Arni's - College Park

This was an interesting "sandwich"--or maybe it was a pizza wanna-be. I thought that it was interesting that I couldn't really taste the sauerkraut at all, I am assuming it's because the flavor was cut by the diced tomatoes. The addition of tomatoes did make it taste a lot more pizza-like, and not a bad experience--definitely different from your typical Reuben fare. The Swiss cheese was very strong and the bread was good. The meat didn't seem to be overly tasty and seemed to be just a foundation to give some bulk to the pizza/sandwich. I would definitely order it again, mostly because it intrigued me. The red skin potato salad was pretty good, but I still think the price to be a little high.

As far as Reubens go this was probably the most unusual. It resembled a pizza more than a conventional sandwich. I ended up eating like a pizza since this turned out to be easier than trying to cut it with a knife. Predominant flavors included the cracker-like rye bread, cheese, and tomatoes. The flavor of the meat was so mild it was nearly non-existent and could only be discerned at the margins of the cheese. The potato salad that comes with the Reuben pizza is top notch. It left an almost effervescent after taste that left you wondering what was in it. I'd go back to eat something else as long as the potato salad was included.

I've been to Arni's a few times, and it's always busy. Today was no exception. I'm not sure what the mystique is (some people say it's their pizza, but I've never liked it), but I'd guess it's the decor. This particular Arni's location has bicycles and motorcycles mounted on the walls and ceilings. The dining area is convoluted with various partial walls, and there's one set of French doors that look like they open onto another dining area before you realize that each of the panes is a mirror. I had a little trouble finding my way back to my table from the impeccable restroom, though it might have been because I was dazed from the air freshener fumes. Our waiter was attentive and amiable, and the service was reasonably prompt, especially considering how busy the place was. Though all of our bills were brought to us on one slip, everything was neatly broken out. We all paid in cash (much to our waiter's relief, we could tell) but it seems as if there wouldn't have been much trouble putting some of the orders on individual credit cards. I shied away from the $1.79 fee for a "bottomless" glass of soda and opted for water, which was served, to my delight, with a huge lemon wedge. I chose the potato salad as a side for my reuben, and it was... interesting. Pretty tasty, but it produced this tingling sensation in my tongue, as if it were somehow effervescent, like soda. I thought I was going crazy, but Jim and Chris confirmed it (the tingling, not my craziness). We asked what was in the salad to cause that sensation (Jim claimed "horseradish", but I've never had that sensation from horseradish before) and were were told it was premade elsewhere, and the ingredients list didn't include anything more illuminating than the word "spices". I had some concern that perhaps it meant the salad was going bad, but it didn't _taste_ bad, and as of the following morning there have been no noticeable aftereffects. Another Arni's anomaly, like the sandwich itself: an open-faced reuben with diced Roma tomatoes. I didn't know whether to eat it with a fork or pick it up like pizza, and did a little of both. The predominant flavor was the dressing, and it wasn't bad. The bread had a little flavor, as did the tomatoes, but I couldn't really taste the meat or the kraut. There was a lot of cheese, but it didn't have much flavor either. It was certainly an interesting experience, but not what I'd call a good reuben. Next time I'm at Arni's I'll be getting my standard order, a junior salad (don't let the word "junior" fool you: this thing is a meal), and maybe splurge $4 on one of their extravagant desserts.

The sandwich was interesting. The fact that it was open-faced and had tomatoes made it the most unusual edible Reuben. The corned beef and sauerkraut were kind of bland. Other than that, the flavors of the sandwich were pretty good.

Wow, this place is popular. It was very crowded. Nice decor with bicycles hanging from the ceiling (many of higher quality than the one in my garage). The Reuben was served open face--I am not a big fan of open face sandwiches. If I order a sandwich I don't want to have to use a knife and fork. However that was only one of the problems with this sandwich. It had very poor balance. The bread and the cheese were all that I tasted. I'm not saying that the meat and the kraut were not plentiful, they were simply overpowered. The bread was very good and so was the flavor of the Swiss; they were both very hearty. The corned beef and kraut were simply too mild in this sandwich. Taking into consideration the crowd of people in the restaurant, our waiter was first class, efficient and attentive. So don't be put off by the crowd, they seem to be able to handle it.

The Reuben at Arnis' was a bland, tasteless mess. It had chopped TOMATOES on it! Which made it the type of food that you feed prisoners of war! I could not taste anything on the Reuben but the tomatoes. It was so bad that I swore off Reubens forever! Ok, it was not that bad but it was not good!

I would like to start off noting the positives of our experience. I did enjoy the atmosphere of Arni's, it contained bikes jetting out of the ceiling, large wooden pillars separating a spacious strip mall restaurant. I also gave the service an A-, the server was friendly and prompt. Of course, the main event here was the Reuben, and the sandwich at Arni's fell short. The Reuben at Arni's was served as an open-faced sandwich and I think a few of the problems were due to this adaptation. The cheese was an oily film on top and wasn't altogether tasty, I'm not quite sure they used the traditional Swiss. If the cheese was bad, the dressing and meat were worse. The dressing (I'm thinking they used a house product or Thousand Island substitute) lacked the needed tang to offset the kraut. They also included tomatoes which added another bland and uncommon taste to the traditional Reuben. The meat was old, dry and tasteless. It was dry around the edges and although moist in the center, it was tasteless. They did seem to serve a generous portion, although it may have been too much of a bad thing. The rye bread seemed toasted and store-bought. They seemed to try to cut costs for the portion sizes by using this bread. My overall impression of the sandwich is that Arni's tried to make-up for an inferior sandwich by creativity (open-faced and using tomatoes) and portion, but give me the same 'old and I would have been happy.

Arni's is generally a nice place, and this Reuben was acceptable, but not one of the best we've had. Still, if you think of this as Friends-Who-Get-Together-And-Eat-Reubens Tuesdays rather than just Reuben Tuesdays, it was definitely a good experience.

I had a Reuben with turkey instead of beef. The sandwich could have been better and I feel the bread should not have been crispy. Overall, it was a good experience.

A couple of things-- First: It was just the second time for me that I fancied the Reuben, so I don't have much to say or to compare with. But I feel good that other participants agree with what I have to say, and that is that I didn't like it. Schlotzsky's was a better one. The taste, toasted bread and cheesy layer killed the whole Reuben feeling. Only good thing about it was the dark and shadowy atmosphere. I would love to go to Arni's again but not for Reuben. Second: Chris, can you wait for me to gulp my food (before taking picture)? Just kidding. Thanks for blurring my face. I look better now.

I had the Arni's Reuben w/fries. The Reuben was a bit dry; however, the fries were quite tasty. The bit of red pepper on the fries made them very flavorful. The service was a bit slow, but friendly and professional.