summer sandwiches: breakfast at city state in portland

 

 

 

126 Northeast 28th Avenue, Portland, OR

http://citystatediner.com/

I am an idiot.  At this particular moment I'm ruminating on that fact because I believed all day that I was scheduled to work tonight, got all showered and dressed and caffeinated and ready to head out the door only to realize, with the slow burning onset of embarrassment, that I was wrong about today's date and in fact am not scheduled to work.  And I even turned down a coworker's request to cover his shift (which would have paid even better than my regular shift) cuz I thought I was working.  I am a man with some regrets.  Which makes it appropriate that this is the sandwich review I am writing now, because I have some regrets about this sandwich.  See that sandwich up top?  That's the "Cuban", a "flat grilled french baguette with ham, capicola, house pickles, swiss, strawberry jam, and garlic dijon mayo".  Sounds insane and delicious right???  That's not what I ordered.  I ordered the breakfast sausage sandwich, which was "house sausage, egg, muenster".  Don't get me wrong, it was for sure a tasty sandwich.  The house sausage was peppery and not too greasy and the muenster was a great and unexpected choice for a breakfast sandwich.  But for some reason I thought, since it was only breakfast time and I'd surely be eating more epic sandwiches later in the day (in my duties as a Sandwich Journalist of course), that I should take it easy on breakfast.  Get something not too crazy.  Something a little smaller (and this sandwich, served all on its lonesome, was indeed pretty small).  I let the waitress talk me out of getting eggs benedict with "pork belly, apricot jam and arugula".  WTF is wrong with me???  When my reckless devourment of sandwiches finally catches up with me and does me in, it's not the horribly unhealthy feasts that lead to my demise that I'll regret.  I will regret the times I went to an awesome restaurant in a city far away from where I live and ordered something more modest instead of going for the good stuff.  You'd think a dude would Carpe Diem in a place called City State.  Ah, but who ordered the Cuban then, you ask?  Actually in a funny twist of fate, both of my younger brothers happened to be passing through Portland at the same time Els and I were there!  So while I'm bummed that I missed out on the Cuban or Pork Belly Eggs Benedict (or "The Count -  hazelnut challah french toast, smoked turkey, prosciutto, havarti, brie, apricot jam", god why didn't I order that??), I am still gonna have fond memories of getting to have breakfast with my brothers and my special lady friend at a Portland diner with a wide and very appealing menu.  But maybe next time I'll order something as memorable as the occasion.  Maybe if I'm not an IDIOT, jeez.

summer sandwiches: ham sandwich from brass tacks

We got into Portland Saturday evening and met our pal Rob at the weird/run down/honestly kinda scary house he is subletting a room in.  It was being guarded by this cat which didn't seem all that friendly.  We had dinner at Ned Ludd around the corner, but we didn't eat any sandwiches there.  Not that it mattered, because the food was not very good for how much it cost to eat there.  Whatever.

This little fellow lives at the house where we crashed during our trip.  She noticed me eating a piece of bread and got curious.  Then she took a bite.  Then, seconds after this photo was taken, she clawed me and stole it!  I tell you there was something satanic about this cat.  Did I mention it uses the toilet?  Like, the human toilet?  IT USES THE TOILET.  UNNATURAL.

 

3535 N Vancouver Ave, Portland, OR

http://brasstackssandwichesllc.blogspot.com/

 

We were supposed to go to the river with our host and her friends on Sunday morning. but due to a breakdown in communication we would have had to skip out on coffee and our first meal of the day to do so.  "Nuts to that!" we said.  I didn't come Portland to eat snacks bought at Safeway en route to the river.  Els and I took off on our own and decided to check out a spot called Brass Tacks.  The sandwich gods clearly approved of our decision- their first sign of approval was that I recognized one of the owners of Brass Tacks was someone I knew from several years ago in San Francisco!  It was an unexpected and funny coincidence.  Our second sign from the sandwich gods came when we asked for iced coffees to start our hot sunny Portland day off right.  At first they were like "oh we don't serve iced coffee sorry" but THEN it was all "oh hey I guess we have actually exactly two cups of iced coffee that were sent to us as a sample".  So we got delicious, chocolately iced coffee and when the woman behind us in line was like "I'll have an iced coffee too" she got DENIED.  Bummer for her.  I decided to get a ham sandwich, because I reasoned that I frequently see pork sandwiches on offer, but rarely ham.  Few people want to attempt ham sandwiches.  I think ham sandwiches just aren't sexy enough.  Actually, ok, Rhea's has a pretty good ham sandwich and Tartine does those insane ham and gruyere melty things.  But all the same you'll see a dozen fancy turkey sandwiches for every ham sandwich you come across.  I liked this ham sandwich a lot, and what I liked about it was that it was so straight forward.  Maple-glazed ham, cheddar cheese, mayo, mustard, pickles, onions, something leafy and green on a fluffy... ciabatta or something.  It tasted like a ham sandwich and I like ham sandwiches.

What, was that a really boring description of a sandwich?  How about another crazy-ass Portland animal then?  This guy is named Dude, and he is a shy and sweet rescue dog, at least until anyone lights a fire or starts smoking around him.  For some reason Dude loves smoke and spent almost this entire time we were at this backyard BBQ jumping up in the air and biting at the smoke.  Portland animals are weird.

the beach hut cafe at crissy field

the beach hut cafe, crissy field center, san francisco

"Park Club - natural turkey breast, ham, bacon, avocado, cheese and greens on whole wheat sourdough with mustard and mayo"
"Honey Dijon Turkey - natural turkey breast, jack cheese, honey spice Dijon and mayo with greens on whole wheat sourdough"

Els and I took advantage of a mid-week day off this week to go for a little bike ride, which was actually my first bike ride in several months. My gears were a little creaky, so were my legs, but we successfully made it from our starting point in the Mission to the buffalo enclosure at Golden Gate Park (despite being a resident of SF for close to a decade, I'd never actually seen the buffalo before!). Since we were so close to the beach, Els suggested that we continue on, and we did; upon arriving there, she mentioned a time that she and a friend had made the same bike ride, only to decide to continue up Ocean Beach and around the point to the Golden Gate Bridge.  So of course then she and I took that route to the bridge, which led to us biking over the bridge and back. Not only is that a significantly longer bike ride than I'd anticipated, but it also included several very steep hills and even a long dirt staircase that we had to carry our bikes up and over. Needless to say I was pretty destroyed by the time we got to Crissy Field. I also hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, which was hours and miles behind me. Els, too, seemed like she was ready to eat anything that stopped long enough for her to catch. Fortunately there was the Beach Hut Cafe waiting for us on the East end of Crissy Field, offering sandwiches, smoothies, and a bunch of really strange gourmet snacks, like fancy marshmallows, steak strips, and wheat-free dog treats. It was a little small inside and the assortment of snacks as well as Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge souvenirs made it feel like a museum gift shop inside, but it was sunny and sheltered from the wind that was coming off the bay. We ordered the first two sandwiches on the menu, as well as what we thought was a blood orange and cranberry juice drink but turned out to be a smoothie. The sandwiches were the "Park Club" (pictured at top) and the "Honey Dijon Turkey" (the third and fourth pictures above). Keeping with the museum gift shop vibe of the place (and therefore in line with museum food), the sandwiches were both overpriced yet competently prepared. Neither sandwich was especially interesting or noteworthy, but the "Park Club" edged out the "Honey Dijon Turkey" by offering a more diverse set of ingredients. The whole wheat sourdough was pretty bland and tasted like your standard store-bought bread, and the toppings were somewhat skimpy on both sandwiches in my opinion, but I enjoyed eating them. I wouldn't suggest that anyone go out of their way to find the Beach Hut Cafe, but if you want a picnic lunch at Crissy Field and don't mind paying a little more for somewhat generic sandwiches, this place really isn't a bad option. I would certainly consider returning the next time I'm out there, although I'm hoping that next time I will not have just unexpectedly biked for hours across the city. After devouring our sandwiches, Els and I hopped back on our bikes and headed back home, pausing only for a moment when my legs seized up and I couldn't move them for a few minutes (I have since regained the full use of my legs). When we got home I didn't move from the couch for the rest of the evening, except to go to the front door to get the pizza we had delivered.

PS- the steak strips were pretty good (I got the "Cajun"), the gourmet marshmallows (we tried "Caramel" and "Chocolate") tasted like marshmallows. Go figure. We didn't try the wheat-free dog treats.

a new mr. pickles!

mr. pickle's, lombard & buchanon, san francisco

 

Mr. Pickle's!  I just can't get enough of you and your goofy pickle mascot.  I've eaten your sandwiches countless times, and probably written about Mr. Pickle's on this site more than other sandwich shop.  And yet until now, all of my Mr. Pickle's experiences have been at the 20st & South Van Ness location- just one shop in a franchise that allows a surprising amount of variation between stores.  Over the past few weeks, I've noticed that a new SF location has opened up on Lombard Street, as you head out of SF towards the Golden Gate Bridge.  On a whim, I decided to stop and grab a sandwich on my way to work this week and see what this Mr. Pickle's had to offer.  Good call!  I'd been getting a little tired of the same old Mr. Pickle's menu over and over, and now there is a whole new menu of awesomeness to choose from!  I didn't have much time to contemplate the menu, so I got the sandwich that was most like my favorite sandwich (the Tony Soprano) at my local Mr. Pickle's.  The Lombard Mr. Pickle's italian sub was called the Italian Stallion, and there were some slight differences from the Tony Soprano.  For one, unlike the South Van Ness Mr. Pickle's which garnishes all sandwiches with pesto, the Lombard Mr. Pickle's uses garlic sauce.  The other main difference was that the Italian Stallion lacked mortadella, but substituted pastrami.  Honestly it is hard for me to say if that is an improvement or not, because mortadella and pastrami are both completely delicious and a welcome addition on any sandwich.  So basically this was similar but different to the Tony Soprano, but in my opinion just as good- which is to say, it was GREAT.  The older man behind the counter at this Mr. Pickle's claimed to have helped opened the OG Mr. Pickle's locations in San Bruno and Millbrae, and he shared some pretty funny light smack talk about some of the other Mr. Pickle's franchises.  He definitely seemed to take pride in the quality of the ingredients used at this location, and that their menu is the original menu (with some names changed).  The other guy behind the counter who made my sandwich actually held it up to show me it when he was done putting it together because he thought it looked so good!  If that ain't pride in your work, I don't know what is.  I'm looking forward to trying more of the new and different sandwiches from this Mr. Pickle's on Lombard!

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE:  After I had written a draft of this review, Els and I walked past the South Van Ness Mr. Pickle's and noticed through the window that they had added about a dozen new menu items!!!  Holy crap!!  I can only assume that the wise and all-knowing Señor Pepino who stands watch outside the store sensed that I had become tired of their menu options, and wanted to stop me from leaving them for another Mr. Pickle's.  Well it worked, cuz I'm going to the South Van Ness store to try the new sandwiches today!!! It's a Mr. Pickle's miracle!

a.g. ferrari's val d'aosta

 

A.G. Ferrari's, town center mall, corte madera

Val D'Aosta: honey smoked ham, fontina, sauerkraut, and dijon mustard on pugliese
 

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been spending a lot of time in malls lately due to my new line of work.  That sucks about as hard as you might imagine it would.  Food options have been slim, and I honestly had never considered stepping foot inside of an A.G. Ferrari's before.  It's not that I have anything in particular against them, just that it seemed like they were sort of a chain version of an expensive import grocery store, and a) I got no $$$ for expensive imports and b) if I did I wouldn't be going to a chain store to get stocked up.  Anyway after a couple months of staring blankly across the way at A.G. Ferrari's storefront and seeing folks meander out with sandwiches in hand, I decided to give it a shot.  It turns out that my impression of A.G. Ferrari's was correct, but that I had not anticipated the possibility that they would make decent sandwiches.  This sandwich wasn't bad!  Based on the ingredients list, I hadn't really anticipated that it would be a panini- I would have guessed that sauerkraut would make for a very soggy sandwich- but somehow that wasn't the case.  The cheese was nice and melty, the ham tasted sweet and delicate, and although I only had minutes to scarf this down before work started, I was definitely glad that I got lunch from A.G. Ferrari's instead of World Wrapps or Baja Fresh.

molinari's combo

 

molinari's, columbus & vallejo, san francisco

 Els and I had some business to attend to in the Marina/North Beach area (specifically, going to a "world market" of sorts to buy some German mustard) and decided to take the opportunity to try a sandwich destination in North Beach.  We hardly ever make it out that way, so I did a little research on the google and the fiery depths of that digital hellhole that shall not be named but rhymes with "kelp", and we settled on Molinari's after reading some high praise.  Now, maybe its just that I'm not 100% into the whole Italian deli counter style, but I couldn't really tell what the fuss was about this place.  It was a pretty straightforward sandwich, but the bread had apparently been sitting out all day and was pretty dry and chewy.  Apart from that, there wasn't anything wrong with the sandwich per se- just not really anything worth travelling out to North Beach for.  I bet if I lived nearby I might be way more into this sandwich shop (and I should add that I'm a fan of Lucca's, who offer a comparable experience), but for non-locals, it wasn't evident what the big deal was.

Roxie Special @ Roxie Food Center

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.

outerlands' open-faced ham and cheese

 

 

outerlands, 25th & judah, san francisco

Els recently bought herself a copy of Tartine Bread (even though SOMEONE was planning on buying it for her as a present, jeez), and has been obsessed with since.  So in addition to eating a delicious special-occasion dinner at Bar Tartine (no sandwiches for me that night sadly), and her preparing a rad kale caesar salad from one of the recipes in the book, we also had to venture out to Outerlands to try their Tartine-style bread.  The typically omnipresent fog of the Sunset district was gone for the day, replaced by overcast skies and a violently dark looking ocean.  It was cold and gorgeous, and made me think I should spend more time out in the Sunset (note to self: no, you should not).  We managed to get to Outerlands just before lunch hours ended (Outerlands closes at 3 after lunch every day and then re-opens for dinner).  Their particular hours had prevented us from making this trek before, but time was on our side this day.  We found a nice table, ordered at the counter, and enjoyed a terrifically bitter pot of coffee between the two of us while waiting for our sandwiches to arrive.  Now, Outerlands isn't a cheap meal, but you get what you pay for both in quality and quantity- we got two sandwiches, but honestly one would have probably been enough for the both of us.  Els had the grilled cheese with some lentil soup (review forthcoming, no doubt), while I decided to go for the open-faced ham and cheese.  Growing up, grilled ham and cheese was one of my all-time favorite comfort foods (ESPECIALLY with honey ham) and so this definitely lit up the pleasure centers of my brain.  Don't be fooled by the large salad leaf in the first picture there, which makes this sandwich seem smaller than it was- the two huge pieces of bread, topped with honey ham, cheddar, caramelized onions and honey mustard were very filling.  The bread was cut thick, standing out as the main draw of the sandwich, and appropriately so: it was so full of flavor and character, and definitely lived up to the Tartine name.  The side salad was great too, as was the chocolate chip cookie we had after lunch.  Throw in a trip to the General Store and then spend some time gazing at the ocean, and you've got a great Saturday afternoon excursion.

grilled ham and cheese from tartine

tartine, 18th & guererro, san francisco

"Jambon Royale & Gruyere: Niman Ranch cured and smoked ham with Dijon on country bread"

 

I started writing a review of this waaaaaaay long ago, but never posted it.  Which is good, because my first review sucked.  This sandwich speaks for itself- tartine bread, hella good ham and cheese, and AWESOME spicy mustard.  And spicy pickled carrots on the side.  This thing is like fifteen bucks, but I'm telling you, ITS WORTH IT.  That is how good this sandwich is.  I might only get to eat it whenever I have a birthday or cure AIDS or whatever, but I'm impatiently waiting for an excuse to pay top dime for one of these again.

croque madam at la boulange

 

la boulange, fillmore & california, san francisco

Els and I hit up the Fillmore Farmer's Market last weekend to speak to a man about some smoked fish, and we brought our appetites with us.  The farmer's market itself was on the smaller side, and the booths we hoped would be offering bountiful breakfasts and pots of hot coffee did not actually exist.  So, we decided to take advantage of being outside of our neighborhood and stroll around in search of something to get our day started right.  When we first walked past this place, I mistook it for the chain store with a very similar name (you know the one), and didn't bother to investigate any further.  Fortunately, Els cleared up my confusion shortly thereafter, and we returned for a second look.  I'm glad we did, because this was a pretty charming little cafe.  The menu offered perhaps fewer choices than expected, but what was available all sounded inspired and delicious.  I settled on a croque madam, a sandwich I had never tried before (I did, however, try a croque monsieur for the first time earlier this year).  I should at this point make note of the fact that this was set up like a cafe and not a restaurant: you have to wait in line to order at the counter, then take a number, find a seat and wait for your food.  Personally I think this makes the experience a little more chaotic than it needed to be- there were customers loitering around everywhere, making navigating the inside of the shop frustratingly difficult.  However, Els and I managed to find some pretty decent seats in the upstairs area, and we both enjoyed the low-key decor of the place.  As you may note in the top photo above, large coffees at La Boulange are served in bowls, which I thought was pretty neat (although I have to say that the coffee was pretty bad).  As for the sandwich, this was a pretty great first experience with a croque madam!  Like a croque monsieur, a croque madam has ham, swiss and bechemel- but the main difference is that it is topped with an egg (sometimes there are further variations, like the addition of vegetables, but not here).  As you might imagine, it was a rich, salty and indulgent sandwich.  It was messy, too, and Els took the only napkin we were given even though she was eating oats with a spoon and I had buttery cheesy grease all over my fingers.  Jeez.  I'd also like to mention that the salad was quite good, too, with a slightly sweet vinaigrette topping the mixed greens.  And although it was not a sandwich, Els swore that the warm oats with brown sugar and fruit served in milk that she got was the best she'd ever had.  I'm definitely looking forward to coming back here again to try out some of their other offerings.

hello old friend

mr. pickle's, 20th & south van ness, san francisco

There's little I can say about Mr. Pickle's that I haven't already!  My love for the home of Señor Pepino has been extensively documented on this website.  But when I got this Tony Soprano sub, it had been a long, long time since I had eaten there.  In my quest to find new and different places to buy sandwiches, I had neglected my first love.  So I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to Mr. Pickle's.  I promise I will never go so long without one of your sandwiches again!

croque monsieur

tartine, 18th & guererro, san francisco

I admit I was a little bit confused when Els told me she had brought "croque monsieur" home from Tartine.  Monsieur who?? I'm as open-minded as the next guy, but not that open-minded, you know?  But as I was much relieved to learn, a croque monsieur is a grilled ham and cheese- but with a silly french name (it means "mister crunchy"!!!).  I was also glad to learn that croque monsieurs are AWESOME.  First off, if you've never been to Tartine, I gotta warn you that it is straight up for rich-ass yuppies and their bizarrely fashionable offspring, so you have to be prepared to pay out the ass for your food.  That being said, if you are willing to spend yr hard earned pennies, you will get some CRAZY delicious food.  This sandwich was like a loaf of french bread sliced lengthwise, drenched in butter and topped with really good ham and cheese and tomato and who knows what else because I basically demolished this thing.  It could easily be split between two people, but Els was kind enough to let me have Mister Crunchy here all to myself. 

Rhea's Deli: The Lexington, Hot? or Cold?

rhea's deli, 19th & valencia, san francisco

I took mine Hot!

... they gave me the option... it was cold... it was the right option.

Visually, it leaves a little to be desired, but I think the simplicity of a ham and cheese sandwich is, sometimes, all a girl really needs for comfort on a rainy day. Yet, really, this wasn't that simple of a sandwich. Melted swiss covered Boar's Head Black Forest Ham and Honey Maple Ham whose sweetness was complimented by the heat of Rhea's Sweet Pickled Jalapenos. A little extra kick of sweet and spice came with welcome taste buds from Boar's Head Honey Mustard. And the pickles, which I must admit I normally NEVER eat and I did pass most of them along to my eating buddy, wrapped this whole thing up with a punch of tang.

Also, I will admit I feel some of the ingredients advertised were left out of my sandwich. There were no roasted peppers or tomatoes in my or my eating buddy's half. Not to say that this bothered me. It's no longer tomato season and I must admit I greatly dislike out of season tomatoes. And, again, this was a simple sandwich and did not need extra frills of such things.

This was by no means a mind blowing sandwich experience, however, it was a great version of a classic.

MSSN BRGR MSSN BRGR MSSN BRGR

Only one more day til Mission Burger is open again!  This was the specialty breakfast sandwich last week.  English muffin, country ham (I think?  It had some kinda fancy-ass title), poached eggs, hollandaise sauce.... oh yeah, and FRIED PICKLED OKRA.  I, unfortunately, did not get to eat this.  I merely bore witness, as an impartial and salivating observer.  Who is buying me a chicken sandwich this weekend???

ariel's great idea

pommard deli, middlefield & loma verde, palo alto

Referred to by my family as simply "The Deli", Pommard is I think sadly overlooked by many Palo Alto residents. I've never really seen a busy day there before. It has changed a lot since I was a kid; previously, it was connected to the next door liquor store, and they didn't used to sell pizza. Nor, I think, did sandwiches used to come with french fries. But despite the changes they've gone through over the years, the sandwiches are still as great as they've ever been (my little brother, in particular, swears religiously by this deli, but I haven't been able to coax him into writing for the blog yet). Despite the availability of a wide variety of tasty sandwich options, I can never bring myself to order anything but "Ariel's Great Idea". It is a grilled chicken sandwich, topped with ham, melted swiss cheese, avocado, and a really good sweet mustard. As you can imagine, it's not the healthiest sandwich in the world, but then again, that's also why it's one of the tastiest. I'd really like to know what kind of mustard it is they put on this, because it kind of straddles the line between being dijon and being honey mustard. At any rate, it really ties the whole thing together, adding a necessary sweetness and balancing out the salty flavor of the ham and the savory flavor of the chicken. Perhaps the next time I go back I'll try something new, or coerce other members my family into writing about their favorites (my mom likes the roasted Mediterranean vegetable sandwich, my brother is particular to, I think, turkey and bacon). Pommard's also serves pizza, as I mentioned above, as well as roasted chicken and a full array of deli salads (although their deviled eggs aren't so hot). And one additional reason to check them out, if you are in the area, is that there is a Philz Coffee(!?) that recently opened next door.

grilled ham & cheese

This was the last of the rosemary ham that I bought at Trader Joe's. I think that I used mozzarella on this sandwich, rather than sharp provolone, in order not to be overwhelmed by strong flavors. But then, I don't really recall too much about this sandwich, which was sort of a late night snack.

rosemary ham & sharp provolone

As I mentioned in my last post, I've recently been buying products at the grocery store that I've never tried or wouldn't usually get. But the items in this sandwich- rosemary ham and sharp provolone cheese- put an end to that practice, at least for a little while. The rosemary ham was interesting to me- I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. But it was good, and I realized eating it that rosemary must be one of the main ingredients in the herbed turkey breast that you can get at a lot of delis. The sharp provolone on the other hand.... I was not prepared for. When I saw it in the store, it struck me as odd, because I didn't really consider provolone to be a very sharp tasting cheese and wondered what a sharp version of provolone would taste like. In retrospect, it seems obvious- it tasted like a really, really strongly flavored provolone. It was fairly pungent too. I've always loved cheese, and keep falling into the logical fallacy of "I like this flavor -> sharp means more flavor -> the sharp cheese must taste even better!". As I age, I'm starting to appreciate the value of subtlety a little more. I wish I had that frame of mind before making this sandwich, because the result was an intense flavor explosion that baffled my mouth. Each bite was an attack on my senses, leaving me reeling and wary of the next bite. Its good trying new flavors and all, but I think I over-did the experimentation on this one.

paradise found

ike's place, 16th & sanchez, san francisco

The process of getting this sandwich ended up being something of a misadventure. For starters, you never can quite tell how long a sandwich will take at Ike's, and in this case, it was less time than it was going to take me to walk there. JoJoJoJo and I set out with the intention that we would take our sandwiches to Dolores and enjoy a picnic there, but it started drizzling as we approached Ike's. So we picked up our sandwiches, turned around, and walked back to my apartment, where these pictures were finally taken. By that time, the sandwich was a soggy mess, and not as hot as its probably meant to be served. I had the bright idea of borrowing my roommate's digital camera, hoping to get better pics than on my phone camera, but the resulting pictures were as indistinct and messy as the sandwich itself. Oh well. The concept behind the sandwich was not bad- ham, pineapple, marinara sauce and provolone cheese. "Like an hawaiian pizza! I love hawaiian pizza!" I thought as I ordered. Well, it turned out to be not quite the same as an hawaiian pizza, because the balance of ingredients was so much different. It seemed to me that there was an awful lot of ham in the sandwich, and although I do love ham, the taste of the meat was more predominant than I had anticipated. Still, though, I suspect that this sandwich would have been much better if I had been able to eat it sooner, while it was still hot and not as mushy. I'd try another one, but frankly there's enough interesting sounding sandwiches on Ike's menu that you'd never have to eat the same sandwich twice.

ham and swiss on rye

delano's market, 23rd & south van ness, san francisco

I was feeling pretty mellow today, and felt like eating a mellow sandwich. in recent weeks, I've enjoyed an embarassment of fancy, high-concept sandwiches, nearly all of which have been great. but today I wanted something a little more old school. not a sandwich with a funny name or some kind of crazy sauce. just, you know, meat and cheese and some produce. and it occured to me that I had noticed that delano's market (RIP cala foods) had a pretty humble looking deli tucked away in the corner, and I had a bucket of change to feed to the coinstar machine at the front of the store. so after getting rid of my change, I stopped by the deli and got this sandwich. the woman behind the counter seemed like she was kind of bored, but she was really nice and I think did a pretty good job putting this sandwich together. and it ended up being exactly what I wanted- nothing fancy, just a really tasty sandwich. neither the meat nor the cheese were exceptional, just good, and there was plenty of tomato, which I appreciated. also, the sandwich had pickles and jalapeños and pepperoncinis, so it was pleasantly vinegary and a little spicy. I think maybe I'll go back and try a roast beef with muenster.

not a sandwich (UPDATED- now a sandwich!)

...but this stuff is now available at Mike's liquor store on 21st & mission, and I do love cactus cooler.

UPDATE: it was pointed out that the above soda is not, in fact, a sandwich. and so to remedy this situation, I present you:

10-YEAR-OLD AW's 5-STAR SANDWICH

heck yes!

now, this is beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the finest sandwiches ever crafted. it is the ultimate fuel for trading Pogs or series-two Marvel cards, or playing Killer Instinct on your cousin's SNES. if you find yourself doing any of these things, I heartily recommend this sandwich. some day I will pass this recipe on to my children, and them to their children. truly, a sandwich for the ages.

the necessary ingredients

I should mention that the above ingredients are not quite right. the Buddig brand ham does not need to be honey ham; the Kraft cheese should be "Old English", which as I understand has been discontinued; and the bread should be the brand of Buttermilk-style bread that my grandmother buys. I do not know the brand. nevertheless, this is close enough. I will now divulge the secret ingredients, please use discretion with whom you choose to share this knowledge with.

mayonnaise and seasoning salt

the secret ingredients are mayonnaise and seasoning salt. Lawry's is preferred, but McCormick's is acceptable. please note that this sandwich does not contain any produce. it is simply ham, cheese, pickles, mayonnaise and seasoning salt. mustard is allowed but not recommended. if you have anything else on this sandwich, you are doing it wrong.

aw yeah lets bust out the Atari and play Joust

as you can see in the picture above, the serving suggestions for this sandwich are Cactus Cooler and BBQ-flavored chips. you could drink a different soda (perhaps Coke or Root Beer), but if you have access to Cactus Cooler....why would you? and that my friends is how to make a 5-star sandwich. eat it quickly before your grandmother makes you water the garden.