3 Clubs (Sandwiches) You Need to Hit in RVA
What’s up Richmond?! I’m about to take you on a magical journey, one that will take you to new heights and maybe a couple new nooks of our local RVA restaurant scene. That journey is going clubbing, clubbing as a club member. No, we are not going to District 5 for vodka cranberries. We are diving into 3 of the best club sandwiches in Richmond, VA.
I have been everywhere from diners to gentlemen’s clubs to driving ranges in search of the perfect club sandwich. I go to spots based off of recommendations from friends, family and followers and I’m excited to share with you 3 of my favorites that I’ve come across thus far. I know that you’ve been there before, you’re out to lunch and you’re perusing a menu and all of a sudden you get a “Oh, hey old friend!” moment and you realize you haven’t had a solid club sandwich in a long time or maybe you’re like me and it’s the first thing you look for on the lunch menu. However you got there, I’m here to help you out by suggesting a few places that you can go when you need to scratch that club itch.
Contributed by: @clubmembersonlyrva
The Classic Club:
Galaxy Diner
This to me, is the most important club. This is the club you know and love. The one you don’t remember trying for the first time but you’ve been eating for your whole life. The traditional club: ham, turkey, bacon, cheddar, swiss, lettuce, tomato and mayo. Served double decker style and quartered on lightly toasted bread. This is the OG club, simple but elaborate, easy to make yet often messed up and it is perfectly executed by Galaxy Diner in Carytown. If you follow @ClubmembersonlyRVA, you know that this is the type of club I seek the most. When I got this baby from Galaxy, all of the boxes were checked and I gave this sammy a 5 out of 5 on the club scale, a score that I seldomly give. This club is the perfect size to eat. So frequently, I feel like restaurants think that in order to make something great or to stand out, that they need to make whatever it is as big as they can. This is a common case in club sandwiches around town. That’s great for when you’re starving or maybe stoned.. but for the average Joe just trying to put down a sammy, you’re not trying to see how far you can stretch your jaw during lunch.
Next order of business is the proportions. This has to be done right, if I wanted a bacon sandwich then I’d get a BLT or an even worse proportion nightmare is when you have to search for an ingredient because it’s almost nonexistent (god forbid a club with no cheese, leaving you stuck with a meat sandwich.) The galaxy club does a great job of keeping the ingredients evenly distributed,balanced and perfectly symetrical. Another important component, is getting the bread toasted just right. Lordy, I hate biting into a beautiful club and the bread is toasted so heavy that it leaves me with a wound on the roof of my mouth, discontinuing my ability to eat the sandwich or even for the rest of the day.
The last but certainly not least element, is the pickle game. In my opinion, a pickle is absolutely necessary in completing the full circle of the club sandwich. There’s not much that I love more than enjoying a sandwich and getting that pickle-crunch-palate-cleanse in the midst. Galaxy takes this step to another level by serving EVERY sandwich with a FRIED pickle and it is done flawlessly. If you haven’t been to Galaxy Diner in Carytown you gotta go in general. I often switch up my sides when I go and I haven’t had one that I didn’t enjoy yet. They also have my second to favorite house made ranch (Shout out: Continental Westhampton!) The inside decor is, as you can imagine, a futuristic-vibe eatery which makes for some interesting scenery. Go get you a Galaxy Diner club though, it’s out of this world. ;-)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Location: 3190 W Cary St, Carytown
The Breakfast Club:
Moore Street Cafe
Oh my love for Moore St is vast. Moore Street Cafe is the quintessential diner in Richmond and I love me some diners (Shout out: Sidewalk and 821!) I was introduced to Moore Street a while ago when I heard that they without-a-doubt had the best pancakes in Richmond (they do) and I was later introduced to the fan favorite BREAKFAST CLUB. I was originally going to write on the top three classic clubs for RVAx but A. you can find all the classic clubs you can handle on my Insta and B. I’d be doing you a disservice by not telling you about these crucial clubs.
So, back to our subject here, the breakfast club at Moore Street is everything you need for those mornings you wake up craving breakfast. Imagine the perfect bacon, sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sammy and remix it with a classic club by adding ham, lettuce, tomato and mayo. All of this on beautifully buttered Texas toast (quartered of course.) Like everything at this Scott’s Addition gem, this sandwich is super flavorful and filling. The dishes are made diner style in an open kitchen behind the counter and the entire staff are sure to make you feel at home as you walk in. Each dish has that home-cooked, comfort food appeal. Also, bonus points for the incredible Rana’s sauce they carry. The most amazing hot sauce I’ve ever had with mango, carrot and habanero. I pour this sauce on everything, you can also find it at the Kuba Kuba’s and Sidewalk Cafe. I’ve been a huge advocate for Moore St since I first went for the pancakes years ago and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Also, $5 mimosa pitchers. Yep.
Rating: Since it’s not a classic club it doesn’t get a rating but YOU ARE MISSING OUT IF YOU DON’T EAT THIS
Location: 2904 W Moore St, Scott’s Addition
The Loaded Club:
The Grill at Patterson and Libbie
aka “the Grill”
The club at the Grill is outright gorgeous. The colors, the textures and the composition of the sandwich make a true work of art.. the quality of all of the ingredients is evident at first sight. I would classify this as a traditional but it’s definitely on the larger side and doesn’t come with a pickle (you can ask for one though!) The turkey is slow cooked in-house and hand-carved and doesn’t taste like it came out of an Oscar Meyer plastic container. The bacon is plentiful and the bread, oh man, the dark wheat bread is magical. This club is definitely one of my favorites. I also love going to the Grill. If you haven’t been to the Grill, it’s a place you can go during the week for lunch and some beers that’s a little under the radar in all the best ways. I also love the real neighborhood vibe that they got going on. I can usually walk right in and grab a seat at the bar and there is always really great service. Just like the Rana’s sauce at Moore Street they also have a unique hot sauce called the fire sauce that is a little sweet and alotta spice and I dip everything in that shit. Also, don’t sleep on the happy hour that includes discounts on peel and eat shrimp.
Well my friends, I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into my journey that certainly does not end here. I intend on continuing the search and exploring new restaurants and keeping you all posted along the way. In the meantime, I suggest you get to these three RVA gems for a club or not. Signing off Richmond, you can catch this girl in the club.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Location: 5724 Patterson Ave, Near West End