Postal 98 Cafe, 1240 Yoder Avenue, 941-260-8862

This ain’t your mama’s bologna sandwich.

At Postal 98 Café, a recently opened sandwich and coffee shop in the heart of Pinecraft, the Sweet Lebanon Bologna sandwich goes quite beyond the endearing though frightening mystery meat found in many an elementary school lunch box. Lebanon bologna shares more in common with salami, with a similar look and a smokier flavor. Equally as important, the “Lebanon” in Lebanon bologna refers not to the Levantine country but to the county in Pennsylvania where almost half of the population still speaks German hundreds of years after the first Anabaptists immigrated there from Europe.

The café’s sandwich comes stacked with bologna in much the same way as a sandwich from a Jewish deli, with meat piled so high the bread looks like an afterthought. An ample smear of mayo and thick slices of smoked cheddar hide somewhere between two fluffy, bright slices of rye bread, but it’s all about the delicious, bright bologna. The smoke flavor hits as hard as that from a summer sausage, and the texture offers a firm contrast to the soft bread while the smoked cheddar helps to accentuate that hint of primal vapor that pairs so well with meat. As could be expected from a community that celebrates the simple things in life, the sandwich is rich, filling and affordable, $7.50.

Ride your bike there or pray for one of the three parking spots to be available (one of which is a handicap space). The café is open 7am to 9pm Monday through Saturday, with breakfast options served until noon.

Postal 98 Cafe, 1240 Yoder Avenue, 941-260-8862

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