JOLIET, IL — On the heels of their annual Irish Fest and soda-bread baking contest, the owners of The Dock at Inwood are rolling out their new restaurant menu, and co-owner Rick Trafton predicts that one of the new selections is about to become one of Joliet’s premier sandwiches.
As of this month, The Dock at Inwood is now home to the pastrami sandwich. But it’s not just an ordinary pastrami sandwich, Trafton stressed.
“It’s going to be one of the best sandwiches in Joliet,” Trafton assured Joliet Patch’s editor. “It’s house-made pastrami topped with Swiss cheese and fire slaw on Milano marbled rye. We’re bringing a little East Coast delicacy here.”
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Rick Trafton said he was in Florida over the winter, and one of the restaurants featured a pastrami sandwich.
“I tried it, and I went back four times,” Trafton said. “Oh My God! I just fell in love with it, and I said, ‘This is something we needed to incorporate at The Dock.'”
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Trafton said that Guillermo Garcia, The Dock at Inwood’s chef, did a fabulous job creating the Pastrami Sandwich for The Dock’s new menu.
Pastrami is typically made from beef brisket. The key difference between corned beef and pastrami is that corned beef is boiled. Pastrami, on the other hand, is smoked and steamed.
“We sampled it a couple of times, and the fireslaw gives it a little bit of zest,” Trafton pointed out. “There’s about 10 different ingredients in the rub, and he smokes it about eight hours, John.”
Trafton said he went with a Joliet icon — Milano’s Bakery — for the marbled-rye bread for the sandwich.
“We feel this is going to be one of the staples on our menu,” Trafton said. “No one’s got pastrami that I know of.
“It’s definitely not a smoked flavor. It’s a perfect balance. With the pastrami, it makes it juicy. We think this sandwich will rival any sandwich in Joliet.”
The Dock is open for lunch and dinner daily.
The restaurant kitchen is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. On Sunday, The Dock opens at 9 a.m. with its breakfast menu and the kitchen remains open until 10 p.m.
Owned and operated by brothers Rick and Mike Trafton, The Dock opened in December 2018 at Joliet Park District’s Inwood Recreation Center, 3000 W. Jefferson St. Both Trafton brothers are retired from the Joliet Police Department, and Mike Trafton served as chief of police.
During Joliet Patch’s recent interview, Rick Trafton said they intend to renew their current five-year lease with the Joliet Park District.
“It makes sense to stay here,” he said. “We get really involved with charitable organizations in town, and we encourage them to reach out.”
Meanwhile, The Dock At Inwood continues to operate three different colored Margarita Chartered Flight Event trucks. The trucks are extremely popular during summer festival season.
Last year, The Dock’s margarita trucks provided drinks and catered food at more than 200 events. Trafton said they’ve already booked more than 60 events for 2023.
“We’re doing a lot of weddings now and corporate events,” he remarked. “We’ve driven all the way to the Wisconsin border, and we’ve been to the North Shore, Lake Forest. Last year, we did Tinley Park’s Fourth of July celebration. We’re doing a lot of municipal stuff right now, New Lenox, Shorewood.”
For more information about the Chartered Flight Event Trucks or placing a carryout order, visit the website for The Dock at Inwood.
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