Ragmann's
108 N. Aurora St (off the east side of the Commons)
Prices: Sandwiches etc. $4-6

Posted on: 10/11/99

It seems that as youth we too quickly jumped to conclusions, first judging the Rongo on looks alone, and passing on Ragmann's as some sort of ganja club (something about the name!?). Despite their logo mascot, who looks sort of like a smurf -- Ragmann's fits squarely into the mid-scale businessperson's lunch niche.

The menu consists mainly of sandwiches and salads, some of which have "funny" names (Annette Spinachello?) -- sometimes a frightening sign in an eating establishment, if they feel that the food must be humorous (instead of...?). Ragmann's has made something of a reputation out of their french bread pizza. Which isn't bad at all -- it's a good lunch for a fair price. Of course, you could make the same dish in a Betty Crocker toaster oven -- which doesn't make the FBP a bad choice, per se, just not a piece of restaurant magic.

The chili at Ragmann's earns a point for using plenty of ground beef. Despite the fact that "authentic" chili, Texan style, is supposed to use chunks of steak, we've always preferred the ground beef variety, perhaps having grown up on too much Wendy's chili (not that there's anything wrong with that). It is perhaps not as spicy as it could be, and needs a bit more liquidity, but what do you want for $3?

By and large, though, Ragmann's is a soup-salad-sandwich joint, with a wide variety of sandwiches and salads to choose from. All that we've tried have been good -- nothing outstanding, nothing disappointing. Sandwich shops have always struck us as "don't feel like cooking" food -- one doesn't go there to get a taste of something you can't produce in your own kitchen. Rather, you go there, fully aware that the cost of a sandwich ($5) could make five sandwiches at home, simply because you feel like eating someone else's sandwich.

To its credit, Ragmann's is a friendly (though remarkably narrow) place, where the owner/operator is quite involved with the patrons and seems to recognize many of them. Ragmann's doesn't aim overly high, but they do hit their target.