The NK Ruben Rank

I love Ruben's.

That ideal, wonderful blend of marble rye, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, Corned Beef, and Swiss cheese, grilled to perfection is hard to beat. The Palouse has many offerings in this respect, some are definitely better than others. I had thought for quite some time of trying all the Rubens in the area and somehow ranking them. When sharing this idea with some friends I was surprised to find Ruben fans among them. We decided that we would seek out all Rubens in the area and subject them to our discerning palettes.

To that end after eating our first Ruben of the season we sat down and developed a 17 point scale. A Ruben rubric if you will. Sitting at Bucer's we hammered out the details, it took considerable time, for this was no small time. Self appointed food critics that we were, delivering summary judgments on Rubens was a matter that we approached with the utmost seriousness.

We decided that there would be 17 points, that we would each have half a vote for each point. For a given category we could vote a 0, or .25, or a .5. 0 would mean that the Ruben totally failed to meet our standards, .25 means that it was ok, not great not bad, and .5 means that we were pleased with the Ruben.

So what are the 17 points that make up the NK Ruben Rank?

Bread

~Type Is it a Marble Rye?

~Toastedness Is it crunchy/crispy?

Meat

~Texture Does it have a pleasant texture?

~Thickness Is it too thick? Too thin?

~Tenderness Is it tender? Chewy?

Kraut

~Tartness You should know that there is kraut on the sandwich

~Moisture Was it drained? Is it making the sandwich soggy?

Cheese

~Consistency Is it melted? Is it too melted?

~Sharpness There should be a bite to the cheese

Sauce

~Tanginess Again you should be aware of the sauce

~Viscosity Too thick? Or more likely - too thing?

Overall

~Ingredient ratio Is there ingredient harmony?

~Appearance Does it look good?

~Greasiness Am I wiping my hands on my jeans? (1 = good 0 = bad)

~Size Am I full?

~Originality Did they do the original justice?

~Experience Do I want to go thru this experience again?

So that having been said here is our first NK Ruben Rank

Coeur d’Alene Brewery ~ Moscow, ID

Bread

Type = 1

Toastedness = .5

Meat

Texture = 1

Thickness = 1

Tenderness = 1

Kraut

Tartness = .25

Moisture = .5

Cheese

Consistency = .5

Sharpness = 0

Sauce

Tanginess = 0

Viscosity = 1

Overall

Ingredient ratio = .5

Appearance = .5

Greasiness = 1

Size = 1

Originality = 0

Experience = .5

Total Score:

10.25/17 = 60%

That having been said – it was a good Ruben, we have high standards and stand by them, lots of room for improvement at CDA Brewery, but not a bad Ruben, they defiantly have something worth developing and refining.