The Smiling Moose Deli located on Burkhardt Rd. is one of Evansville's newest franchises. In fact, it has only been open for business since late August. The chain opened its first restaurant in Vail, Colorado, in 2003. Since then, they have opened up stores throughout the Rocky Mountain area and Texas. The Evansville store is the first in the Midwest.
The Smiling Moose offers a few special features that make it stand out from the rest of the sandwich-chain crowd. First, it offers an exciting breakfast menu with all day availability. This sumptuous breakfast fare includes muffins and pastries, breakfast burritos, house-baked bagels with your choice of spread and toppings, and interesting breakfast sandwiches with such toppings as salsa and avocado. Second, the lunch and dinner menu includes a make-your-own sandwich or salad option. Finally, it is one of the few restaurants in Evansville that offers gluten-free (GF) bread. In fact, they offer good GF bread. The first time I ate at the Smiling Moose, I carried my GF sandwich back-up to the counter because I didn't think it was GF since the bread was so soft. The increased price of an extra $1.50 for this product is very worthwhile. I know that I look forward to ordering a big old sandwich again.
During a recent lunch visit to the Smiling Moose with a friend, I ordered the signature sandwich – the Mighty Mo Grinder ($5.99, $8.79) on GF bread. It was huge. The soft, elastic bun (a quality that becomes important after eating rice bread for a few months) enclosed a half pound mound of crumbled ground beef mixed with melted cheese, topped with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, diced red onion, banana pepper rings, vinegar and oil, and mayonnaise. Somehow I managed to finish the whole thing. Although it didn't exactly taste like a cheeseburger, it was very good.
My friend tried the El Rancho breakfast burrito in a spinach tortilla ($4.99). Other wrap choices include plain, whole wheat, and red chili. The filling of chicken, scrambled eggs, potatoes, jalapenos, and red onions was quite spicy and tasty. "Fresh" cilantro was listed as an ingredient on the menu; however, the cilantro on the prepared wrap was dried, which gave the sandwich a bit of an odd, grassy flavor brought on by too much dried parsley.
I have tried many other Smiling Moose sandwiches, including the Parisian – with grilled chicken, avocado, sundried tomatoes, pesto mayo, and brie cheese ($6.99, $8.79) – and my favorite so far, the Green Thumb ($6.99, $8.79) – a vegetarian concoction of artichokes, spinach, roasted red peppers, olives, tomatoes, and sunflower seeds with melted Swiss cheese and pesto mayo. The icon displayed beside this sandwich claims that it is low-cal, but because it is so gooey from the cheese and mayo, I can hardly believe that this claim is true.
Other sandwich offerings include a variety of wraps, including a Thai style with spicy peanut ginger sauce; a hot Italian grinder; and numerous vegetarian options. Salads on the Smiling Moose menu include their own versions of a Caesar, Cobb, Italian, Greek, and harvest (with chicken, nuts and cranberries). Soups are also offered, and cookies, brownies, and Rice Crispy treats round out the menu.
The Smiling Moose Deli is located at 724 N. Burkhardt Road, across from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
It is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Call (812) 477-3354 for more information. Catering is also available.
