Head around the corner from the Yorktowne Hotel and give Raemi's Café a try.
This little place offers creative sandwiches and reasonable prices.
While there, you might even leave your comfort zone and try something different, like a ham sandwich with pineapple dressing or a salad with gorgonzola cheese. Or you could get something called the Naimese Chicken wrap, as I did.
The setup inside Raemi's looks ususual. The long, narrow dining room leads to a white wall with a single window where the kitchen takes your order.
It feels like approaching the cashier window at a casino or an off-track betting locale.
It was a slow time of day, so co-owner Rami Kennedy wandered out from behind the wall to chat up her new customer (me).
Kennedy opened Raemi's about seven months ago. Her business partner, co-owner Lisa Howard, runs a catering business in the Baltimore area. (Raemi's also does catering.)
Kennedy described her menu as basic lunch foods with subtle twists.
"We didn't want to go too crazy or people wouldn't try it," she said.
A lot of people put grapes in chicken salad, but instead Raemi's adds raisins and apples. For the "Ham on Pretzel," they don't use a pretzel roll. Kennedy simply buys the regular soft pretzels from the new Philly Pretzel Factory in Windsor Township and cuts them in half.
When I bit into the chicken wrap, I heard the crunch of the carrots, cabbage and shredded broccoli complementing the chicken. For starters, I commend Raemi's for the presence of those interesting ingredients. Too many sandwich shops just give you lettuce, onion and tomato. Blah.
They didn't skimp on the roasted chicken either, and I soon understood the reason for the vaguely Asian-sounding name. The sauce smeared over the contents of the wrap combined ginger, garlic, honey and hot peppers for an interesting taste of sweet and spicy.
When I return to Raemi's, I'll have my eye on a couple of salads - one with chicken, walnuts, gorgonzola and sliced pears, and another with smoked turkey, avocado, gorgonzola and bacon.
That last one is called the PA Chopped, which I found a funny name. I guess when I think "PA," avocado and gorgonzola don't leap to mind.
But fear not, reader, if you dare leave your typical dining environs.
"They can order and say don't put the gorgonzola on it," Kennedy said. "We'll try to give people whatever they want to come up with."
Cheap Eats profiles local restaurants with meals for less than $10. Suggestions are welcome. Reach Wade Malcolm at 771-2101, wmalcolm@ydr.com or on Twitter @WadeMalcolm.
If you go
LOCATION: Raemi's Cafe, 29 S. Duke St. in York
CUISINE: American
WADE'S PICK: Naimese chicken ($6.39)
PARKING: street and lot
HOURS: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday
PRICE RANGE: 89 cents to $7.49
ALCOHOL: no
SMOKING: no
ACCEPTS: Cash and major credit card
TAKEOUT: Yes
DETAILS: 650-6337, www.raemiscafe.com
Email
Font Resize
