Marble's Cafe

The restaurant opens at 11 a.m., so we were somewhat surprised to arrive at 11:25 to find one of our party waiting in the restaurant for ten minutes without seeing any patrons or employees. He called out into the kitchen, but no response. Just as we were determining where to go next, a car turned into the parking lot and a voice called out "be there in a minute". It turned out to be perfect timing because the delay was worth the wait. We placed a general order for Reubens and were given drinks from the cooler. It was a beautiful day and there are two tables on the sidewalk outside of the cafe. We brought another table and chairs outside and waited for our sandwiches. The interior of the restaurant is very sparse--in fact before the employee/waiter/cook/chef returned, it looked like the place might not even be in business. After a reasonable wait for our size group, we were cheerily presented plates of Reubens for our enjoyment. The sandwich had three slices of toasty rye, and very yummy corned beef. The Swiss cheese was very flavorful (I didn't notice any non-Swiss on mine, but perhaps later sandwiches had to be stretched with a different cheese). The sandwich was extremely juicy and flavorful without being drippy or runny. The sauerkraut blended in but didn't specifically stand out. The fries were those 'steak fries', which I don't usually like, but they were seasoned just enough for me to enjoy. Our server brought out an extra, lucky 13th sandwich and a plate of pickle spears for us to divide among ourselves. I highly recommend giving Marble's a chance--we certainly did, and were highly pleased with the result. We are already planning a return visit for those who couldn't join us.

After ordering at the counter inside we gathered outside at tables set out for this purpose. The skies were mostly overcast on a relatively windless day. The sounds of traffic filtered in on our idle conversations while we waited patiently on our sandwiches to be delivered. I thumbed through a Nuvo (available inside); eyeing the ads/articles to pass the time. The food arrived two orders at a time. The Reuben came with fries which were kinda seasoned a little bit. The fries reminded me somewhat of the seasoned fries you get at Claddagh's. I finished the fries too quickly and silently yearned for more. The sandwich was a triple-decker construction which kept most of the juice from mixing with the meat. This resulted in a juicy yet non-messy meal. It had an ideal amount of kraut. Thousand Island dressing came already applied, but not an overly excessive amount. The cheese was notable, but not overwhelming. The cafe is very easy to get to and convenient to get out of in either direction. We'll stop by again the next time we go to Eagle Creek Park, just up the street.

This is a little place tucked in the middle of a little strip mall that I'd never even noticed before. The decor is minimal, but what's there is pleasant: little vases of nice flowers, a few prints on the walls. The interior tables are pretty small, probably only suitable for two diners, and two wall-mounted TVs blare the news. The two tables on the sidewalk outside are markedly superior, comfortably seating four under umbrellas that aren't necessary because the building itself provides excellent shade. Also outside we had piped jazz and the trees of the park across the street, and even though the location is wedged betweeen I-465 and I-65, I didn't notice much highway noise and had little trouble conversing with the other Reuben afficianados. Fortunately no one complained when we brought another table and a few chairs out so we could all sit together. No fountain drinks of any kind are provided, only a choice of Faygo and Pepsi products served in bottles from a cooler behind the register. I had Faygo Peach, which was decent enough and an interesting change. Table service was prewrapped, if I recall, and condiments were provided in individual serving packets. The sandwich was served in a paper-lined plastic basket/tray, with battered and seasoned steak fries and a pickle spear. I typically find steak fries bland, with too much flavorless mush in the middle of the crunchy exterior, and these were typical specimens of that variety. The sandwich, on the other hand, was an interesting and unusual concoction. The most obvious difference was that it was made with three slices of presliced sandwich bread. While the bread didn't seem to have any particular rye flavor (and ironically enough was not a marbled rye, despite the name of the restaurant), it was perfectly toasted, and I think the extra bread in the interior helped absorb the juices that can make a Reuben a very messy sandwich. The other variation was that it was made with both Swiss and American cheese: on most Reubens the cheese doesn't really stand out, but on this sandwich the cheese blended nicely with the other flavors. There was a good amount of kraut and dressing, and though I encountered one small bit of gristle the meat was otherwise quite good in flavor, texture, and quantity. Overall it made for a tasty sandwich, and of good enough size that I didn't feel the need for a bite of the extra sandwich we received. I'm not sure why there was an extra sandwich, I assume that with so many of us showing up and not all at the same time, the cook simply lost count, but it may have been a sort of goodwill offering. As far as I know, no one was charged for it, and it certainly didn't go to waste. I'm a bit confused over the pricing. The menu listed the Reuben platter at $7.95, but at the register (where we paid after dining, not before) we were only charged $7.53 each, with drink included. Some mention was made of a special, but I didn't catch the details. Regardless, the Marble's Reuben was an interesting and unexpected pleasure at a reasonable price.

Presentation and flavor won the day for this sandwich. It was perfectly grilled and quite delicious. I highly recommend this Reuben. Just don't arrive here until 11:45, and your experience will be great.

The value has two grades because we were charged less than the price listed on the menu -- so one grade each for what we were charged and what's on the menu. The atmosphere has two grades because we sat outside in attractive lawn furniture on a very pleasant day, but the interior didn't have much to recommend it -- so one grade each for outside versus inside. This was one of the most interesting Reubens I've ever had because of the construction -- three pieces of bread instead of two, which I think could be credited with creating a far more stable and more easily eaten sandwich than usual. The quality of the ingredients was great, particularly the very good corn beef and crispy, but not burned bread. There were a few minor things I didn't like -- not enough ingredients overall and the Swiss was underrepresented, but those wouldn't bring the taste below an A by themselves. The A- for taste comes from the inclusion of American cheese, which I don't particularly care for. It's a testament to how good the rest of the sandwich was that it still rated an A- with the American cheese on it. I give this outing an A for service despite the weirdness of no one being there for the first ten minutes because when someone _did_ show up, they made it up to us really, really well. They were apologetic, got the food to us with no fuss and quite quickly considering they were making a dozen Reubens, and knocked a huge percentage off of the price -- all without us asking for a thing.

Atmosphere dramatically better eating outdoors on a pretty day. The sandwich was crunchy and not at all soggy. Strong cheese flavor and nice balance of dressing.

Great taste and relaxing environment. Will go back for another Reuben.

Surprisingly good! It could have used a bit more corned beef. The use of what looked like American cheese was a bit odd, but not bad. Overall, a good Reuben.

It was a tasty sandwich with Swiss and American cheese and three pieces of bread. Definitely an interesting configuration for a sandwich. I would definitely come back.

Could have maybe used a little more corned beef but otherwise I enjoyed!

Taste was good. Needed a touch more kraut--just a touch though--and better spreading of the dressing.

Not a bad Reuben--if you can get it. The proprietor was literally "out to lunch" when we showed up, leaving us to stand around outside. It's disorganized and empty. Come while you can, since I predict it will be out of business within a year.

The cafe is new; six tables--oops, seven--we moved one outside for the twelve people who showed up. The one guy seemed a bit frazzled by the 12 orders of Reubens, when he gave me my drink and told me we will "figure things out" after we eat. My sandwich was okay. Bit too much dressing and not enough corned beef. My one sandwich had all Swiss, my other half had both Swiss and American (I wonder where my original half went?). Fries were potato wedges, which were good. I had _low_ expectations for this place and I was mistaken. The sandwich was okay, better than expected.

*Overall... very good Reuben... I would go back again. *Despite there being 3 slices of grilled bread on this Reuben, the taste of the Reuben was extremely balanced and I did not feel as though I were eating an abundant amount of carbs. *Indoor atmosphere is minimal, but the establishment is clean. *Outdoor patio seating at Marble's Cafe is nice since it's on the north side of the building... this makes the sun very bearable during the "noon" hour.