Celebrate Reuben Sandwich Day with Alex Tuch’s version
Saturday is National Reuben Sandwich Day. And if you’re a Golden Knights fan, you can celebrate that with the version Alex Tuch insisted be added to the menu at Wolfgang Puck Players Locker, where he and several teammates are partners.
The right wing, who was born in Syracuse and now has a cottage in New York’s Thousand Islands, explains that he grew up with the sandwich.
“The Reuben actually originated, I’m almost positive, in upstate New York, because of the Thousand Island dressing that goes on the Reuben. So the Reuben is one of the staples of upstate New York. And it was always kind of like a comfort food to me.”
As a connoisseur of the Reuben, he said he was never able to find one locally that compared to the ones his mom made. So he was excited to see what Puck and his team would create. He first tried their spin on the classic the day before the restaurant’s soft opening in January. He says his first impressions were that “they did a great job capturing kind of that hearty, full of meat, juicy Reuben that I always remember.” But, he says, the texture of that first sandwich was just a bit off.
“It was a little different for me, because it had a little bit more of a crunch. And now it’s actually changed, and the bread’s become a little bit softer, which is what I like. I mean, nothing’s perfect the first time. They just did a great job with it and they kept making it better. And I’ve been happy with it every single time I go in there.”
He’s not the only Golden Knight who likes it.
“Shea Theodore took a bite of mine. And I think he had something else ordered. And he was like ‘No, I want to change to a Reuben.’ ”
For those who want to celebrate the “holiday,” Wolfgang Puck Players Locker will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday. And while it will continue to operate during normal business hours moving forward, it will also be adding a new home and office delivery service next week, in addition to the existing pick-up option, in response to coronavirus concerns.
Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter and Instagram.