Got called for Jury duty today in Belfast. The way it works here is that you are required to serve for no longer than 15 days at a stretch every 5 years. They call in 150 potential jurors and we sat there all day while they picked six juries to handle the six cases they were hearing this month. I have not getting picked down to a science. I got dressed in casual chic (something that I NEVER do) goldtone cufflinks, buttondown shirt, nice pants and nice shoes (no tie) and a blazer. I also bring a big book to read and sit in the front row. I was called to potentially sit on four of the juries and never got picked for any of them....I've served my sentence for the next five years.
During our lunch break, I decided to try the Belfast Soup and Sandwich Shop in Post Office Square. Now it was 12:30 and the guy who runs the place was sitting at a table reading the paper....not a good sign. I hope for his sake that he isn't the owner of the shop, cause I recognized him from working behind the deli counter at Hannaford and I would want him to do really well if it was his place of business.
That said, I ordered a stuffed turkey sandwich which came with cranberry sauce, stuffing, turkey and cheese on chewy middle eastern bread. I have to say, the concept is great, but put some mayo on the sandwich and add more stuffing. There are a lot of restaurants that serve this sandwich and they are reallllllllly good when done right. I loved the bread on this one, but that and dry turkey were the only ingredients I tasted. Too bad. At $8.95 for a sandwich and an ice tea, I can go back to Bell the Cat and get a similar sandwich melted, with better cheese and pesto along with chips or pretzels..for 50 cents less. The guy has a great location downtown, he just needs to bump up his quality a notch or two.
The interior tries to be quaint with old repro photos of Belfast from the 19th century that you can't quite see when you are sitting at your booth. Booths are really small and hard to get in and out of if you happen to be 6'6" I didn't try the soups, and I might go back if only to give this struggling place another try.

Enjoy, Seth