A local photographer posted a picture of the new almond chicken sandwich at Big Moe's and I immediately thought that this was someplace I needed to try.
First, this review requires a little history of almond chicken. This is not almond chicken like a Chinese restaurant would serve, it's a phenomenon that has been seen at many Dearborn area restaurants over the years. I first encountered it at LA Bistro on Michigan Ave. It's a chicken breast cutlet pan fried to a nice golden brown with a breading that's includes almond slices and then it's covered in a cream sauce - usually with sun-dried tomatoes. It's yummy - enough said.
Big Moe's sells almond chicken as an entree but just added the sandwich version in the last week. I haven't seen a sandwich version anywhere else but what a brilliant concept! It was beautifully plated on a brioche bun with some bright pink pickled radish for color and lots of cream sauce poured on top of the perfectly prepared chicken. Although this is a counter service style restaurant, more like a sub sandwich shop, the plating was better than many table service restaurants. And it tasted great too, but the sauce was a bit bland and needed some more flavor in my opinion. It could benefit from some salt, spices, and sun dried tomatoes like other almond chickens.
We also ordered the teriyaki chicken egg rolls to share. The serving was plentiful and delicious and once again beautifully plated. The rolls were served with two homemade sauces - avocado mayo (my favorite) and a chipotle sauce. Note: if you're also getting fries, keep the sauces for dipping. I actually might consider getting the egg rolls as an entree on a future trip. They were delicious and unusual.
My dining companions also ordered a large philly cheese steak to split - it was HUGE! Definitely more than enough for two to split. They upgraded to a combo with Truffle Parmesan fries and a can of pop. They both enjoyed the sandwich a lot and particularly commented that they liked the bread. The fries were very nicely prepared and covered with lots of yummy Parmesan.
For my drink, I ordered the strawberry basil blender/smoothie. It was very refreshing and full of fresh strawberries - sometimes strawberry smoothies taste more like banana, but this one was definitely mostly strawberry. I would for sure order it again and I don't usually spend money on drinks. Speaking of drinks, I did notice they offer mostly Pepsi products - I prefer Coke products myself and wish they offered both.
Prices seemed pretty reasonable and service was very friendly.
Please note, the parking lot is small and the place is a little hard to spot. I expected to see Big Moe's in large letters but there's more of a graphic on the sign with small letters. So if you can find it, please stop by and give it a try. The menu is filled with lots of great sounding and interesting takes on sandwiches, salads and entrees. I look forward to going back and trying more of the menu.j read more