Baguette Box
I decided to give the Baguette Box a try. I pass their original Capitol Hill location daily but they have also opened a spot in Fremont (near the PCC). The hip location is a cross between a carefree European café and a trendy Seattle lunch spot. You’re just as likely to find the stereotypical Seattleite as you are to find the overly anxious businessmen/women or my favorite, the overly anxious businessmen/women disguised as a Seattleite.
Although they serve a few salads and a couple of soups, the baguette box is essentially a gourmet sandwich shop. I was impressed by the menu, high end items of varying origins. As an example, take the Crispy Drunken Chicken Baguette (obvious Asian influence) versus the Veal + Beef + Italian Sausage Meatball Baguette (even more obviously Italian).
Overall I was not happy with Baguette Box. I find that some restaurants fail due to their overly complicated and never-ending menus, while others fall short when they limit themselves to a specific type of food and don’t hit it out of the park. If you’re a sandwich shop I expect you to make some awesome sandwiches.
I ordered the Crispy Drunken Chicken Sandwich which was good but a bit of an odd choice as sandwich meats go. It was sort of like General Tso’s chicken except a little less “general” and a little more soy sauce. Oh, and if the sandwich itself looks aesthetically pleasing yo can thank me because when it was served most of the chicken and onions had fallen out of the bread.
The fries were pretty good. A dense potato served hot and roughly seven minutes after I received my sandwich. I understand that the Baguette Box was busy but it makes no sense why you’d serve different people in the same order one at a time, let alone pieces of their meal separately.
The best part of my sandwich was the bread and if my memory serves, the bread is from Le Panier in Pike Place Market. The baguette had a hard outside and soft inside. It’s definitely an excellent type and perfect quality for sandwiches.
The oddest thing about my experience at the Baguette Box, besides all the dog paintings, is that I want to go back for some reason and try a few other sandwiches. They vary so much in ingredients that I want to see if all of them are as weird and messy as the one I had. Next time, if there is a next time; I’ll try something different and, hopefully, write a more positive review.
don’t go back. I went in once and had a similar experience as you, and I figured that since everyone else loved the place so much and there were other sandwiches that sounded good, I’d give it another try. The second time it was not any better. The first time my pulled pork sandwich was WAY too salty… I could barely finish it. The second time, my pork belly sandwich was 80% fat, 20% meat, again, I could barely finish it. Too bad cause I really wanted to like Baguette Box.
i hated the drunken chicken, but love almost all their other sandwiches. the lemongrass steak sandwich is great imo.