paxton gate holiday party

 

paxton gate, valencia btw 19th & 20th, san francisco

Els and I hit the Paxton Gate holiday party over the weekend and had fun deciding exactly which terrifying taxidermy animal we (hypothetically) wanted in our apartment.  When we attended last year's party, there was a delicious assortment of cheeses to accompany the free booze complementary spirits, but this year's offering was even better: appetizers made by neighborhood newbie (well, relatively speaking) & purveyors of artisan pizzas, Flour and Water!  I really enjoyed their food the one time I was able to eat there (read: the one time my parents were in town and treating us to dinner), and these snacks appropriately fancy.  The finger sandwiches were comprised of smoked prosciutto, delicata squash & arugala on focaccia with pumpkin seeds and.... something else (I meant to snap a photo of the ingredients but got distracted by the free booze festive beverages).  I thought they were pretty delicious and ate maaaaaybe more than would be considered appropriate, but since Els only had one, let's just say I ate her share too.  And then a few more.  Also on hand, though not exactly sandwiches, were crustini with a ricotta dip and a mushroom spread.  But if you combine the two onto one crustini it's like an open face sandwich, right?  I liked this maybe even more than the sandwiches.  And, although DEFINITELY not a sandwich, the squash soup was CRAZY good and creamy and claimed to be vegetarian although I thought their must have been chicken stock or something in there.  Maybe just loads of butter and cream.  But well done all around to Flour and Water and big thanks to Paxton Gate for hosting their annual holiday party with delicious snacks and free booze classy refreshments!

sandwich over-stimulation pt 2

Veggie chiken patty with potato salad

alexander's brite spot, west sunset & glendale, los angeles

Chicken breast on focaccia


veggie chicken patty with fixins

fried chicken sandwich

fromin's deli, wilshire & 19th, santa monica

Not long after my experience with Sherman's reuben in Palm Springs, JoJoJoJo and I ate at this Santa Monica restaurant. I decided that I needed to explore my options, stretch my wings, and order something than the usual reuben. So I settled on the fried chicken sandwich, having eaten a fair amount of soy "fried chicken" lately, and hungering for the real thing. The chicken portion of the sandwich was great, very flavorful and not too dry. But in addition to the tasty chicken patty, the sandwich came loaded with toppings, including a plentiful helping of avocado. This made the sandwich fairly slippery and hard to contain, but a little bit of a mess is worth it for a good lunch.

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

the italian combo

valencia whole foods, 20th & valencia, san francisco

I had really enjoyed the turkey panini that I bought the other week from Valencia Whole Foods, and was eager to go back and try their other paninis. unfortunately, my experience with this sandwich was not as pleasant as the last time. for starters, I don't really know that much about prosciutto- i've only had it maybe a handful of times in my life- but it doesn't seem well suited for being part of a "combo". it was particularly fatty, and so I often ended up pulling away long pieces of fat when I bit into the sandwich. secondly, I don't think any of the meats involved are better served hot, and so getting a mouthful of warm salami and mortadella was somewhat off putting. and lastly, this was a really greasy sandwich. the guy making it used a liberal amount of grease on the outside of the bread, and all the meats were salty and fatty to begin with, so I ended up with a pretty gnarly stomach ache after eating this. I kind of get the impression that whoever came up with this sandwich was more trying to show what an upscale shop Valencia Whole Foods is, rather than create a really good sandwich.

turkey and brie panini

valencia whole foods, 20th & valencia, san francisco

Valencia Whole Foods is a nice little market on the corner of 20th, one that i would love to shop at more often, if it were not for the astronomically high prices. still, they have some great products and recently they started offering a selection of sandwiches. it was grey and windy the day I went, and the streets were wet from rain. I wanted something warm, but not too heavy, and this sandwich turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. all of the flavors in this sandwich were mild; the turkey had a slight smokey flavor, the pesto was not overwhelming as some can be, and the bites that had big pieces of tomato were almost dominated by the flavor of the vegetable. but the best was the gooey brie, and it tasted so good that I ate this sandwich almost too quickly!

grilled turkey & pesto chicken

literati cafe, wilshire boulevard, los angeles

the Literati Cafe is a cozy place, attached to a much fancier (and pricier) restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard. the walls are adorned with posters of famous counter-culture icons. and the sandwiches are quite good! both were served on ciabatta rolls, which were very soft and delicious. also, both were served with pesto- this seemed odd to me, as the chicken sandwich had pesto in the name, whereas the turkey sandwich did not. and also, the turkey had cheese (some sort of white cheese (JoJoJoJo says swiss)). but the biggest difference between the two was the meat. the chicken, to be honest, was not terribly flavorful and maybe undercooked. but the turkey was delicious! it was exceptionally moist, and served hot. the heat and intense flavor of the sandwich was nicely balanced by the caesar salad, although i wish i had eaten less of the salad.