I think every neighborhood should have a “go to” sandwich shop. For us it’s Sandwich Emporium, which I posted on way back in May 2005. Over the years, we’ve been in the shop often enough to get to know the owners, twins John and Peter Le, and Peter’s lovely, warm, and friendly wife, Angela.
And without a doubt time does fly, I remember chatting with Peter and Angela one day, and suddenly realizing they’ve owned Sandwich Emporium for six years! On one visit, while waiting for the Missus’s sandwich, the “Triple Decker” on sourdough, no mustard, no mayo, no cheese, with sprouts and pickled jalapenos(that’s the nice thing about these neighborhood places, you get to know the folks, and they’ll make every effort to make what you want), I noticed that I hadn’t seen John in a while (thank God Peter wears glasses and the wedding band, or I’d have problems telling them apart). I was told that John had moved up North, and had opened a second branch of Sandwich Emporium…..
So one recent day, I headed up the “15” to Escondido, and the new Sandwich Emporium.
The shop, is pretty tiny, but the menu is basically the same, and it was nice to catch-up on things with John.
And the sandwiches are the same as well, like the Jersey Reuben, which is turkey, corn beef, with coleslaw (in place of sauerkraut – though I’ll on occasion I’ll ask for sauerkraut).
On nice and toasty rye, this is a good honest sandwich. Both messy and satisfying. You can get even more meat on your sandwich….. but I think those over-stuffed sandwiches have really taken things a bit far, and I’ve learned a nice lesson from Banh Mi and good Tortas, it’s all about things in proportion. Sure beats what comes out of most chains…..
There are usually weekly/monthly specials that are sometimes kinda interesting. One of my favorites is the “Gobbler” which I posted about here, though now they’ve included some gravy, which completes the sandwich for me.
On this day, I decided to try the CaliMelt:
The melted provolone and turkey went amazingly well with the avocado. As usual, I left satisfied.
As with most places, there are items that I enjoy more than others, but it’s the same with every place I’ve been to. After this post in December 2006, I received an email from someone who had checked out Sandwich Emporium, and was rather unhappy with my post…… to quote “What’s the big deal, it was priced right, and the service was good, the sandwich was tasty, but what’s the big deal?” To which I responded simply, “Dude, sounds like you enjoyed the sandwich, had good service, and thought the prices were reasonable. What was it that you expected?”
Some places make a big splash and grow quickly….. see Sab E Lee. Some like Sandwich Emporium take a bit more time. It doesn’t minimize how impressed I am with two guys buying the sandwich shop of their youth, and making a successful go of it.
Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117
and
**** The Escondido Location of SE has closed
2750 Auto Parkway, Suite 18
Escondido, CA 92029
So tell me, what is your “go to” neighborhood sandwich shop?
You know, sometimes I think that John and Peter are everywhere(I guess they can cover twice the space). I once had the radio on in the morning, and to my surprise Peter and John were on! One night I’m watching the news, and whoa, Peter and John were on……
Scary…….