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Lunchtime at 225 would be so sad without the day after Thanksgiving sandwiches at Jaffa; they are fantastic!
Start with the fact that they have a variety of bread options (which thankfully includes a multi-grain/wheat option) and they separate the white and dark meat so that you can easily choose one or combine. This is not your standard deli meat turkey; this is delicious, roasted, Thanksgiving Turkey. On top of that, they go beyond just the standard condiments of mayo and cheese; I always opt for hummus, lettuce, cucumbers, and a slice of white cheese.
Staff is always quick and super friendly!
They have tasty turkey sandwiches and good bagels. They also have fresh juice but do not offer a wide selection for the price they are charging.
Still looking for a go-to place for fresh juice in the East Loop area.
I come here a few times a week because it's such a close walk from my office and they are pretty quick. $2 for bagel and cream cheese. They have tons of bagels and cream cheeses to choose from, my favorite is a toasted onion or garlic bagel with chive cream cheese.
I just went here to get lunch the other day for the first time and got a half dark half white meat turkey sandwich on a french roll with "the works". It's real turkey too, that giant carcass just lies in front of ya waiting for you to devour it.
They also have tons of juices and smoothies, but I find that it takes long compared to how fast they get food out.
$4+ to use plastic.
There is some seating, but it seems cramped in there, but I usually just bring it back to my office - and make sure my co workers catch a whiff of that turkey.... just kidding =)
Best lunch AND breakfast in the whole Michigan Plaza building. Their turkey sandwiches are amazing. Fresh out of the oven turkey. They slice a piece off for your sandwich, chop it up and put it on your choice of bread with your choice of toppings (mine is always lettuce, tomato, mayo and cranberry sauce). Their bagels are the best in building as well.
The service, the decor, and most of the food at Jaffa is average at best.
But those damned hot turkey sandwiches are amazing. Now if they would just carry stuffing to put on top of said sandwiches...
I've only ever ordered a bagel here, but it's a pretty darn good bagel and it's the cheapest bagel and cream cheese I've found downtown. $2 flat. They have lots and lots of flavors of both bagels and cream cheese, and they're quick. I would not, however, recommend coming here if you're impatient and easily irritated. They always ask you to repeat your order at least twice, sometimes three times. The bagel's not always completely toasted. And, if you pay with a $20, be prepared to get all ones in change.
My personal motto is "live every day like it's the Friday after Thanksgiving" and so I am always on the hunt for delicious turkey sandwiches available year-round. So far, the most consistent, classic, accurate representation of this beloved sandwich can be found at the fantastic Jaffa Bakery. Freshly-carved turkey on your choice of roll/bagel, with as many toppings as you desire. I like to keep it simple, with lettuce, cranberry sauce and cheese. Get a side order of mashed potatoes and you're in for a great meal AND post-lunch nap.
My one complaint about Jaffa is the absence of gravy! You can get some jus (which to me is basically "turkey water") on your potatoes or sandwich, but if you're looking for more of a thick brown gravy you're out of luck.
In my many years of Thanksgiving sandwich research, I've found that most sandwiches fall into one of two camps: cold w/ cranberry, or hot open-face with gravy/potatoes. Is my desire for a giant sandwich that contains all of the above, plus stuffing, such an outrageous request? Why the split? Is the world not ready for the ultimate Thanksgiving sandwich? Am I being greedy by asking for this sandwich on days other than the last Friday in November? I may never find the answers to these questions. But in the meantime, I will continue to support Jaffa's turkey-related efforts.
Bagels. Turkey sandwiches from a real roasted turkey. Fresh squeezed orange and carrot juice. But mainly, Bagels. They have about a dozen types of bagels, with about 6 types of homemade cream cheese. My favorite was always an onion bagel with veggie spread, but the cinnamon raison with cinnamon raise always was a pick me. A pizza bagel with regular cream cheese could almost pass for the real thing!
A little pricey, I think it was about 2 bucks a bagel., but so worth it.
I've never been a big fan of turkey, but the rest of my co-workers were. And get there early or late, because the line (which they moved through fantastically) was always long as you know what. Service was great, a bagel with cream cheese only took about a minute to get. The only bad thing about the place is that they have a credit card minimum. But now that I work too far from Jaffa to grab a yummy bagel in the morning, I realize how much I took that place for granted.
The food is ok. I've had a turkey sandwhich and also the veggie platter. The real winner is the smoothies! Yum! If you order any smoothies with orange juice, they squeeze it fresh right there. I would get this everyday if I could afford it.
$2 bagel and cream cheese for breakfast - glorious, I hate change.
Turkey Sandwich combo for lunch? Awesome, I get it on french, its messy, be prepared. But its tasty most def, and you might not need to eat for the rest of the day.
Falafel sandwich was a mess, fell apart, and I had to eat it with a fork and knife. But it tasted good and I didn't mind, but I won't do that again.. Just stick to the turkey and bagels and you will be a-ok
Ba-gawk!!!
I like 'em real thick 'n juicy, so make that turkey double. SWEET MOTHER OF GOD I'm in trouble, beggin' for a piece of that turkey (mixed, thank you very much) on a French roll doused in turkey juice with lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, and swiss and please don't forget to include my pickle because I really like pickles they are tasty and make my turkey sandwich eating experience that much better.
By now, you might be thinking, "This playa is wacked out. Ain't no turkey make a 'ba-gawk' sound." You so damn right. But even chickens got to shout: Jaffa's turkey got back!!
Oh man, the pulled turkey sandwiches here are bar none. I've never had anything but the turkey for lunch, but I've gots to say, it is the diggity of all that is diggity. Cheap, insanely mouth-watering, and right across the street from where I work. If I could marry a Jaffa Bagels turkey sandwich, I would. I love it that much!!!
When I worked in a nearby building, we would refer to this place as the "Turkey Nazi" as reference to Seinfeld. I would visit at least once a week for the most tasty of turkey sandwiches this city has to offer. After a long line, you must rapid-fire-order your turkey preferences. White, dark, wet, dry, wheat, roll, mayo, tomato, etc. And soon your order will be watching your meal carved direct from the turkey and put together in perfect synchronization. Don't take too long or they will go on without you... hence the soup nazi reference.
I miss working on this end of the loop purely out of loss of accessibility to this place. It was, and will always be, my favorite city-lunch location.
Updated 07.20.08
They still ask for a minimum -- but no matter -- Halsted Street Deli opened up in the concourse and I can purchase bagels/donuts with milk for less than $4.00 and not have to told about a minimum.
I go to this location almost everyday -- the food is decent - especially their Turkey Sandwich special for $6.79 (with real Turkey) -- but the one thing that just ticks me off is the little sign on their register that says they need at least $4.00 minimum for Credit cards.
Note to the Owner/Franchisee Owner -- you cannot ask a minimum on credit card orders -- its listed in the manual (MERC - page 2.22 - section 9.12.2:
"Merchant must not directly or indirectly require any Mastercard holder to pay a surcharge or any part of any merchant discount or any contemporaneous finance charge in connection with a MasterCard card transaction."
If this review ends abruptly, it's because I fell asleep after eating their wonderful turkey sandwich.
They have REAL freshly made turkey sandwiches (they bake and hand carve Turkeys daily).. You can pick white or dark meat, or both. You can pick to put it on a roll, bagel, sub, etc. You can pick from a number of toppings (I go for the very messy dijon, mayo, cranberry, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato combination)..
They have a $6+tax turkey sandwich+drink+chips. I always get a sandwich, chips, and banana instead.
Hard to beat this deal!
They also have falafel and skewers but I've never tried
Turkey sandwich was excellent. Wish they had stuffing to go on top so i could have had it with cranberry sauce. They didnt, so i went with mustard/mayo/lettuce/tomato/cheese. It was excellent, but it would have been more so with cranberry and stuffing.
Inexpensive and tasty bagels. I love 'em toasted and then the best part is they plop down a scoop of cream cheese and squish it together (which I later pull apart). But the cheese gets nice and melted into every crevice of your bagel. Lots of different flavors to choose from and I'm pretty sure it's all homemade (correct me if I'm wrong). I *love* their strawberry cream cheese - it's not too thick and has yummy chunks of strawberries in it.
Also their falafel pita sandwiches at lunch are really good. Plus there's a nice selection of toppings you can get in it - hummus, cucumbers, cucumber sauce, tabbouleh, tomatoes, onions, etc. I think it's only about $5-$6 - Excellent!
I pop into Jaffa whenever I work in the "Concourse", a.k.a. the 225 W. Wacker building. This is one of those places that has a sort of limited menu, but everything they do is done well. Bagels and coffee - with a smile and a flirt! Turkey sandwiches - seem to be their specialty, what with the giant carcass of the unwitting bird on display - yuuuuummy and giant. Juice bar - nice, and hard to find a no-frills one like this, v. nice.
This is such a strange place. You can't go anywhere downtown and get a fresh carved turkey sandwich, a soda, and a bag of good ole fashioned vitners for under $6. How is this possible you ask?! Go to Jaffa Bagels!
I only get the turkey sandwich on the torpedo roll and something about the weird American cheese that gets perfectly melty by the time you get back to your office is AMAZING.
This is a great lunch time alternative. Go there. Then prepare for the strong urge to take a looooonnng nap.
I went here twice for lunch the other week. The first time I went was for the turkey sandwich that all the yelpers seemed to be raving about. In the past I had walked by and seen the long lines but when I was with my fellow co-workers, there was only on person in line in front of us. I ordered a dark meat turkey sandwich with a side of mashed potatoes. They whipped up the turkey sandwich fast before I knew it I had already paid and was heading back to the office. The sandwich was pretty good, all around solid. I personally enjoy a sandwich from Perry's or Jerry's more but neither of those are five minutes from my office. The second time I went to Jaffa Bagels a few days later I had the falafel sandwich, even though it was kinda hard to pass up the turkey. Again I had paid and was walking back to the office before I knew it. The falafel sandwich was pretty good, again not the best but good. Oh I can't forget to go along with my falafel sandwich I picked but some fresh fruit at Jaffa which was very good and fresh.
If you work near Jaffa Bagels I think they are a perfect stop, I'll be going back for sure. I still need to try and make it here one morning for a bagel and cream cheese or maybe a fruit smoothie.
It's a bagel place. If I don't specify when ordering that I want my bagel toasted before the cream cheese gets schmeared on, perhaps ask me! You're a damn bagel place, for goodness' sake!
I cannot go into work on a daily basis without pondering the thought of getting a bagel across the street at Jaffa. If it wasn't for me running late all the time, I would most definitely be there everyday. The bagels they have are always delicious and inexpensive.
But wait...Jaffa has more! Lunchtime is an even more fantastical experience with their turkey sandwich. Nothing like REAL turkey piled on a bun and tops with wholesome goodies; add a bag of chips, and a drink for just under 6 bucks and you got yourself a party in your mouth.
The one thing that disappoints me is the lack of seating. I like to enjoy my lunch time in a new atmosphere away from my desk but jaffa doesn't offer that to me. I have to go seat myself in another restaurant which can be quite odd. I'd give it a 5 if it wasn't for that.
Jaffa Bagel makes some damn good freshly squeezed orange juice. When I worked in this building, this was my first stop on days I felt a little under the weather. The fresh orange juice, a big, fat everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato and the friendly service always helped put an end to the hitch in my giddy up. I've heard great things about the freshly carved turkey, falafel and smoothies, but unfortunately, I don't work in the same building anymore. What to do when the sniffles come?
Ever since I started my new job across the street, hardly a day has gone by without one of my coworkers mentioning / raving about / drooling over the deliciousness that is Jaffa. I'd tried the bagels (yummy, piping hot, and fast!), but i had not yet tried the famous turkey sammich- until today! Oh boy is it tasty! It's everything they said it was and more- a French roll piled high with plump hunks of real turkey and my choice of condiments. This lunch spot gets extra points in my book for not immediately asking if I want "mayo, mustard, hot peppers" on my sandwich.
Love their bagels and cream cheese!
I go here at least once a week for a carved turkey sandwich. They are quite good and you can't find get a turkey sandwich this good at any of the other sandwich chains like Subway, Quizno's, Jimmy John's, etc. The only thing I wish they would do is take AMEX, but you can't win them all I suppose.
I have only had the bagels and the fresh OJ. It is a steal for breakfast, at $1.75 for a bagel with cream cheese, but I saw a sign saying prices were going up (EDIT: now at $2). They have a bunch of different cream cheeses, but the I don't want to jam the line by asking what they all are, so I've deduced that there are the varieties: 1. plain 2. chives 3. strawberry. I feel so lucky that Jaffa is on my way to work, and not some whimpy starbucks muffin.
Jaffa Bagels is tucked away in an office building corridor with a bunch of other restaurants and stores. The place is easy to miss, but you will probably find a decent line in front of the place at lunchtime. The specialty here is the turkey sandwich, hand-carved from freshly roasted turkeys and served with your choice of bread, toppings, side of chips, and soft drink. It's like Thanksgiving on a bun (or bagel). You can get crazy toppings like cranberry sauce and hummus on your sandwich - be creative! The falafel is excellent here too.
Nothing better than grabbing a giant, fresh out of the oven, bagel and cream cheese for $1.75. Although I have encountered a line on a few occasions, the great staff keeps it moving pretty quickly. Good selection of bagels and spreads as long as you are there before 10am. Otherwise, you get the leftovers and it doesn't feel as fun.
$6.47 for a fresh, hot turkey sandwich on a homeade bagel, a bag of chips (or banana) and a big soda. I'm addicted to this place. It's so good. And they have great falafels for $.50 each.
I eat here at least twice/week. The line is always long, but moves fast. I get the white turkey on wheat role with swiss and giardinara. Banana, no chips. Do it.
Neighborhood: Near West Side
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: The Loop
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: The Loop
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: The Loop
Category: Sandwiches
Neighborhood: The Loop
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