Spicy San Antonio: Station Muffuletta with Ghost Pepper Aioli from The Station Café

Bottom Line: The Station Café in San Antonio is making a darn good Muffuletta, and their ghost pepper aioli really kicks it up.

The Station Café is a little sandwich shop just south of downtown San Antonio, known for baking their own bread and making their own sauces. They are also known for one particularly spicy sandwich—Pele’s Fire—which really amps up the heat (you can read my review of that here). I have been there several times, and most recently I stopped by and tried their Muffuletta. Here is what comes on that:

Turkey and salami with our special olive and Greek pepper mix on our toasted sandwich roll, with melted cheddar cheese.

As a big fan of the New Orleans’ favorite Muffuletta, that all sounds quite good to me, and they have it on the menu at a spiciness level of two out of seven chili peppers (with the Pele’s Fire being the top level). I decided to kick things up, though, and asked them to add the same ghost pepper aioli they put on the spiciest sandwich. And that resulted in a Muffaletta that definitely delivered on the burn!

The sandwich comes with a generous amount of turkey, and that is the main flavor you get from the first couple of bites. But the salami is there as well, giving it a nice salty and savory kick, and there may be some spice from that too (hard to tell with the ghost pepper sauce added). The melted cheddar delivers some sharpness, and the olive and pepper mix brings some tartness from the olives and a bit of tang from the sliced jalapeños. It also delivers some kick as well. The aioli adds some creaminess to the sandwich along with an immediate punch of heat. And then there is that fresh-baked bread, which is nice and pillowy and helps bring everything together. It is not the typical bread you get with a Muffuletta, but I am perfectly fine with it.

As for the heat, this definitely delivers. It hits right away and sticks with you through the whole sandwich. I would put it above Fiery on my scale, and it may even be a touch hotter than the Pele’s Fire because the Muffuletta has those jalapeños. I had to take frequent drinks of water and also munch on some chips to temper the heat and get through the whole thing. And when I was done, there was a fire in my belly and my lips were certainly burning. But it was all worth it, because this is a darn good sandwich (and the after-effects were not too bad at all).

The Station Café does not show calorie counts for its menu items, but this is certainly not diet food, especially with the olive mix and the generous amount of aioli. I’m going to guess it was at least 800 calories, if not more, but I will just count it as a splurge. And at $8.99 for the sandwich, that is not bad for something this fresh-made and tasty, and it is not much more than fast food sandwich shops charge these days.

The place is only open from 11 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday, and it does get pretty busy at lunchtime, so you will want to plan your visit accordingly. If you are looking for less heat, the Turkey Chupacabra is a good place to start, and you can work your way up from there. I have not tried the Habanero Turkey yet, which falls somewhere between that sandwich and the Pele’s Fire, so that may be the next one I get, and I will be sure to report back on my findings.

The Station Café
108 King William Street
San Antonio, Texas 78204

Phone: 210 444-2200
Website: thestationsa.com
Hours: 11 AM to 4 PM Mon-Fri