Galileo Grill, Galileo, 21 St NW

Monkey and I learned some super secret technology for lunching in the big city. Occasionally, Chef Donna of Galileo decides to bestow on the citizens of Districtville a super-tasty, super-cheap lunch. Thursday was one such day, and I decided to take an early lunch to be able to catch some of the cheap eats. (We still haven’t been to Galileo as part of a real meal, as we’ve been waiting for restaurant week.)

Monkey had been the previous day, and was aware of the craziness that could happen, but nothing could have prepared us for the rash of GW 1Ls that had suddenly found out and descended upon the restaurant like vultures. Chef Donna probably did not have unruly 21-year-olds in mind when he decided to start up this grill venture, especially as you have to traipse through the restaurant proper to get to the line which then snakes its way into the laboratorio kitchen and pools there.

Anyhow, when I mean cheap, it is in fact cheap. Sure you could get it cheaper at Potbelly, but then, it’s Potbelly v. fresh, good food. Drinks are not so cheap though, so plan to get them elsewhere. Food runs about 5$-6$ and you can upgrade for a nominal cost. Dessert is available, so I hear: $2.50 for a cannoli. Payment is interesting – it’s a cash box honor system, but it’s right under the scary visage of Chef Donna himself, so I doubt they’ve ever lost money.

As I say, Monkey had been the day before, and had tried the sausage sandwich. Nothing special, he tells me. On this day, we decided both to try the pork shoulder sandwich, as it looked the hook-up: CD was heaping on the piggy.

At first, Monk was tempted by a meatball sandwich, but I pointed out that he could just as well get one at Potbelly. No, I was not using this opportunity to get a meatball sandwich. With all respect to the Chef’s laurels, I doubt his meatballs are as good as mine, and further, good meatballs are a product of their filler and not the meat. In fact, cheaper, fattier meat makes a tastier ball, and I doubt CD is letting ground chuck into his kitchen.

So, we both get the pork shoulder. It comes on ciabatta, which I am not fond of, but the bread is smeared with a pesto-mayo sort of thing, which comes in handy later (read further). You get a bit of romaine for your trouble, and you have to remember to ask for “red sauce”, which is really Carolina Barbecue sauce. Tasty, indeed.

Eating it is another matter. The Grill is takeout, so you have to find a place to eat, and while you can eat anywhere, an overstuffed pork sandwich really requires a table. I ended up eating mine with a fork because it fell apart. That left me with some schmeared bread to munch on, so I was thankful for the spread, even though I usually don’t like things like mayo on my sandwiches.

You have the benefit of calling ahead, and I’m definitely banking on doing that the next time. The Grill also serves up pizza, homemade hot dogs, and a couple other types of sammich. Also, next time, I’m not waiting until the word has been out for a day; go the first day only to avoid the crush, go early, and above all else, carry something to bludgeon the boorish law students.

What I won’t tell you is how to find out when Galileo is doing the lunchtime grill. I mean, I gotta make you do *some* homework. (And protect my own gastronomic interests.)

Galileo Grill runs from 11am to 1pm or until the food runs out.