los picudos, oh yes

tortas los picudos, 24th & alabama, san francisco

There's not a whole lot I remember about this place in the Mission
except that this sandwich was freakin amazing
and my biggest regret was that I couldn't eat both halves in one sitting.
No problem, I had the second half later that night.

What's in it? I can't recall, although
it looks like breaded chicken or turkey,
that crazy good crumbly mexican cheese
red onion, avocado, jalapeno, tomatoes perhaps?
Who cares! Just look at that thing
and vast in it's holy scrumptious-ness.

buffalo burger

the fix burgers, hyperion & tracy, los angeles

This Silverlake-based burger joint never seems very busy whenever I walk past, but I saw that they offer buffalo and ostrich burgers when I peeked at their menu, and decided that was too interesting to pass up. So JoJoJoJo and I swung by for lunch one day, ending up with the whole place to ourselves. When you order a burger, you have the option of picking out one of their tasty-sounding sauces like "peppercorn ranch", "spicy sour cream" or "dijon bistro sauce". I decided on the "picante hot sauce", and jack cheese, since I thought a stronger tasting cheese would prevent me from being able to taste the buffalo meat, which was the whole purpose of the visit (some may think that the "picante hot sauce" would cover the flavor of the meat, and yeah thats true, but also I love hot sauce). JoJoJoJo and I split some tasty garlic fries which were covered in a sort of roasted-minced-garlic spread, and then I dug into this burger. It was good, but I'm not sure my sense of taste is sophisticated enough to be able to distinguish the differences between buffalo and beef. The patty was dense and the meat had a smokey flavor, and the hot sauce was really good. All around it was a good meal, although perhaps my one gripe would be that the prices were high enough that I wouldn't be able to eat here very often.

guest review - turkey with pear and goat cheese

socha, mission & valencia, san francisco

To be honest, this sandwich was more strategic than anything else. I knew I was in for a coffee-addled late night finishing a project. I was getting my first refill and made a split second decision and ordered this sandwich instead of my usual fare. (…Oh hi, I’d like a refill please and maybe… one of those cinnamon rolls… oh make it two….yes they can go on the same plate…. thank you. ) That being said it was pretty good, although it kind of seemed like it was supposed to be a salad. Pear, goat cheese, turkey, and arugula sounds like a salad to me. But they serve this salad-sandwich on a super soft focaccia that ends up pulling it all together. Also, to its credit, I ate it too quickly to really judge it any further.

guest review by Katie Roquet

guest review - grilled cheese with apple

atlas cafe, 20th & alabama, san francisco

Not only did the sharp granny smith apples provide a nice balance to the cheddar cheese, along with the arugula (I think it was arugula, it was something green anyway…) they do an excellent job of making a grilled cheese seem healthy and grown-up. It’s on thick whole-wheat slices, which, appropriately, are almost burnt. The apple slices sitting next to each other can make for a slippery eating experience and requires frequent management of the sandwich’s structure. However, if that’s the price I have to pay for ordering a grilled cheese sandwich while still feeling like an adult, I’ll gladly pay it.

guest review by Katie Roquet

a brief note about geography

you may notice a change in focus in coverage from San Francisco to Los Angeles sandwiches, as both primary editors are now based in LA. we still plan to cover San Francisco sandwiches as best we can, through (hopefully!) regular trips to SF, and through contributions from our awesome guest reviewers. some other (mostly cosmetic) changes may be coming soon as well.

ps- if anyone out there has LA sandwich tips, let us know!

One night stand with a turkey melt

sherman's deli, tahquitz way & calle encilia, palm springs

I almost gave up my no red meet rule
when AW and I went to Sherman's.

how can I continue to resist
the pink succulence of pastrami?
and condemning myself to a life
void of soft, luscious corned-beef?
is white meat the one for me?

Sherman's turkey-melt sexily told me
'Yessssssss, I am made for you...'

moist, stacked meat tucked between
sweet, buttery rye,
swiss cheese melted to its creamiest,
dripping in beaver brand deli mustard
and coupled with a small sampling
of perfectly formed potato salad...

when it was all over
and this beautiful sandwich was gone,
my heart was broken
but my stomach was full.

I know we shall meet again, my turkey-melt lover, I know we shall meet again.

corned beef reuben

sherman's deli, tahquitz way & calle encilia, palm springs

anyone going to coachella this weekend? if you are going to be in the area and are a lover of sandwiches, I humbly suggest stopping by this deli. man oh man was this a tasty reuben. its kind of a weakness of mine that I always try the reuben when I go to a new deli- i'm sure i'm missing out on all kinds of great sandwiches- but I can't help it. and it in this instance, I don't regret it at all, because this was easily the best sandwich I've had in awhile. even though it was a monday afternoon, this restaurant was packed. and once JoJoJoJo and I were seated, we were confronted with what i'm now starting to suspect is a standard of good jewish delis- a menu with dozens of items available. and yet despite the crowd and the plethora of options, this sandwich arrived promptly and pipping hot. I'm not actually sure whether or not there was any russian dressing on this- if there was it was used sparingly- but it didn't really matter because the corned beef was so moist and delicious. the sandwich was so good that I didn't even eat a single cottage fry before I had eaten the whole thing.

pretzel bread is best bread

When it comes to eating premade sandwiches
I am usually hopeful but often let down
by those soggy french loaf, stuck meat and white american cheese
sandwich wannabies
shrink-wrapped and sold in grocery store chains' delis
typically they are gross...

This time, however, I was delightfully let
UP!!
This little sandwich is delicious!
It is turkey and swiss greatness,
with a garlic mayonnaise spread
descent spinach leaves
a dollop of gold mustard
and free roaming purple grapes

all complete on Pretzel bread?
what is this stuff -
well, it is the softest, chewiest,
delightfully the most pretzel flavored bread
I have ever tasted in my life.

and I love pretzels a lot.


Trader Joe's,
you brightened it up for me once again

hot pastrami and swiss

arguello's deli, arguello & cabrillo, san francisco

the aim of this blog is not sandwich criticism or comparison, but more just plain sandwich appreciation. so when I come across a sandwich that doesn't live up to expectations, it kind of leaves me at a loss. this is one of those sandwiches. its not that it was bad, per se- it just wasn't, you know, awesome. JoJoJoJo vouched for the hot pastrami and swiss at Arguello's, so I thought I'd give it a shot. but once again, I'd found myself at the deli counter well after the lunch hours, and frankly I don't think the guys behind the counter really have their hearts in it by five in the afternoon. as you can see, this sandwich is on sesame roll- that isn't by choice. it was the only roll they had left. I guess they must have their rolls delivered every morning, because otherwise I don't know why a grocery store would be out of rolls. as is also evident from the photos, this wasn't really stacked with pastrami. that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think I prefer that the meat in a sandwich not be dwarfed by the bread or other ingredients. and finally.... this was supposed to be a hot sandwich, but it was more luke-warm. swiss cheese doesn't always melt very easily, but the cheese on this was hardly melted at all. it wasn't a bad sandwich, but I'm willing to bet that the same sandwich is a lot better if you show up during their peak hours.

I write this with an empty stomach

bender's, 19th & south van ness, san francisco

Yet another tasty serving from Benders
This cheese steak is, in fact, not steak at all! For those like me
who can not bring themselves to eat red-meat,
a seitan philly full of gooey mmmMmm cheese
grilled red peps & onions - a perfect veggie pairing for any sandwich in my book -
a soft roll of some sort of wonderful fluffy bread
and a tangy/sweet/salty/succulent sloppy sauce that pleased all regions of my tongue...

This sandwich was like going on an expedition into an uncharted land of my mouth
where the herbivorous natives have been patiently waiting out the savage ingestion of strictly turkey and chicken sandwiches, as of late...and with this seitan substitute, their culture (prospering by my bottom left molars) will finally thrive in this booming sandwich economy.

torta ahogada

tortas los picudos, 24th & alabama, san francisco

after I ate at La Torta Gorda the other week, the consensus in the comments seemed to be that Los Picudos should be my next torta stop, and so JoJoJoJo and I swung by a few days later. one commenter, Subframe, mentioned that Los Picudos had tortas in "el estilo de DF" (in the style of Mexico City), and I assume that referred to this sandwich- the torta ahogada, which I have previously only encountered in DF. a torta ahogada ("drowned sandwich") is just that- a sandwich covered in a somewhat sweet tomato sauce. the meat inside was carnitas, in this case cooked on the crispier side, rather than moister as some carnitas are. it was pretty messy- I think when I was in Mexico we just went for it with our hands, but this time I decided to make use of the knife and fork provided. the bread pretty quickly soaked up the sauce, and soon I had a mushy pile of bread, carnitas, and an absurd amount of red onions. I could have done with considerably fewer onions, but on the whole this was good torta. and I've never seen this type of sandwich served anywhere else, so Los Picudos seems to be the place to get one.

pulled pork sandwich

bender's, 19th & south van ness, san francisco

in this previous post, I mentioned my desire to seek out a superior pork sandwich. this sandwich forever quelled that desire. JoJoJoJo and I were relaxing at Bender's one saturday afternoon, idly speculating about their kitchen, and decided to get a pre-dinner snack of "yo yos"- deep fried pickles. the pickles were served with vegan ranch and a chipotle dipping sauce, and they were so good that we were persuaded to stay for an entire meal. that turned out to be one of the best decisions we've ever made, because this sandwich was insanely good. i'd lived around the corner for Bender's for years, and for some strange reason had never wandered in until recently, which I regret deeply. this sandwich.... oh man. the pork was so, so tender. it was marinated in a sweet BBQ sauce and served in a heaping pile, with coleslaw, on a hamburger bun. a fork definitely would have helped eat the huge gobs of shredded pork that fell out of this thing, but I had no shame in resorting to the use of my fingers. ah, what a sandwich. the rest of Bender's menu looked great too (JoJoJoJo will write about her sandwich soon)- burgers, fish, and plenty of vegan options like fried seitan.