The Tuna de France at Publican Quality Meats is the best sandwich I’ve ever tasted.

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Good Eats in the Meatpacking District

Would you expect anything less?

Hotspots-a-Go-Joe, Edition VIII/ii

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Publican Quality Meats

All I should have to do is show you the picture below, give you some time to think lovingly about a little bit of mustard and a glass of wine, and that should be that. I shouldn’t have to give you any more reasons to go to Publican Quality Meats. But I just can’t keep my mouth shut.

Pâté en Croûte from Publican Quality Meats

Not to be confused with Publican, which is across the street, Publican Quality Meats is a deli and sandwich shop. It’s also butcher shop – but not as in “old school lunch meat.” More like, “I’d like some paté, terrine … maybe a bit of galantine and some confit.” It’s located smack in the middle of Chicago’s meatpacking district, which is not, as I’m sure you’re thinking, a butch version of Boystown, but a neighborhood of actual industrial meat packers in bloody aprons. It’s worth coming down here just to see the hustle and bustle of delivery trucks and hi-los. You can’t really drive down Fulton Market when the businesses are in full gear, because the street becomes one huge loading dock. Some of these businesses are wholesale only, but others welcome the public. If you love meat like I do, this is someplace worth checking out.

Publican QM has table service. Go in, go to the counter, and ask for a seat. They’ll seat you, and then take your order – which sounds ridiculously obvious, but I swear to you that it looks like the kind of place that takes your order at the counter, lets you find your own seat, and then brings your food to you. As I write this, I’m at an outdoor seat, enjoying the beautifully mild, late-fall sun, having no idea that within a few days, this year’s polar vortex will make outdoor dining unthinkable. I’m having an oatmeal sandwich cookie and a cup of coffee, awaiting a tuna sandwich that I hear will take about 20 minutes to prepare.

Twenty minutes? For a sandwich?

Yes. I realize that 20 minutes is an eternity in the 21st century. But I don’t mind. I figure it’s going to take 20 minutes because it contains more made-to-order goodness than can be packed into 15 minutes. I’ll have the 20-minute sandwich, please. It is the logical choice.

Erstwhile, the oatmeal cookies are thin and dark, and have a nice balance of crunchy and chewy that leans slightly to the latter side. Lots of cinnamon. In between is marshmallow cream. The coffee, really good. I was at La Colombe this morning, so it’s easy to compare this cup to that, and this one is better. Maybe less intense, but also less bitter … a flavorful, substantial cup of Joe.

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookie

The Tuna de France has arrived now, and it is – and I’m not kidding you – the best sandwich I’ve ever tasted. First of all, the tuna is unlike any I’ve ever had. It’s delicate, moist, and tender. The menu calls it “albacore,” but … so does a can of Star-Kist. This tuna is filet mignon to Star-Kist’s jerky. Then there’s what amounts to a fully-dressed salad atop that fish: green beans, celery, fresno chili (the menu says arugala, but my sandwich also had field greens), a soft-boiled egg, and a delicious, piquant, flavorful vinaigrette. The ciabata is a very light rye – more the look of rye than the taste of rye – with a tender crumb. The crust is chewy, but not to the point that it makes it hard to bite through the sandwich, so that the filling squishes out and falls on the floor, which makes you so mad that you scoop it off the floor with your hand and throw it back down onto the fucking plate with such angry force that it spatters two yards in all directions. Not at all like that. That did not happen (here …. it happened when I tried to reverse engineer this sandwich at home. It should come with a disclaimer that says don’t try this at home.) Perfection, instead, happened. I had a perfect sandwich, and, I must say, a rather non-violent afternoon.

I have to say that the T de F is a lot like a nicoise on a bun. Served with chips and a pickle. I also have to tell you that as I was eating, a van pulled up, four guys got out, and they carried in a whole hog on a palate, like pallbearers, Irish style (on the shoulder). I raised my glass. I also have to say, Publican QM has the friendliest staff of any establishment I know if in Chicago. To a one, and to a T. And this final thing you must know: after lunch, if you decide to buy something from the deli counter, always – always – ask for a taste first. They’ll be thrilled to oblige and they’ll serve you up such a generous taste that you’ll be ecstatic.

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Publican Quality Meats

The Meatpacking District is an informal subdivision of West Town. We’ve included it in the West Town thread. To read about other West Town places we’ve reviewed, click here. Realize, however, that many have drunk the real estate marketing Kool-Aid and consider this area to be in the West Loop.

The Tuna de France Will Make Your Tummy Feel Like This

Credits for all images on this page: hover over image and/or green caption text. Click to jump to source.

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