Delivery from White Star

I've been to White Star Bar a few times and always enjoyed both the atmosphere and the food, so I was curious to see how delivery service would stack up to the bar itself.

White Star is small, but has a good selection of beers on tap and a menu that focuses on slightly upscale bar food - there's burgers and sandwiches, but also grilled and roasted entrees, tacos, soups, salads, etc. all with a slight twist that stands above the standard versions you might otherwise find.

The first time I ordered, I got a BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato) with mayonnaise on toasted whole grain pullman bread ($8) and the house salad ($6). The BLAT sandwich came with a very generous side of fries which were still nice and hot by the time they got to me. They weren't super crispy but definitely not soggy which is not an easy thing to pull off with delivery fries. The BLAT itself was...well, somewhat disappointing.
Having had the sandwich at the bar, I know how good it can be and this one just did not meet those standards. The heat from the fries must have slightly steamed the toasted bread so it became dry but kind of chewy and the tomato was far from ripe while the avocado was overripe. Relatively minor complaints, and only one delivery-related, but all together, it was enough that I left most of the sandwich alone, eating one side of the bread topped only with lettuce and bacon. The bacon itself was excellent - good quality, thickly sliced and both crispy and chewy. It was fine...but I don't think I'd order it again, at least not for delivery.

The salad was very good and huge for the price - it ended up being the star of the meal.  It was a simple mixed greens salad with grape tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and croutons but all the ingredients were very fresh, very flavorful and made for a great salad. The onion added a nice bite without being overpowering and the croutons were crunchy, not soggy or stale at all, and added an herb flavor I enjoyed. It came with a balsamic dressing that was also excellent. It may have been prebottled, I'm not sure, but it was delicious - tangy and creamy with a lot of the vinegar taste coming through.

When I ordered White Star again with a friend, we decided to get the BBQ pulled pork sandwich ($9), the Cowboy Burger($11), and because I forgot they both came with fries (it doesn't specify on the delivery menu),we decided to split an order of Mac and Cheese($7). Both the burger and pulled pork were still hot when we received them, on slightly grilled Balthazar buns that were soft but held up well to the substantial sandwiches, and again, came with very generous although unevenly distributed sides of fries that were mostly crisp and not steamed in the container.

The pulled pork was a little dry and could have used more of the sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, but it was still tasty. The cheddar on it was a nice touch, but didn't melt very well with the pork. It felt like it was just there rather then really adding to the sandwich overall. I'm pretty sure these problems were caused by delivery rather than flaws with the sandwich itself because they seemed similar to problems that stem from sitting-under-a-heat-lamp syndrome. The Cowboy Burger comes with grilled onions and pepper jack and was bigger than I expected and perfectly cooked - pretty impressive considering it was delivered. It also came with lettuce and tomato but I was frustrated to see the tomato was pale and hard especially considering it's tomato season.There were a ton of onions and the cheese melted within them to create a nice, sweet, slightly spicy mess of deliciousness on top of the juicy and well-seasoned patty.  It was a really good burger and held up well during delivery.

The Mac and Cheese was a very generous portion but just okay. It was lukewarm when we got it which was a surprise considering how hot everything else was and it seemed like more of a cheese sauce, not cheese that had been mixed in and just didn't have a lot of flavor. The macaroni was well-cooked, tender but not mushy, and held up well when I reheated it a couple of days later. While it wasn't bad, I wouldn't order it again. There are too many other good options here and this isn't one of them.

Both times I ordered, the food came in under a half hour. However, I don't live that far from White Star and I've read mixed reviews of delivery times online so that's worth keeping in mind. I was also a bit confused by their delivery menu because it's very different than the menu they have in the bar. There's a lot of crossover, but it is missing some of the more unique menu items you can find at the bar which is a shame although there are plenty of options to choose from.

All in All
White Star seems to be somewhat of a mixed bag when it comes to delivery, but I'd still consider it a solid choice. I tend to use www.delivery.com for delivery because I'm awkward and why talk when I can click, but you can place the order through their website or call  201-653-9234 and they are very quick and responsive on the phone. The food is good, very reasonably priced, they don't take too long, I haven't run into any problems with missing or wrong items and the delivery people were friendly.