Roly Poly is a sandwich shop nearby our office that specializes in rolled sandwiches (regular sandwiches, but rolled in a tortilla). Apparently, there are Roly Poly shops in 30 states, but I hadn’t heard of them until I started working here. And, really, it was my loss — their sandwiches are fantastic.

One that I’ve had a few times is their Cobb Salad sandwich (with bleu cheese and avocado, how can you go wrong?). But my favorite is proabably their Catalina Chicken Salad sandwich — and don’t let the sprouts scare you away, as the basil mayo and avocado really complete the sandwich.

So, after work this evening, I decided that Roly Poly would be a good way to round out the day. And, fortunately, there’s one nearby my apartment, just off 75 & Mockingbird. So, I looked over their menu to try to narrow down my choices. I’ve had a few of their chicken-based sandwiches (which were all good), but I figured that I should give their ham & pork sandwiches a chance.

I decided on the Italian Classic which has, among other things, baked ham, genoa salami, provolone cheese, artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. That all sounded pretty good to me, especially since I hadn’t had artichoke hearts in few years.

I called in the order just before leaving and, to their credit, the sandwich was ready by the time I got there. After getting back home and unwrapping the sandwich, it seemed oddly ham sandwich-like. Looking down the cross-section of the bisected halves, it was as if all I could see was ham. But, I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and I tried to stay positive.

I took a few bites and soon realized that it was indeed mostly a ham sandwich. Sure, there was some salami thrown in, but that acted as more of an accent than a key player. And, maybe I’m just used to grilled artichoke hearts (such as on a pizza), but these artichoke hearts were merely soggy.

After some pondering, I decided to take this meek sandwich into my own hands. I stopped by the fridge and retrieved some crumbled Amish blue cheese. After stuffing some of that inside, the sandwich was remarkably better. Then again, there are few things which blue cheese can’t improve.

It’s not that I don’t like Roly Poly; in fact, I’d probably eat there every day if I could. But just don’t bother with the Italian Classic. The rest of their sandwiches are delectable — decidedly above par in the sandwich world — but the Italian Classic left me wanting more.