Some days, I like to dine at fancy restaurants, enjoying multiple courses of fine food with thoughtfully paired wines. Other days, I like to wander into little hole-in-the-wall places and gamble on whether I’m about to eat the best food of my life or get food poisoning. One day last summer, I found myself in Holland, Michigan; a beautiful lakeside community with a rich cultural history, gorgeous parks and gardens, picturesque beaches, and a delightful and walkable downtown area.
Despite having a myriad of surely delicious restaurants both downtown and along its coastline, I was in no mood to take the time to sit down and enjoy a full meal. The sky was blue, the sun was bright, and I wanted food that could be enjoyed outside, require little time commitment, and was more comforting than fussy. Electric Hero checked off all the boxes.
You could miss it if you weren’t eagle-eyed and searching for it. Apparently once a gas station, this little sandwich hut is tucked on the corner of a relatively busy intersection. A tiny buttercup yellow building with several umbrellaed picnic tables; not much to see in terms of artistry and aesthetics. But, the sandwich menu is rather large for such a small space. Was I immediately obsessed and positive that I would return on all of my future trips to Holland? Yes and yes. I’ve since been to Holland multiple times and every trip necessitates a pit-stop at Electric Hero.
Sandwiches at this little spot run from about $5.99 to $10.99. On my first visit, my choice was $10.99, which felt fair enough for what I received. I ordered the Bacon Apple Gouda Melt. If you’re not a “Grilled Cheese Purist,” you’ll think of this sandwich as a fancy grilled cheese. (If you are a “Grilled Cheese Purist,” you’ll surely think this sandwich is decidedly not a grilled cheese and I’ll surely think you’re wrong; but c’est la vie!) Sandwiched between two slices of deliciously soft sourdough was nicely crisped bacon, melty Gouda, apple, and hints of sweet, lightly spiced apple butter. I loved it and look forward to eating it again someday; but there’s so many excellent and exciting sandwiches to choose from that I’m still implementing a ‘no-do-overs’ policy when I visit Electric Hero.
With that said, I’ll make two observations and you may personally decide whether or not these things are positives or negatives. First and foremost, the menu noted that my sandwich would have “apple shreddies.” The word shreddies puts me in mind of, perhaps, a thin, matchstick-like cut. I expected thin, crisp strips of apple on my sandwich. I received a sandwich that had small chunks of apple. In terms of texture while eating, there was nothing unpleasant about it; I very much enjoyed the sandwich. But, when I’m told I’ll receive one thing and get something else, it feels worth noting. Lastly, the grilled sourdough bread was grilled quite dark. By my standards, it was bordering on blackened. Someone with more exacting standards may have felt the bread was slightly burnt. Do I think this dark color on the bread gave it excellent flavor? Yes. Do I wish they had not grilled it quite so much? Honestly, no; I enjoyed my sandwich exactly as it came to me! On subsequent visits, my sandwiches have not been quite so deeply toasted–and they’re still exceptional every time.
On my most recent visit, I grabbed the Not Your Grandma’s Rueben; a sandwich I’d been eyeing since my first visit to Electric Hero. The months-long wait for it was entirely worth it. It didn’t matter that it had started snowing heavily and I was facing a dangerous trek home. Turkey, slaw, bacon, a bit of cheese, and a light schmear of guac made me forget all my troubles for a while. This sandwich really only has one thing in common with a traditional reuben: they’re both excellent. In the future, I might ask for extra guac just to get a little more creamy-avocadoness on my sandwich, but that’s just a personal preference and not any sort of indictment on the perfection that is this sandwich. I won’t even lie, I devoured my Not Your Grandma’s Rueben like a ravenous, wild animal in my car before pulling out of the parking lot to start the long drive home. I felt no shame. I still don’t. Every bite was sensational and it was more than worth any strange looks I got from passersby.
Since I live pretty far from Holland, I don’t get to visit Electric Hero quite as often as I would hope. Am I keeping a running list of all the sandwiches from their menu that I wish to try in the near future? That’s my private business and I certainly wouldn’t tell you if the “Pina Cubano” was at the top of the list. If you’re in Holland, Michigan, this is a must stop spot for a quick, delicious sandwich. As someone who really, truly, deeply loves sandwiches, you can be certain that I’ll be searching for any excuse to make the three hour trip back to Electric Hero as soon as humanly possible! Rain, snow, sleet, hail, and my own personal safety won’t keep me away from an Electric Hero sandwich.
Plonk & Pleasure 
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