Deciding where to eat during that daily 35-minute lunch period can be difficult for juniors and seniors who are in a rush. Often times many students also want to find a place to socialize with their friends after school. It can be especially difficult when you feel as though you’ve “been there, done that” when you’re thinking of where to get food.

A new restaurant opened downtown on N. Central Avenue called Sandwich Cousins, so I thought I would go take a look for myself. On a Thursday afternoon, I arrived at Sandwich Cousins to a fairly quiet and empty setting. The menu consisted of hot and cold sandwiches ranging from $8 to $14 and a couple of sides such as potato salad, macaroni salad, chips and pickle spears. After asking the staff for one of the most popular sandwiches, I ended up with the “To Blave,” which had turkey, and lots of it, bacon, avocado, spinach and tomatoes on whole wheat bread. And although I declined, the staff didn’t fail to mention that they served free pickle spears with sandwiches. With no one in front of me in line, my meal was out in under four minutes. The sandwich itself was decent and filling, but $9.88 felt like too high of a price for a sandwich I could make at home. I would recommend trying a more unique sandwich, although, it will land on the pricier side.

I would rate this restaurant a 3.75 out of 5 paws. With the distance and possibility of waiting in line, Sandwich Cousins may be too far of a trek for a West High student to buy lunch there, eat it and still make it to class on time. There also happens to be a bar very close nearby the tables in the restaurant and doesn’t seem like an appropriate hangout spot for after school, especially when they close at 3 and reopen at 6 on Wednesdays through Fridays. I soon found out the restaurant was actually a pub and probably a better dinner location for students and their families, rather than a meet up place for friends. The vibe of the restaurant itself was chilled out and the décor fostered a cozy, rustic vibe. My experience was fairly decent but my choice of sandwich ended up being basic, leaving me to feel it was a tad expensive for what I received.

I would recommend that West High students come with their families to enjoy dinner at Sandwich Cousins and hopefully catch a musical performance by a local, or even fellow West students that take place occasionally.