Charley's Steakery Review »
Let's face it - there are slim pickings inside any mall's food court, and the Eastland Mall food court is no exception. In fact, as the stores around the mall start to fall like so many dominoes, the boards go up around the food court as well, and there just aren't that many options left.
Still, there are a few places operating, so when you're there with the family and looking for a bite, you have to get something. So we decided to give Charley's a try. The difficult part is trying to convince the kids that there is actually something on the menu that they will eat.
They are at that stage where if it's not hamburgers or chicken strips, it might as well be moo goo gai pan or something. Luckily they happened to notice the kids menu with - what else - chicken strips. So they made their choice, complete with a hefty cup of fries, and we elected for a sub of some sort.
My wife chose a whole wheat wrap, as the carbs are somewhat less in that choice than they are in the massive bun that is offered up at Charley's. I ended up with the buffalo chicken sub, since that's what one of the kids chose prior to noticing the kid's menu, and since it was about done prior to the changing of the order, I figured I would eat it rather than cause a ruckus.
Normally I'm not too picky about bread - I like bread, and don't have a problem with it. But the roll on this sandwich was just huge. So I stuffed the chicken down on one half of the roll and it worked out just fine. The other half went in the trash. I'm not usually one to throw away food (not by a long shot), but I think Charley's would be better served by fitting their meat better to their buns.
The taste is actually pretty decent - even the chicken strips are okay. The price isn't too bad, and all in all it's probably a bit above standard fast food fare. But I can't exactly recommend the place.
