The first time my wife and I saw this place we kinda scoffed at the name. It sounds pretty lame right? So, we didn’t bother trying it out. We didn’t even bother looking it up online.
I was really in the mood to try something new, though, so when a Friday night rolled around and we couldn’t decide where we wanted to go, I said, “Well, how about that Buddy Hoagies at Downtown East?” My wife couldn’t think of anything she’d rather have, so that’s where we went.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The first thing I noticed was that the place has a nice ambiance.
The place is really relaxed. The lighting isn’t too bright either, though it seems that way in the second photo. That’s just a bad shot! I think it helped that there weren’t too many other people in the place at the time. It gave the whole dining experience a relaxed feel and was conducive to conversation.
The place also has a fun look to it, with nifty little pictures up on the wall, a cafeteria style bar, and (though you can’t see them in the photo) a section of seating with nice, cushioned seats that help you relax.
The service was pretty good. I got the impression that our waitress wasn’t having a good day, but she still forced a smile and was passably polite, if a little brusque.
The food itself was another surprise. For what we paid I wasn’t expecting a miracle, but you definitely get a lot of value for your money. I was so happy with our food in fact that at the time I snapped these photos on my phone and put them out on Twitter. Some of my Twitter followers were quite jealous of my meal that night!
The Sirloin Steak
The veggies were crunchy, the meat was well cooked, and I was actually kinda shocked to see baked potatoes. I think this was the first time I’d had one in over a year. Too bad there was no sour cream, chives, and bacon bits to go on it, but hey, can’t have everything right?
Overall, Buddy Hoagies was a great dining experience. The food was fantastic and the value for the food was great too. We’ll definitely be going back.
Bradley Farless 
DOH! (Homer moment)Forgot about the Halal requirement. I remember the first time I saw that word it was on a Wendy's (I think, some burger joint) on a military camp in Kuwait I was on. It said all the products were “halal” so I asked what it meant.I suppose the lack of halal eating establishments, combined with the fact Cart doesn't eat it, would make it rather difficult to eat out and have a good steak.Well, depending on the size of the cut, that seems expensive! Not compared to here, but compared to the US. I took for granted how cheap food is there until I started living in Singapore and taking notice of prices in other countries here in Asia.Sorry for the long reply!
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Don't really know since there are hardly any Halal Steak Houses here in Rome. And Cart is vegetarian. Sometimes we'd pass by restaurants serving them and it smells so good it makes my mouth water. I'd have to buy them from the butchery and make them myself :-)Price wise for these meats are about what? 3 – 4 euro per sirloin piece?
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@rinaz: Ya, this stuff was pretty good! I was surprised, considering how low the price was. How are steaks in Rome? Expensive?
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Mmmm … steak … *goes all Homer Simpson like*
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