This week (12/21/2010) we visited Duffy's Deli, a small place located on Whitesburg Drive between Bob Wallace and Governor's Drive. Known for it's White Bean Chili, this local restaurant specializes in soups, sandwiches, and a variety of side items and desserts. Here's the rundown...
Attendees
All 3 founding members of the Huntsville Lunch Bunch along with my 3-year-old daughter.
Food Purchased and Atmosphere
We all three ordered soup. Myself and partner (still trying to think of good nicknames - maybe Biscuit and Gravy) ordered the White Bean Chili while Food Paradise opted for the Tortilla Soup. I opted for the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich while my partner and Food Paradise went with the Steak and Provolone (half) sandwich. The sandwiches also came with chips (we didn't opt for the fries, onion rings or other sides). We ordered the chicken tenders and fries for our daughter. Duffy's provides a neat small-town type of atmosphere. It's a smaller space that looks as though it might have been an older house converted into a restaurant. There are TV's in most rooms showing sports, news, etc. The tables and environment seemed pretty clean and made for nice lunch conversation while keeping the 3-year-old sufficiently contained and happy.
Price and Value
Overall, the price seemed fairly reasonable for a local soup and sandwich place. The soup seemed expensive at $3.70 for just a cup (and I'm talking a regular coffee cup, not a soup cup), but it does seem to be their specialty, so it's not too shocking. The sandwiches come in at around 6-7 dollars which isn't as cheap as a typical fast food restaurant, but not too bad for a specialty sandwich shop. I can't remember the price for the kids meal (I'll start writing this down or something), but it seemed typical for this type of place (3-4 dollars). If your looking for dollar-menu types of prices (and larger quantities), this isn't the place to go, but if you're looking for a soup and sandwich place that has a somewhat different flavor for what a normal lunch might cost, this would be a good place to visit. Overall, a good value (not great but not bad either).
Quality and Quantity
The soup was very yummy (as advertised) and helped make up for the price a little bit. The White Bean Chili wasn't overly spicy (white chicken chili that I've had in the past is usually a little creamier and quite a bit spicier than this), but it was a good consistency and had a great flavor. I was fortunate to have a bite of the Tortilla soup which had more of a kick to it and tasted delicious. The sandwiches were different from most places I've been in the area. The Philly Steak had thicker pieces of tender steak with the cheese melted right over the steak (and onions) and served on soft (probably Italian) bread. The flavor was a little deeper (more like roast beef) than most Philly Steak sandwiches I've had, but it was very tasty. The Steak and Provolone was served on a soft roll (kaiser roll?) with the cheese melted over the steak and overlapping the bread. I will offer one word of caution. The half-sandwich option on the Steak and Provolone was REALLY small (the Philly Steak would be slightly larger). Half of the small kaiser roll looked like about 2 or 3 bites worth of sandwich. The sandwiches were served with a bag of chips (optional side items were not ordered). Overall, the quality was very good while the quantity might be a little below average (if not ordering soup).
