Goodwin's

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

It wasn't faith that led me down the staircase at 175 N Franklin this MLK day but rather the seductive sandwich smells of Goodwin's Restaurant, the first stop on The Loop Lunch Club's second tour. For me, choosing Goodwin's was a simple decision. It is directly across the street from Perry's Deli, the former LLC Champion, and its name contains the Latin roots "good" and "win" which translate roughly to "Obvious" and "LLC Champion" respectively.

This time around The LLC is down to four members, as Nick Nikitas has moved to the good land of Milwaukee and Crisis Chris Hartemayer just couldn't handle the stress of a once weekly lunch outing. With the limited number of members we have tentatively reduced the tournament to 8 restaurants.

Spira (foreground) fits in with the crowd at Goodwin's.

"I like coming down the stairs," said a winded Andy Ofman who apparently has developed a dependency on escalators. "It adds to the intrigue." This truly was an intriguing place. Once down the stairs customers find themselves in a hybrid of a coffeehouse and dentist's waiting room. There were multiple coffee tables lined with magazines and a shelf running the length of the wall with knickknacks reminiscent of a grandmother's sitting room. Besides what was offered by the stairs and ambiance Goodwin's featured a fair amount of intrigue on its menu. Signature sandwiches are the calling card of the establishment, though as Rob Anderson warned the group, "the wraps are good too. I wouldn't overlook the wraps."

The line we waited in because Dan was late. It moved pretty quickly

The LLC had more than ample time to review the menu while waiting on the arrival of Dan Ofman, who was late due to the incredible attention to detail he has when applying Just For Men's "Touch of Grey" each morning. When he finally showed up he had both the energy to wait in line and the experience to know what to order. Talk about the best of both worlds. I'd hire him.

"Do you want that hot or cold?" This question from behind the counter caught me off guard and I panicked. I went with hot, the better option. Forget Stan Van Gundy, I am the true master of panic. My Rexburg sandwich was great. No, it was better than great. It was excellent. Hot roast beef, turkey, bacon, lettuce, Muenster and Russian Dressing all on a marble rye that was good enough to warrant wresting from an octogenarian. I was almost ashamed of how excited I was to eat the second half while still chewing the first.

My Driver's Ed instructor, Rich Burg, would love my sandwich, Rexburg.

"I really like pretzel rolls," said Dan Spira as Anderson engaged the group in an enlightened discourse on the production values of Jurassic Park. Spira continued, "they aren't featured on many sandwiches."

Arriving as surprise guests after I had completed my lunch were Steve Lake and Danny Rubenstein*. Before saying hello Steve had already begun yelling at me concerning the durability of the tortilla chips compared to the consistency of the guacamole. He was right, they were too flimsy but the quality of the guacamole made up for it.

"I think the addition of salsa to this wrap (right) is extraordinary," Anderson announced to the group. This sentiment seemed in tune with everybody's feelings of satisfaction with their meals and experience at Goodwin's. A great start to the second season of The Loop Lunch Club.

*Not the Danny Rubenstein I grew up with. More likely the one following you too closely on twitter.

Goodwin's Notes:

• Andy Ofman, fresh from Hawaii, did not order the "Maui" sandwich
• An ongoing Scattergories debate resurfaced from about 1.5 years back.