8874 McGaw Rd., Columbia, MD 21045
Imagine the scenario: Skipping lunch to drive someone to the airport. It is a last minute itinerary, but this is no vacation; it is the culmination of 14 desperate days plus many anguished years which has led us to this moment. Both of us have agreed to escort our loved one a step closer to the life she needs to reclaim.
But that is as far as we will take her, the rest is up to her. We drop her off at the departure area, inhale an anxious breath full of uncertainties, and exhale all that we cannot control. As we pull away, our thoughts return to the present, and we look at each other with a singular desire: FOOD!
Jonathan lets his fingers do the walking and finds a place with 4 stars that isn’t too far away. We pull into a strip mall with plenty of dining options. Jason’s Deli is on the corner and the parking lot is so crowded, it’s like a parking lot. Even the 4 accessible parking spots in front of the deli are full. I was suspicious that the wait might be too long for my impatient gastronomic sensibilities, but was pleasantly surprised to find only a short line of people perusing the menu ahead of us.
Trying to think healthy thoughts, I ordered the Zucchini Grillini. Plus, I liked the way the words rolled off my tongue. I added a side of organic blue corn chips and salsa for full effect. Jonathan ordered ‘The Rachel,’ which doesn’t appear on all franchise menus, but is basically a turkey-pastrami-bacon-piled high concoction resembling Reuben’s first cousin. And tater chips.
There was amp
le seating with plenty of room for negotiating around tables to get to the salad bar, self-serve fountain drink station and the FREE ICE CREAM.
Yes, you heard me right: FREE ICE CREAM! Chocolate, vanilla, and swirl soft serve with cones, cups, and chocolate syrup. More on that later. We grabbed a booth where we could watch the sandwich-making action in real time and our observational skills paid off, big time. We realized that our food would be delivered directly to our table, so we could give our full attention to all the patrons who struggled to operate the soft serve machine. That way, when it was our turn, we would know exactly how to do it.
When I felt confident with my ice cream dispensing strategy, I whisked off to the bathroom to check out the cleanliness and accessibility factors. The door to the women’s room was spring loaded and I really had to put my back into it, but otherwise it was reasonably clean and well stocked.
The room had a small stall and a larger accessible stall with at least two locks, one apparently broken and the other almost broken. There was an odd distance from the sink to the paper towel dispenser but I guess if you’re not worried about water dripping all over the floor, it’s no big deal. But if you’re trying to open that heavy ass door with the paper towel, preserving your freshly washed hands, you might have to sacrifice a limb as you slip on some water droplets and attempt a 3 point shot to the trash can before the door slams shut.
Our food was delivered soon after my bathroom basketball game by a kindly server who pointed out my fork, in case I needed mechanical assistance for my sandwich. To an unsuspecting onlooker, I might have needed it; however, I am a master of the Dagwood and proud of it.
So I tucked in, hungry as I was, fork be damned. The Zucchini Grillini didn’t disappoint. It was very healthy, as I thought it would be, and I still think it is fun to say. After the first half, however, I began to ogle the Rachel. With it’s renegade bacon strips hanging out the back, I felt like perhaps I could appreciate it a little more than Jon could. I like to THINK healthy, but he likes to EAT healthy. It didn’t take much to compel him to offer a trade. He thinks it was his idea, but I know the truth.
The Rachel is where it’s at! There was enough turkey on there to distract me from the minimal pastrami. And the bacon strip was long enough that I could rip it in half and layer it compulsively so that every bite would be guaranteed to have some. I shoveled the rest of the corn chips and the potato chips down the hatch and planned the dessert recon mission.
I’m not a big fan of root beer, but the thought occurred to me that between the self-serve drink station and the self-serve soft serve station, there should have been more root beer floats in the joint.
I was so distracted by this great idea that I forgot to check out the salad bar fixin’s. As an afterthought, I did notice that all the containers were deeply embedded in ice, but also considered how nice it would be to have automatic foam hand sanitizer dispensers at each end, you know, just to make the sneeze shield less lonely. And to encourage clean hands at the communal server. Even the soft-serve dispenser could participate.
All in all, two hearty sandwiches, one bowl of soup, one fountain drink, two ice cream cones, and friendly table service for under $23 was exactly the kind of experience I needed to offer a glimmer of hope that we were exactly where we were supposed to be. And that even though the circumstance that brought us to Jason’s deli in Columbia was not something we felt great about, we were rewarded for showing up.
ACCESSIBILITY
- Parking: Lot parking, first come first serve. Four van-accessible spots with curb cutout ramp
- Entrance: Manual push/pull door to foyer, second push/pull door to enter restaurant; threshold
- Counter: low counter height to order
- Dining area: Zero step, wheelchair accessible
- Salad bar: Visually inaccessible from seated position; high serving platform
- Self-serve beverages: Inaccessible from seated position; high serving platform
- Hallway to restroom: Accessible
- Bathroom: Separate Men’s/Women’s room; no unisex room. Heavy spring loaded push/pull door. Large accessible stall with handrails around toilet, sensor-operated faucets, soap dispenser, and towel dispenser. Wall mounted Koala care changing station.
