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Recently we popped into Mid City Kitchen for a quick lunch combo. Past the parking garage (which you'll have to pay for since they don't validate -- or take the light rail, it's right nearby), through the maze of Phoenix Plaza high rises and tucked behind their own coffee bar, finding MCK for the first time can certainly be a little tricky.
Once inside, the high school cafeteria vibe combined with your options to go to the salad bar, grill, taqueria, pizza station or sandwich line can be a bit overwhelming. Plus, the bulk of the tables are on the patio, so if it isn't a terribly temperate day, it's best to go between 1 and 2 p.m. when the kitchen is still running but the lunch rush has ended.
See Also: - Lunch Under $10 at Stickler's - Best New Eatery Along the Light Rail - 2010: Mid City Kitchen - Ten Favorite Metro Phoenix Sandwiches
Mid City Kitchen's combo options feature a pizza deal, a taco meal, a burger special and a sandwich and side choice. Feeling a bit bogged down by the greasier options, we decided to be good (for once) and get a freshly made turkey sandwich with a side of pasta salad. While the meal comes with a free fountain drink, it's the same price without and we couldn't justify the sugary calories after denying pizza, so we stuck with water.
The turkey sandwich comes with sliced red onion, lettuce and cucumber, and while the sliced roasted turkey seemed to be of good quality, it was a little bland. Luckily, we grabbed a couple of mustard packets on the way to the table. The average-sized sandwich is typically priced at $6 if not in the meal, and was definitely not dazzling us enough to fork over that kind of dough for it again. The very small pasta salad was a similar story--tastier than the sandwich, but the tiny portion is nowhere near worth $2.
Overall, on our quest to be good little foodies, we were burned by a blandwich with a mini side of pasta salad. We know healthy can be done better than that, so we'll keep looking.
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