Round Bread Sandwich Company
7083 S. Westnedge AvenueFinding something to when traveling along South Westnedge in Portage can be difficult if you’re looking for something other than chain fast food or casual dining.
A few weeks ago I had that dilemma. I knew I was going to be on that side of town around lunch time and resigned myself to the fact that I would probably be having Five Guys. I was fine with that but I did a quick Google search for “sandwich” and found something surprising.
Round Bread Sandwich Company just opened up in November and has so far, gone pretty unnoticed online. I’m usually pretty up on new restaurants opening in town and I didn’t find this until the middle of January.
The restaurant is in that awkward little strip mall by the Sam’s Club on South Westnedge behind Texas Roadhouse. It has taken over the space that Kelvin & Co was using for their Portage location. There are some ties to the old business as this new sandwich shop is owned by Chris and Nick Slocum who are partners with Mark Nieuwenhuis (who owns Kelvin & Co.) at Burger Bros.
The set up of the restaurant is exactly the same as it was for Kelvin & Co. There is an order counter near the back of the space where sandwiches are made with round bread (hence the name) baked fresh daily in the store.
The chairs were all put up when I stopped in as it was still when dine in service was shut down. The decor of the place hasn’t even changed all that much from the BBQ shop. The floors and walls look pretty much how I remember them from the few times I stopped in to Kelvin & Co. The one difference that stood out to me are paintings for sale from local artists on the walls to add a little bit of color.
There was a group of people in front of me so I had a few minutes to look over the menu. I ended up ordering a whole #13. The sandwich was made right in front of me in just a couple of minutes. I passed on sides and chips. The large sandwich set me back a little over $13.
The #13 is the pastrami offering on the menu. It include Swiss cheese, grain mustard, a horseradish aioli, and dill pickle. There was a lot of the aioli on the sandwich which is usually a turnoff. I’ve gotten to where I like a light spread of a flavored mayo but when it drips out the back of the sandwich, it’s just too much for me. I know some people really like it that but I’m not one of those. After one bite, I opened it up and wiped off a lot of the aioli leaving just a small spread to give the sandwich a little bit of a kick. The rest of the sandwich was quite delicious. There was a pretty thick layer of sliced pastrami topped with thick cut swiss cheese. The mustard added a little more tanginess each bite. The star of the sandwich was obviously the restaurants namesake. The bread is so soft but holds up to the hearty sandwich. It has qualities of a focaccia with olive oil and Italian seasoning through it.
Round Bread Sandwich Company is definitely a different kind of sandwich. I’ll know next to time to either leave off the aioli or ask for it very light. Once I wiped most of it off, the sandwich was really tasty. The restaurant is in that weird little strip mall with almost no visibility off either Romence or Westnedge so you really have to know it’s there but once you find it, you’ll be going back for more.
SW Michigan Dining 