There’s a Facebook group called “Oh Shit, Here Comes an ‘S,’ Better Put a Goddamn Apostrophe,” for the amusement of grammar police like Yours Truly who wince at the sight of business signs that use apostrophes to pluralize. Once one has put in time as a professional copyeditor, one can never quite turn off the instinct to pounce on such errors — especially when they’re posted in public spaces. So it was with some trepidation that I accepted the assignment to write about a newish Saugerties eatery called Bleu Collar Sammie’s.
Dear Reader, it turns out that my anxiety was unwarranted: There really is a Sammie. She’s the girlfriend of the business owner and one of the core staff members, though we didn’t get to meet her the day we visited. But we did get to try a couple of the sammies that are the shop’s specialties, and we are pleased to report that the quality of the food exceeds even the relief of not having to be judgy about the owners’ branding decisions.
Six months have now passed since Bleu Collar Sammie’s opened its doors, in a tucked-away corner of the little strip mall behind Beer Universe, just off Route 212. There’s a laundromat next door, railroad tracks out back and a bottle return place down the end. And in that span of time, word-of-mouth about the culinary offerings emanating from this modest setting has gone viral. Even in “Ulster Eateries Unfiltered,” the Facebook group where readers are encouraged to be very frank about their experiences, even negative ones, about restaurants in our county, the scuttlebutt on Sammie’s has been uniformly positive from the get-go.
So, of course, we had to check the place out. We quickly discovered the source from which all the enthusiasm radiates: chef/owner Tony Anatriello, who has apparently been known as Chef Tony Danza in some earlier professional incarnation. A Greene County native whose mother role-modeled starting her own business as a hairdresser, he started his cooking career in fast food — as manager of a McDonald’s in Cairo — but escalated “from a sports bar to fine dining,” as he tells the tale. “I started working at the Pig [Bar & Grill in Saugerties] around 2009, 2010. That’s when I really fell in love with it.” His travels after that included a sojourn in Florida, learning to cook seafood, before ending up at Mirabella’s: “I was there the better part of the last ten years. I worked my way up to being head chef.”
But Tony had a yen to open his own place, and started looking around for an unfilled niche in the local restaurant market. “Over the last year, I noticed there wasn’t a place where you could get a hot sandwich,” he says. “In the village there were all bars and places for dinner and brunch.”
There was more to his dream than just a well-researched business plan, however, and the clue to his motivation lies in the “Bleu Collar” part of the sandwich shop’s name. “My dad was a painter and taper,” he recalls. “I wanted to make food for construction workers, plumbers…the guys who get up early in the winter when it’s cold to go to work. The least I can do for them is to do what I know how to do best, and provide them a place to get a warm meal on a cold day.”
That client base, along with foodies from more upscale economic brackets, has certainly responded to what Tony, his sister Jessica (“She taught me to cook when I was a kid”), the eponymous Sammie and “grill man” Kevin Murphy have to offer. “I get pretty solid word-of-mouth,” says Tony. “I see a lot of the same faces in the morning.”
Morning is traditionally the time for breakfast sandwiches, but Sammie’s doesn’t shut down the grill at 11 a.m. or noon like most such places. Being night owls, my companion in local culinary research and I have a special appreciation for eateries that serve breakfast all day. He had to try the highly touted Breakfast Bomber and gave it a thumbs-up. It’s a massive thing, crammed not only with eggs, bacon and cheese, but also a burger patty, served on Texas toast.
For my own order, I asked Tony what “house specialty” or crowd-favorite item he recommended. “My personal favorite is the pepperoni melt, which doesn’t get enough love. And the cheesesteak is really popular.” But the item that seems to get the most favorable mentions on social media is the Cubano, a pressed sub roll from Deising’s loaded with marinated pork, ham, Swiss cheese, mustard, mayo and sliced pickles. “This is the only Cubano you’re going to get worth a damn in Ulster County,” he avers. I was persuaded, and did not regret my choice. The pickles, which Tony makes himself, elevate this sandwich to a stratospheric level of goodness. There was enough left over for a second lunch.
Sammie’s also offers a variety of hot chicken sandwiches, BLTs and barbecue offerings, plus an ever-changing specials menu that often showcases the “fine dining” piece of Tony’s culinary education. The cold sandwiches, made with antibiotic- and hormone-free meats from Metro Deli, are generously overstuffed. We were intrigued by the fact that the house chicken salad is mixed with egg salad, but will have to try that another time. Build-your-own sandwiches can be ordered with a bewildering choice of ingredients.
All the breads come from Deising’s, and gluten-free wraps are available for those who need them. We didn’t have room in our tummies left to try the cold macaroni and potato salads that Jessica makes, but we hear that they rise way above the mundane. Oh, and hot soup has just been added to the menu. Next time!
Bleu Collar Sammie’s is located at 239 Ulster Avenue in midtown Saugerties. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. There’s one small table outside, but no seating for indoor dining. To preorder food for takeout, call (838) 207-7869. Or just show up; service is fast and friendly. For updates on specials and the like, visit www.facebook.com/p/Bleu-Collar-Sammies-61558120670852/?_rdr or www.instagram.com/bleucollarsammies/?hl=en.
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