The Great American Hero: It's a Good Idea!

       Last Friday, I had a good idea.  After gathering water samples at a few sites in Dallas, I met my co-worker/friend Jessica at around eleven in the morning so we could work together on five sites near the airport, Love Field.  The good idea hit me as we were preparing to gather the sample at our first site: we were near a sandwich shop I'd always wanted to try, The Great American Hero, and I suggested to Jessica that we hit it for lunch.  She agreed and we were only five sample sites away from the fruition of my good idea.

       The Great American Hero has been in Dallas since 1974.  It's had a shop at 4001 Lemon Avenue for as long as I can remember.  Over the years, I've driven by hundreds of times and thought to stop, but never did, because it always looked too busy.  I'm usually driving by at around the lunch hour and their front parking lot, which is small, is invariably full.  Also, their drive-thru lane almost always has a line of cars to the street at lunch hour.  Anybody who knows me knows I'm not a fan of crowds, and so the apparent busy-ness of The Great American Hero kept me away.  Until last Friday.

       I'm less inclined to be intimidated by crowds if I'm with somebody, and with Jessica agreeing to give it a try, I was determined to finally dine at The Great American Hero.  In my mind, I imagined she and I wedged in a long, stifling line of people that would move so slowly that it would take forty-five minutes for me to order and another thirty minutes to get my sandwich.  I figured I could handle it if Jessica was with me, and after we finished our samples, we got into our trucks and headed over there.

       I'd already gotten it into my head that I was going to park on a side street instead of trying to get into the parking lot.  When I took a left on Throckmorton Street next to The Great American Hero, I realized that I'd been mistaken about their parking lot situation.  They have ample parking behind the shop and out of view from Lemmon Avenue.  I still parked on the street---I'm paranoid about maneuvering my truck in parking lots, but all of that available parking was an encouraging sign.

       When Jessica and I entered The Great American Hero, I realized that my preconception about the busy-ness of the shop was also wrong.  The line was relatively short, and there were plenty of places for us to sit.  The shop was busy, but the efficiency of the employees was a marvel to behold.  I immediately got in line behind two other guys, scanned the overhead menu, and within a few minutes was being expertly and politely guided through my sandwich order.  Within a mere few minutes more I was seated at a counter, enjoying my sandwich, chips, and large iced-tea---all of which cost me ten dollars and some change.

       I chose the Hero's Club, a hot sandwich with baked ham, turkey breast, cream cheese, black olives, and provolone, and I got it on wheat bread.  In the ordering process, the sandwich-maker referred me to a question on the menu which simply asked "Everything?"  "Everything" included fresh shredded lettuce, onions, tomatoes, a blend of canola oil and olive oil, red wine vinegar, spices, and oregano.  I'm always a fan of "everything" when it comes to a sandwich, so that's what I wanted.  And when referred to a second question that had to do with mayo or mustard, I chose spicy mustard.

       Jessica took a little more time looking over the menu than I did before getting in line.  She eventually chose a cold hero with lean roast beef, provolone, and "everything" on marble rye bread.  To drink, she ordered a Coke.  And, because The Great American Hero offers first -time customers a free bowl of fruit, her hesitance to get into line before reading the menu marked her as a first-timer and scored her some nice fruit.

       I took a menu home with me and showed it to my wife, Jessica.  On Sunday, she had to go in to work for a few hours and on her way home she picked up a hero for us to share.  We'd carefully perused the menu before she left for work, and agreed to try the sandwich named after the shop, The Great American Hero.  It came with genoa salami, baked ham, bologna, and provolone, and we had it with "everything" on French Bread.  Oh, and we also had them throw on some jalapenos.  

       The sandwiches were delicious, just as I suspected.  And I'd have experienced their charms many years earlier if not for my unfounded preconceptions about The Great American Hero.  There's a lesson for me in this experience, and now I've got to find and try all of the other places I've skipped for fear of noon-time crowds.

       The Great American Hero is a cool place to eat!  I recommend that you give it a try!