My mini midwest tour continued to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a place known more for breweries and deep fried cheese curds, but my timing was fortuitously aligned with the recent opening of Hen's Deli. Located in the neigbhorhood of Walker's Point, in a former hole in the wall soup shop, Hen's began at the local farmer's market under the name Clark Street Sausage Co. Establishing a fan base with unusual items (for Milwaukee) such as ramen and a pork pastrami sandwich, their brick and mortar location offered a small, but mighty menu of established favorites along with some new offerings on rotation.
I was on my way out of town as I learned about Hen's, which is unfortunate timing for me. Stopping in with some locals in the morning, we got several breakfast bagel sandwiches to go on the everything bagel with sausage. Without a doubt, their house made sausage patties served as the foundation that held it all together. Tucked on top was a slippery little muffin tin egg (think McMuffin style) and melty orange cheese. For readers of this blog, you will know a star sandwich demands excellent bread, and here, I can say their everything bagel was good, but it was not the bagel of my dreams, which lean more towards thin and chewy. From the group of five, only I finished my breakfast bagel in one sitting by noon, at which time I sauntered back over to Hen's to grab a couple more sandwiches to go.
No photos were taken of the pork pastrami, which I ordered more out of curiosity than anything. The pork pastrami was a shoulder cut, saltier than the usual beef brisket based variety, and did not taste brined or seasoned with the familiar spices of coriander and mustard seed, but almost veered more towards a less sweet, maybe tomatoey bbq pork. Perhaps there was more paprika than not, but it came with ample pickled onions in a round soft bun and was devoured within seconds.
A turkey club was also acquired for the road, and it is debatable whether this is a misnomer as I got it sans tomato. Can this inherently still be a club sandwich if there is no tomato? I could not risk a soggy road sub, but after a full travel day, I found a tasty though ordinary combo of turkey, ham, cheese, (slightly undercooked) bacon, and banana peppers along with a smidge of mayo and mustard as requested. A specific inquiry had been made as to whether the turkey was presliced or not, and their answer was that it was sliced in house, which I had presumed to mean roasted turkey meat off the bone. However, the turkey meat was sliced off the hunk of roasted turkey you see in deli cases. It was not what I was expecting, but it also did not have that spongy texture of yore, and it is in fact the same cold cuts I order most of the time while grocery shopping for myself. The sandwich fillings were fresh and tucked inside of a solid white sub bun that was soft, but sturdy. I would certainly try the other subs before coming back around to this one, and if I had a few more hours I probably would have. I don't think it's hyperbolic to say: Hen's was a true highlight of MKE.
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