I remember when I was young, maybe early teens, eating my first Arbys beef and cheddar sandwich. I assumed it would be a classic Arbys with a slice of cheese on top, but what I got was a sandwich drenched in thick, rich cheddar sauce that made me sick to my stomach.
I would return to the beef and cheddar occasionally over the years and eventually learned to like it (sort of), but mostly it was the classic Arbys I stuck with during my teens and 20s. When I was an active high schooler, my parents would occasionally say, Were going to dinner at Arbys, if you want to join us but were only paying for one sandwich.
You see, my parents werent rich, and I was a growing, active guy, so three Arbys sandwiches plus curly fries and a large soda made my typical meal at the fast-food joint. Sometimes I could coerce them into buying me two sandwiches, but typically I had to pay for the extras myself (hey, I had a job, and fair is fair).
I havent had an Arbys sandwich in years, having finally been turned off by the oddly-flavored Arbys sauce that is almost required to go on every sandwich. But I hold distinctive memories of those sandwiches, including the beef and cheddar.
And, so, recently I heard about The Farby Meal at Morels Café, a new-ish vegan eatery at 619 Baxter Ave. Basically, its a vegan version of the Arbys classic, complete with cheese sauce and a version of the tangy, red Arbys sauce. Whats it made of? Even the menu is mysterious, saying its made with braised roast beef and creamy signature cheese. Is this a vegan place or not? It is.
I finally made my way down to Morels to try this Farby sandwich, mostly to satisfy my curiosity: Is it possible to re-create a mediocre, fast-food meat sandwich without using actual meat?
When I ordered my Farby sandwich, I asked the cashier point-blank what it was made of, and she was not shy about telling me that the roast beef is actually tofurkey that comes special to Morels in logs so that it can be thin-sliced on-site, just like at Arbys. (Yeah, hearing Ving Rhames bellow, We have the tofurkeys! just wouldnt have the same ring.)
The cheddar cheese sauce? Thats a blend of carrots and potatoes, while the red sauce is ketchup and agave nectar. No meat, no animal products of any kind.
So, I take a seat and, after a few minutes, the sandwich arrives with all the aforementioned ingredients planted on a toasted onion roll, just like at Arbys. Cheese oozed forth and piled around the sandwich. Of course, I quickly noted that the cheese looked more like Frenchs yellow mustard. Nevertheless, I took a taste using my finger, and it was lighter and less dense than the Arbys cheese sauce, but had a favorable flavor.
Then I snagged a morsel of the very-meat-like tofurkey and found it, too, had a pleasant flavor. Was it Arbys roast beef flavor? Not exactly, but it was at least in the ballpark. So, I took a bite of this fairly convincing imposter. After one, two bites, no, I wasnt getting the flavors I remembered and yet, it felt like eating an Arbys beef and cheddar, at least from a tactile perspective.
The cheese dripped, the meat became more familiar feeling and, about halfway through, I had an Arbys moment a moment perhaps spurred by tanginess from the red sauce that conjured an actual Arbys memory in my brain and, for just a moment, it actually felt like I was eating a beef and cheddar from the fast-food chain.
Honestly, it was almost disconcerting. You see, I cant imagine any scenario in which I would eat another Arbys beef and cheddar not even to research this column but I have no beef (sorry) with The Farby sandwich. In fact, I realized I would definitely eat another Farby; next time, I might even get the Morels curly fries on the side.
I would even consider trying the Chick-faux-le, a spin on the Chik-Fil-A sandwich, or the Impossible Burger. But for now, The Farby is fine, because that weird loop back in time made my casual lunch an experience I hadnt counted on. I guess the good news is that, now that Im older, I only need one Farby, not three. And since I have a better job now, I dont even need my parents to pay for it.