roxie food center, san jose & havelock, san francisco
As much as I love places like Kitchenette/Pal's/Rhea's/etc, who make finely crafted artisan sandwiches with inspired yet unconventional recipes and (often) with organic and locally sourced ingredients (and I do love those sandwiches), the fact remains that sandwiches are by nature not meant to be fancy. They are an everyday food, a comfort food, meant to be enjoyed by everyone regardless of economic status and financial resources. While its great to take the concept of a humble sandwich and elevate it to something more extravagant, to me the archetypal sandwich is the kind that is done perfectly at Roxie Food Center. I don't know the brand of meat they use or the farm where they get their produce. This is a sandwich that has iceburg lettuce and American cheese on it. Basically, it's not the kind of sandwich that you will typically see being feted in the pages of a NY Times feature on San Francisco or whatever. No one waits in line for 3 hours to buy one of these sandwiches, and they aren't going to try to sell you a t-shirt at the register. Instead, you are just going to get a simple and delicious sandwich, on a really good sourdough with jalapenos if you want them and American cheese. Of course, in the end it doesn't really matter if a place is hyped to the heavens or under the radar, if the sandwiches aren't any good. But Roxie Food Center seems to have it down pat, where it seems less like an art and more just natural. Sometimes simple is best.
As much as I love places like Kitchenette/Pal's/Rhea's/etc, who make finely crafted artisan sandwiches with inspired yet unconventional recipes and (often) with organic and locally sourced ingredients (and I do love those sandwiches), the fact remains that sandwiches are by nature not meant to be fancy. They are an everyday food, a comfort food, meant to be enjoyed by everyone regardless of economic status and financial resources. While its great to take the concept of a humble sandwich and elevate it to something more extravagant, to me the archetypal sandwich is the kind that is done perfectly at Roxie Food Center. I don't know the brand of meat they use or the farm where they get their produce. This is a sandwich that has iceburg lettuce and American cheese on it. Basically, it's not the kind of sandwich that you will typically see being feted in the pages of a NY Times feature on San Francisco or whatever. No one waits in line for 3 hours to buy one of these sandwiches, and they aren't going to try to sell you a t-shirt at the register. Instead, you are just going to get a simple and delicious sandwich, on a really good sourdough with jalapenos if you want them and American cheese. Of course, in the end it doesn't really matter if a place is hyped to the heavens or under the radar, if the sandwiches aren't any good. But Roxie Food Center seems to have it down pat, where it seems less like an art and more just natural. Sometimes simple is best.
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