistent.

And, no, I didn't spam this site back when THIH was getting started. Look at my writing history on the site. I didn't start writing for the blog until November.

Long live good sandwiches and quality establishments on H Street.

Casey Patten (Taylor Gourmet) said...

After reading the original blog post and sifting through the variety of comments above, we wanted to address some of the concerns about the consistency in the quality of our food at Taylor Gourmet. Everyone at the deli, including the kitchen staff and the managers, care deeply about providing the highest quality hoagie for every customer with every visit to our store. We strive to create a perfect sandwich, one that strikes a delicious balance of meats, cheese, fresh vegetables and bread, but we understand that our kitchen can sometimes make mistakes. Since opening over a year ago, we still use the same high quality meats and cheese and still deliver fresh bread from Sarcone’s bakery every day. Despite our best efforts, if ever you notice inconsistencies in the food quality, feel free to shoot us an email (
info@taylorgourmet.com) or drop us a line (
202.684.7001) we welcome any and all suggestions.
 
We love being in the neighborhood, appreciate everyones support and business since we opened.
Casey and David

inked said...

8:46,
Cluck-U wasn't shut down for being a fast food place. The owner (Bernard Gibson) closed it so he could open Twelve. It was Blimpies that lost its C of O. Cluck-U was always in full compliance. And though the Cluck-U business model was fast food. That particular location met the legal definition of a regular restaurant, not a fast food place (everything cooked to order, real plates for eating, ect.).

Christina said...

I have no problem with critiquing H Street businesses. I would just prefer that people explore other avenues before making a big deal out of it on a public forum. Did Kyra speak to the manager or Casey and David about the alleged "three day old hard bread," "pink, thin tomatoes," or the issues she was having with ingredients falling out of the tail end of her sandwich prior to her post?

And Kyra, I'm talking about your allegation regarding the boys spending "their days at the new K Street location." Don't allege that they gave up on the H Street location because they weren't there the three times you were. Do you really think they fail to stop in the bottom of their house? I understand you did some research. I would venture to say most of us read the Dwell magazine article as well.

If there is one thing we can all agree on, its quality businesses on H Street.

Anonymous said...

Wow thattimeofthemonth...don't you think your words are a bit hurtful and too harsh...that's a bit too much...

inked said...

Guys,
the author is entitled to her opinion, whether you agree on not. But I'd feel much better if we didn't call anyone a bitch, or allege it's a PMS issue. Those are really both pet peeves of mine, and I think only creeps do either. So, don't them here, or I'll delete your comment.

Cas said...

I think it's fine to speak to the manager but it is also completely valid to voice something publicly if you suspect it may be a common problem. From the reactions, it certainly sounds like more than an isolated incident. I'm still a fan of taylor but I too have experienced the drop off in quality recently and, as a consequence, am a little less inclined to grab my dinner to go there. I'm hopeful that once the guys get settled in the new location, they'll work out how to supervise and ensure consistent quality at both locations. Happy to have them in the neighborhood and hope they work out these issues soon. Darn it, all this talking about sandwiches... now I'm craving a hot chicken cutlet!

Kyra said...

Christina and others,

I wholeheartedly believe that hearing from a group of people in the comments section of multiple blogs that quality has gone down will do more than just one phone call from one customer.

I can't say that the boys don't stop in downstairs. I don't spend all day at Taylor, so I don't know when they are there and aren't there, but I haven't seen them behind the counter in a long time, and this isn't just recently. I talked to people who have not seen them at H Street and have seen them at K Street before I wrote the post. So rumor has it.

Their business is growing, and I think that is great. I simply want everyone to enjoy the sandwiches they get at Taylor, and if that means telling the guys that quality is slipping, so be it. I'd think as small business owners they would appreciate the comments and feedback--good or bad.

And I will never say that we should simply be happy that we have something on H Street. Since when do we settle for good enough?!

As for the comments about my, let's just say attitude, I won't respond. Despite what people may say, I'm not that mean spirited.

I think I may head down to K Street to check out the new pork sandwich. Have a great day everyone.

Christina said...

Sorry to switch this up, but I stopped in the Wine Store on the 400 block. Its a really cute place, obviously just starting out. They have a notebook where they are taking alcohol suggestions of what to offer. Please stop in and make suggestions!

MJ said...

Just because there's a rumor out there doesn't mean it's true or you have to pass it on; an untrue rumor is indistinguishable from a lie.

That being said, calling kyra a bitch is waaay out of line- her complaints weren't unreasonable and if I had the same sandwich experience there I'd complain too. My criticism was about the way she chose to complain- bringing it to the owners' attention seems like it would get the desired results better than a long blog rant.

monkeyrotica said...

Speaking of Cluck-U, I really miss their fried chicken livers. I sometimes get the gizzards at Evil Danny's, but where can I get some decent fried chicken livers? Anyone?