JFG Nation, let me reiterate what I said yesterday: Little Rock is a LOVELY CITY. I don’t know what I expected going in, but the people: SUPER nice. The River Market area: hopping, even on a Tuesday night. The city itself: extremely walkable. My first visit to a presidential library: loved it. Seriously – I am blown away. One downside: POURING today. Boo.

This weekend, I’ll be heading back to one of my favorite sandwich places: HOAGIE HAVEN. I discussed what Hoagie Haven is back in this post, and asked readers to help order for me. I ended up getting the Middle Finger one night and then following up with the Mac Daddy the following evening. My Middle Finger review is here, but the short read: IT WAS AWESOME.

Today’s review: Hoagie Haven’s Mac Daddy!!

Hoagie Haven, to recap, has some of my favorite subs in the world, and they have a crazy one called the Mac Daddy: Bacon Cheeseburger Hoagie with Mac n Cheese Wedges, Fries, Honey Mustard, and Hot Sauce. The Mac Daddy seemed like the most ambitious hoagie on the menu, so I knew that the JFG had to get it.

Hoagie Haven’s Mac Daddy is $6.50 for a half, $12 for a full sub. I ain’t no chump. Got the full.

Unwrapped, the Hoagie Haven’s Mac Daddy is not the most visually stimulating. Of course, this photo was taken in near dark close to 1:00 a.m. But you can see the cheeseburger patties squeezing out of the sides of the hoagie. Based on the look and shape of the patties, it was clear these were store-bought patties, not daily fresh-made.

The inside of the Hoagie Haven’s Mac Daddy revealed! You can see the patties were cut into half circles to help them fit inside the bun. Cheese is melted in a messy form inside, and the honey mustard seems to only be on one side of the sandwich. The darker bits of bacon poked through the melted cheese.

Up close, you can see the mac and cheese wedges have been perfectly fried and there are french fries here and there. One problem with my Mac Daddy: where’s the hot sauce? Hmmmm.

I took a bite of my Hoagie Haven’s Mac Daddy and chewed – all in all, it worked. It’s a really creamy starchy bite – lots of cheese in the cheeseburger, and then the fries and mac n cheese wedges added to the overall starchiness of the flavor. Perfect for absorbing alcohol at the end of the night.

The sandwich had decent texture – the bacon, the fries, and the wedges all had a nice crunch that contrasted with the softness of the burger and the roll. The honey mustard cut through some of that deep fattiness to give the overall flavor a little tang. Honestly, though, I didn’t love it (BUT I STILL LOVE YOU, HH!)

Mainly, despite the honey mustard, the whole thing is a bit one note – there’s no real balance. It’s a sandwich which suffers from a bit of overkill – the overall flavor is was starchy and deep fried; while I could taste the bacon cheeseburger, it was actually drowned out by everything else. I ate the whole thing, for sure (I’M A MAN), but the hoagie didn’t pop for me.

Would adding hot sauce have helped? Perhaps – but I don’t want the sauces to be the difference maker. I need some burst from the ingredients themselves.

So, I won’t be ordering this again – sorry 🙁 I’ll be ordering three Middle Fingers instead, which I LOVED.

Anymore thoughts on what I should order this weekend? Take a look at the Hoagie Haven menu and let me know in the comments below.

PURCHASED AT: Hoagie Haven, Princeton, NJ

COST: $12 for a full

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

The JFG