Reuben’s Soup & Sandwich Company

1 extra star because the beef was ferociously yumm. Hot, tender, delish! Sad to say, I was anticipating the horseradish mayo that has been raved over, and is advertised as being on the hot roast beef sandwich. I think I saw a miniscule amount of it on my mountain of excellent beef, but it certainly wasn’t enough to taste. Top bun was good, bottom bun needs a bit more bun to it. My mammoth helping of beef ended up being eaten with a fork off the platter. Did I mention the gargantuan helping of beef? Yummzzzz. All in all, not thrilled, but I work nearby so I’ll give ‘em some more biz.

Hubby had the Cuban which he enjoyed a great deal. I had the best ruben I’ve ever eaten. Sweet potato french fries were outstanding. Service was quick and friendly. Very busy but no one seemed to mind the slight wait. The iced tea was cold and wonderful.

I’d suggest take out if you plan on eating here. I work in the CBD and my lunch time is often limited. A colleague and I decided to do a quick light lunch, and he suggested Rueben’s since neither of us has been. We took a late lunch around 1:30. All we ordered was a cup of gumbo. 20 minute wait for a cup of soup! It was also difficult finding a spot to sit. Although at that time the restaurant was less than half full, there was absolutely no place to sit. Every table was dirty with dishes and trays. The girl who delivered the food was never trained to «don’t leave the dining room empty handed».
Then when we were leaving, close to 2pm, the manager or owner came out to bus tables. I only assume he was the manager from his apparent lackadaisical manner and approach to the current dining room situation.
If you do eat there expect to either not sit at all or sit at a filthy table. And if it’s in and out you’re looking for, there is no expediter pushing out orders in a logical manner. Again 20 minutes for a cup of soup on the line.

Lady at counter super nice! Choices of bread so good. Turkey great. My whole family liked everything we got. Very fresh. Really great sandwich shop!

Pastrami sandwich that would easily rank highly in NYC. Trust me, I’m an ex-​Brooklynite, raised in small town Massachusetts by New Yorker parents who taught us to revere pastrami and seek its finest examples.
Reuben’s is not classic pastrami, it has a bit more sweetness, and slight peppery kick. But it would stand out favorably in any market. Especially since it’s increasingly difficult to find a good one in NYC, I’m very happy that Reuben’s is across the street from my office.

I highly recommend this place. Very few items are on the menu are a miss. Staff is always friendly and food is consistently delicious. Look out for the soup of the day, as a last minute decision you can’t go wrong with the Tomato Basil soup which is prepared with cream and plenty of garlic.

Great soup and a decent Reuben. Staff is quick and friendly, great spot for lunch in the work day,

One of my favorite places for lunch. Everything on the menu is great but the tomato basil soup is the best I’ve had! The staff is always friendly. Be advised, there is a bit of a wait but it is definitely worth it.

Picked up sandwiches for the train ride back to memphis. Selected the Reuben and muffaletta. Both were excellent, high quality meats, cheeses, and tasty dressings. This place is in the business district away from the French quarter. You might consider it if you are on the west side of canal street.

First let me just say that this is a business lunch place. You work in or near by to the CBD and you need a quick and delicious lunch, you call Reubans (sp) and place an order. They can do large and small orders on the phone and it is easy to walk in there and pick up. However, it would be nice if they had delivery services. They would for sure make more money. But I doubt they are hurting as there is usually a line, but hardly a wait as it moves fast. Rueben’s (sp) is the sister store to «The Store» which is only a few blocks down on the same street. However Reuben’s (sp) is more focused on quick lunch as opposed to its counterpart which is bigger and seems to have more of a full restaurant vibe.
The sandwiches a good and can be ordered by the whole or the half. Their hot roast beef po-​boy is very good and you will need a shot of adrenalin to get you back to work. They have salads as well that are solid. Solid Salads… I like that. The French bread at Ruben’s (sp) is always soft and fresh. My go to is the 360 club (turkey, avocado, bacon and pesto on wheat). If I get this I can make it back to the office before taking a nap on the sidewalk. If I go for the Roast Beef or the Meatball Sandwich; Forget it! I usually bring a pillow with me.
Their soups are excellent. They have standard ones served all the time and daily ones that change according to the day. I am a fan of the vegan gumbo (which my Granny slapped me for mentioning such a paradox, but I swear its good and great that they have that option for vegans).
Reuben’s has okay prices. It isn’t dirt cheap but not super pricey. You can get a half sandwich and a soup for a little over 10 bucks. They do however, have free stamp cards. Get a certain amount of stamps and you get 10 bucks to spend at either «The Store» or at «Reuben’s». That is perfect for people working down in the CBD.
The Good:
Vegan option
The soups
The stamp card
super friendly staff (always smiling!)
The Bad:
I wish it was a little cheaper (but I guess I could say that about anything)
Closed on the weekends
The Ugly:
I can never spell the name of this place correctly when I am searching for. It is my struggle! Perhaps I shouldn’t blame the place but my first grade teacher. I’m blaming you Mrs. Berner.
Look if you gonna eat a heavy meal on a work day, be prepared to pay the price. Your gonna need coffee. Deal with it

Love love love this place. I’m here at least once a week for lunch. Their gumbo is divine and they have a wonderful rewards program for frequent customers. And they remember my name! Such a lovely and welcoming staff.

Best gumbo in the city! Everything is good here. I could eat here everyday, in fact, I do!
I also recommend the grilled cheese, yum.
Get there early because it can get packed.

I went here based on the Unilocal reviews… I’m disappointed. As a frequent NOLA traveler, I love my muffulettas. This one was just ok, it wasn’t warmed all the way through, so the meat in the middle was still cold. It was really lacking in the olive salad area… not much at all. Another reason for 2 stars was the staff… not very friendly, but worse, unsanitary. I saw one employee using her cell phone with her gloves on (the same ones used to prepare the food), then she leaned on the cutting board/​food prep area, with her entire exposed forearms on the prep area. Gross. Another employee was eating something out of a cup with her gloves on and was clearly putting her gloved fingers IN her mouth. Ick. Luckily, neither of these employees had anything to do with my food order, otherwise I would have asked for a refund and left.

It was one of those cold and blustery Friday’s and I was in the market for a light, hot lunch. My usual Friday lunch companions suggested that we try this place because we were dangerously close to overdosing on fried seafood every Friday. Plus, our normal Central Business District greasy spoon restaurant has lately been unable to come up with fixed prices and continually overcharging.
I decided on a bowl of Tomato Basil Soup and the Reuben Sandwich, which consisted of House Pastrami, Sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, House Russian Dressing and toasted Rye. The soup left a little to be desired because it wasn’t as thick as I prefer it, but the flavor was right on. The Reuben Sandwich made up for what the soup lacked. The sandwich was tasty and satisfied my hunger pangs as a result of skipping breakfast. The fresh crisp bread and the wholesome ingredients served me well until dinnertime that evening.
My two hungry lunch companions each had a bowl of Tomato Basil Soup with Shrimp Po-​Boys, dressed. Unfortunately, they were dissatisfied because they were more accustomed to gorging themselves on the heaping portions at the nearby greasy spoon establishment that we frequented previously. These guys are my weekend warrior comrades that I do various outdoor recreational activities with, and I am hoping that they are able to adjust to the menu’s item selections here so that we can return again to fine tune and plan our weekend activities.

It’s just the perfect day here in New Orleans for some soup so I decided to try what Reuben’s has on offer. The daily special for Wednesday is Chicken and Artichoke Bisque = delicious! The two other soups I tried are available daily, the Tomato Basil and «The Country», chicken and andouille gumbo, and both are delicious! It will be a tough choice next time to just choose one! But I am now a fan of Reuben’s soups and will be back again soon. Service is great, place is clean, and usually somewhere to park closeby on Gravier St. Now the chilly days of winter will be warmed with some hearty, tasty soup!

It was lunchtime and I may have a soup addiction so I had to try this place, which is new to me. I’m Cajun so I rarely order gumbo in NOLA because it’s not prepared the same way I grew up knowing how gumbo should taste. I liked the color of the roux and it consisted of just chicken and andouille so I took a leap of faith. WOW! I must say, that was the best bowl of gumbo I’ve had in New Orleans. I’m impressed, I didn’t think anyone outside of the Acadiana region can prepare gumbo the way it is supposed to be. The potato salad wasn’t my favorite but I’ll definitely return to try the
other soup selections.

«Good God! Seriously?! Paul, are you even listening to me?!» an angry voice shouted as a fragment of pastrami struck me on the shoulder, shaking me to attention.
«What? Uhh, of course I am! Christ, what kind of a question is that?!» I cried. «I’m sitting right here staring into your face! And really, must you throw food at me? Not only are there starving people all over the world but this is a cashmere sweater! Hugo Boss, for that matter! What if there had been a bit of Russian dressing on that pastrami you threw at me?! These are delicate fibers!» Unfortunately, the truth of the matter was that that they were correct. I had lied. I was indeed not paying attention and unfortunately, they had identified my cunning ruse and called me on it.
«Since I am your friend» they explained, «I feel empowered to say that I honestly don’t understand how you hold down a job, a household or a serious relationship, given your severely lacking attention span. What’s going on? Are you reminiscing again about a low budget soft-​core porn you caught last evening on Cable? Which one was it this time, ‘Schindler’s Fist’ or ‘Sex and the Single Alien’? Oh, how I do hope you recorded it! On the 7^th day, I don’t think God rested but instead, he created the DVR! Praise him!»
«Oh my God, would you pipe down?! Everyone in the restaurant is looking at us!» I retorted. «And if you must know, it’s none of that nonsense! Plus, I thought we agreed never to mention those films ever again! You remember what happened last time we watched that stuff? Allow me to refresh your memory: the hotel room in San Francisco, the pygmy puking into a straw hat, the camel, the rickshaw filled with drugs… Oh, and let’s not forget the hookers!»
«Yes, yes, I know» replied my friend. «But admit it, those girls were fun!»
«I remember how much YOU thought they were fun» I said.
«And could you imagine how much more fun they would have been if they hadn’t have turned out to be men?» my friend anxiously inquired.
«Ugh! Never speak of this in my presence again!» I exclaimed. «It’s a memory I’d rather have extinguished forever from my temporal lobe! Look, can we just enjoy our lunch without rehashing ghastly tales of our sordid pasts? You don’t know what it’s like being me, constantly trying to filter through all of my mind’s seemingly unending chaos so that I may pay proper attention to the person sitting across the table from me. Just give me a few minutes of quiet, okay?»
You see, I have what some might consider a gift. That is, I am able to see our world as it really is. Children are also in possession of this gift for a brief time but the ability is lost as they reach adulthood. For adults, magic is no longer required. With their growth dies their unique vision. I grew up without siblings or parents who played an active role in my life. I was a lonely child, finding pleasure, love and care in the enchanting creatures that shared this plane with me. They quickly became my best friends and we shared many adventures together. Indeed, my sustained ability was a blessing but at times, it could also be a curse. Since none of those around me could see what I saw, I was frequently considered to be losing my mind. As I said before, it’s not easy being me. Spirits inhabit everything around us! Did you know that there are even spirits of the sidewalks on which we routinely travel? They are quick to protest when tread upon. «Look here! Do you mind?» they lament. «My face! Dear God, my face! You’ve stepped on it! Is there a mark?! I’m sure there’s a mark and it’s all your fault! Now I’ll never be able to attend the gala tonight! Foolish human! I’d surely brandish you with a stick had I the fortune of being granted arms!» So remember, it’s always important to look down when you walk.
I continued to enjoy my meal in silence within the dining room of a fine little restaurant called «Reuben’s. A fresh, hot pastrami on Jewish Rye bread, smothered in house-​cured sauerkraut and Russian dressing evoked memories of my time growing up in New York City. Accompanying my mouthwatering sandwich was a delectable cup of creamy tomato basil soup. The ambrosial aroma of the entire dish was more than even my acute senses could effectively process! The hustle and bustle of the kitchen staff, the fresh foods, the vintage metal dining chairs and checkered linoleum floors reminded me of happier times long past.
As we were leaving, my friend queried me. «I’ve never quite understood it! Why is it that every time we are together, people stare at us?»
«It’s because they can’t see you» I confidently replied. «They are staring at ME.»
«They can’t see me?!» he sternly asked. «Why the hell not?!»
«It’s because you’re a spirit. Maybe with enough drugs, they could see you, too» I joked.
«I take serious offense to that remark!» he cried. «Also, why don’t you need drugs to see me?»
«Because» I said «As far as I’m concerned, my reality is already altered». Boy, isn’t that the truth.

2:1 RATIO: of filling-​to-​bread in an almost perfect Muffuletta (more olive salad!)
UTILITARIAN: but clean and large dining space;
GREAT PRICE VALUE: 2 mealer Muffuletta: $ 14.
I am on a life-​long mission: to find the perfect muffuletta. One that is more stuffing than bread, made moist by a thick fragrant olive salad and then (controversially) I believe toasted just enough to melt the cheese and crisp the pressed bun to keep the juices in. The key to all this complexity is Proportion! A muffuletta should ideally have a 2:1 ratio of meat, cheese and olive salad to bread. Unfortunately most muffuletta’s (including the original at the way overrated Central Grocery) are the opposite: ²⁄₃ bread and ¹⁄₃ stuffing. I mean if you are going to spend $ 10-​$ 15 on a sandwich why should most of it be dry bread? Reuben’s ratio was outstanding! I’d say 75%. The proportion was actually OVER the critical 2:1 stuffing to bread ratio. Main negative: not enough olive salad on mine to keep it moist so ask for extra!

In Nola for a seminar. Rainy day needed something close. I was headed somewhere else and saw Reuben’s. The place was of full suits. I ordered ½ 980 club and a (huge) bowl of artichoke & chicken bisque. Both were very good the bowl of soup I could not finish. I saw a women next to me eating a hot roast beef and next time that’s what I will get it looked awesome. Staff was very friendly. Good lunch.

Best hot roast beef poboy I’ve had downtown. The horseradish mayo was spectacular. The only fault is that its expensive, for which I deducted a star.
I will look forward to visiting this lunch spot again and trying one of their soups.