I had never eaten at the Honey Baked Ham Company before this visit I'm about to tell you about. Not sure why, because I enjoy a fresh sandwich on soft, chewy bread. Maybe it's because Honey Baked Ham is ever so slightly off the beaten path, in a little line of businesses nestled into the area behind Panera (at 201 S. Mount Auburn Road, Suite G in Cape Girardeau.) It's just not as blatantly visual as the restaurants along the main road, so I'd never thought to go there "off the cuff".
Time to remedy that, and I visited. According to the graphic on the wall by the fountain soda machine, the Honey Baked Ham Company was founded in 1957 in Detroit by Harry J. Hoenselaar, and is still owned by that family today. Harry developed the patent for the first spiral-cut ham machine. Honey Baked hams will smoke for more than 20 hours and are known for a crunchy, sweet glaze. Already sold! Slice that up and put it on a sandwich for me.
And that's what the fine folks at the restaurant did. I ordered a Tavern Club sandwich — ham and turkey breast sliced up with bacon, cheese, lettuce and tomato nestled in between. With mayo on one side of the sandwich and Dijon honey mustard on the other side, this sandwich was pretty, and it tasted even better than it looked. The multigrain bread was soft, chewy and full of flavor. The bacon was thin cut and crispy, not too salty. The turkey held its own, slightly smoky. But the ham...oh, the ha! Tender, sweet, smoky, meaty, sliced much thicker than deli meat, this was the star. The whole thing was served warm, and it was absolutely delightful.
My husband ordered the Original Ham and Swiss 3-Pack, which is served warm on sticky, sweet, pillowy King's Hawaiian Rolls. Little meaty sweet treats, these sliders pulled the sweetness out of the Honey Baked ham and magnified it. So good, and the sliders can be ordered in a 12-pack if you need some for a party or just to enjoy at home with the family.
On to the sides! After asking if the potato salad was made in the restaurant (it isn't, but more on that shortly), I turned up my nose at that choice and ordered the Broccoli Bacon Bliss, a house-made broccoli salad complete with bacon and raisins and one of my favorite summer salads. It was everything it was supposed to be and nothing unexpected.
My husband, though, and bless his optimistic heart, ordered the potato salad. We have a bit of a history with potato salad at restaurants. For a couple years now, we have been on a quest to find pre-made potato salad that we used to be able to eat at certain establishments that have since closed or changed their potato salad. Full of red skin-on potatoes and seasoned with a dressing that may have cream cheese in it and definitely doesn't have a drop of mustard, this is our absolute favorite potato salad, and its scarcity has made us crave it even more. When my husband ordered his side at Honey Baked Ham, he told me it was with the hope that maybe, just maybe this time would be THE time, that this time, a plate would be placed in front of him with that creamy white salad, full of unique taste and tang.
I hate to admit that I missed the moment. Our plates were brought to our table, and I was too busy framing a picture of my sandwich and smelling the savory smells to notice his face. But he knew before even tasting. "This is that potato salad," he said calmly, but I heard the excited quaver in his voice and snapped my eyes toward his plate. He picked up his fork and probed the salad, took a single potato piece onto it, and put it in his mouth. "Yep, that's it," and this time, relief flooded his face. Relief, and maybe even bliss. So, even though I enjoyed the broccoli bacon salad, my husband picked better this time. Darn right we took a pound of that potato salad home with us, too.
It's the little, comforting things that make food fun, instead of just fuel. Embrace the little things and go eat an excellent ham sandwich. And save some potato salad for me.
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