March 31,2007
First impression: where’s the menu?? A choice of 8 sandwiches. My head swivels around and around, searching desparately for any mention of corned beef, rye bread, pastrami, brown mustard or other ubiquitous deli fare. Nope. Just a choice of 8. Two kinds of cheese, swiss or provolone. Oh + American if that can be counted. Cheese on every sandwich even, bleh, tuna salad.
Potbelly does have pickles – for a buck apiece, not included with your sandwich, not even a spear – but that’s about the extent of it. Potbelly bears no resemblance to a deli. A more apt description would be Riffing on Subway, without much soul.
The only bread available – rolls, white or brown – are toasted to a crisp, their saving grace. Filling choices are narrow – turkey, roast beef, a variation on an Italian sub, peanut butter and jelly, plus 4 others – and uninspired, but serviceable. To be honest, my sandwich, tuna salad with the proverbial melted cheese, which was adhered to the top of the bread seeming to have gravity-defying drips, was not bad. And cheap too. No need to base your choice on price (no purse-busting lox to be had) cause all sandwiches are a democratic $3.99. Chips extra.
In a pinch Potbelly is not a bad choice, particularly if you are not expecting to find a for real deli beyond the door. This is glorified fast food, assembly line style, sandwiches constructed to order right before your very eyes, a la Subway or Chipotle. The bread’s flabbiness is disguised by its being toasted to a pressed, crumb-bursting crunch and I liked that. No need to plow through cotton bread, a relief. Chili is available too, clinching the this-ain’t-no-deli deal, and also ice cream scooped into cones or cups.
The dining room does incorporate actual wood into it’s decor. That’s something. We were comfortable and the kids were happy. The lighting is not horrible, something for which to be grateful for as well. While I could not call lunch at Potbelly an adventure, I suppose there is small comfort in the fact that it is not the caloric calamity of a true deli. You ain’t gonna get no Potbelly from these modest sandwiches.
The Lunch Encounter 
I’d been wondering about Potbelly for ages. Sounds like I’m still yearning to find a real deli.
There are a few real delis in the DC area, but you’ll have to drive a bit. Chutzpah in Fairfax, Brooklyn’s in Rockville and Morty’s on Wisconsin Ave in DC all qualify. Max’s Kosher Deli in Wheaton does not have a deli counter per se, but the have absolutely delicious food. I posted about the shawarma, which blew me away.