CFB Travel Guy

Just outside the boundaries of the United States Military Academy at West Point sits the small town of Highland Falls, New York. Functionally, it serves as “civilian West Point,” providing off-base housing, retail, schools, religious services, and other infrastructure for those who support the Academy’s function of training the Army’s next generation of leaders.

I stopped in on a Friday afternoon prior to Army’s showdown with Tulane for the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship. My immediate impression from the sparse decoration and relatively few tables was that the market probably does most of its business via takeout and 3rd-party delivery services. This was backed up by its website, which directs to DoorDash and Clover in order to peruse the menu.

Not wanting to eat something too heavy as kickoff approached, I opted for the Calabrese Sandwich, a mixture of spicy soppressata, prosciutto, and capicola topped with extra virgin olive oil, hot Italian peppers, and Pesto Genovese spread.

After just a few minutes of waiting and trying to figure out where I was supposed to enter base for the game, I gathered my sandwich from the front counter and sat at one of the small two-seat tables. I ate more carefully than usual, noticing that the only other dine-in patrons at the time were a couple of MPs.

Every ingredient in the sandwich was high-quality and flavorful, from the imported sliced deli meats to the bread, which seemed like a cross between soft, fluffy focaccia and the more standard crusty Italian bread. The soppressata and hot pepper spread provided a really nice undercurrent of spice in every bite without overpowering the olive oil and pesto. I could taste every element of the sandwich, but they all melded perfectly. Very simple, yet impressive.