There quite a few "business" delis/sandwich shops all thru San Diego, feeding the folks working in office complexes and industrial parks all over San Diego. They fulfill a vital role during the work week; especially when it's lunchtime, and to paraphrase a well known movie filed partially in San Diego, when "I feel the need….the need for feed!" Corny enough?
You may have passed Unique Deli hundres of times without noticing it.
Located on Balboa avenue in the office building just to the East of 94 Aero Squadron you'll pass the place in the blink of an eye if you're driving the usual speed on Balboa. I did indeed notice this little shop and felt the need to find out what was truly unique about Unique Deli……
The shop is not really unique, typical of those lunch hour sandwich joints. The menu is quite large and has a good variety of choices…….but that in its self is not unique. Neither is using Boar's Head products.
I did find the two older, I believe Korean women making sandwiches with machine like precision a bit unique…though maybe not. Neither were the prices, which all fell in the mid $4 to $7 range. So I thought I'd try some of the sandwiches.
The most unique sandwich I found was called "The Charger" ($6.49):
Though the turkey and bread was standard issue deli stuff, I did enjoy the sun dried tomatoes, feta, and olives. My only complaint was how messy the sun dried tomato oil made the sandwich as it oozed all over the place and through the wrapper soiling my car seat. Over all, this was the best of the bunch in terms of flavor…….
The sandwich they call the Manhandler ($5.69) is probably next on the list. The roast beef was fairly tender and the avocado made for a nice textural contrast.
It's not a particularly stuffed sandwich, but there's sufficient protein for my tastes. One of my pet peeves, severely under-ripe tomatoes was present here…..bringing nothing to the sandwich and adding an unpleasant sourness to it. i'd also order it sans mustard next time, for some reason it just seemed to clash with everything else between the bread.
My least favorite to date was the Torpedo ($5.79), which is strange because I usually love this type of sandwich.
This was by far the most "meaty" of all the sandwiches I tried, but the Italian Dressing tasted a bit rancid…so maybe it was just a bottle, and believe me this tasted like it came from a bottle, that had gone past its due date.
So what's really unique about Unique Deli…..hmmm…. well maybe because it is uniquely the only sandwich shop located at 8865 Balboa avenue? Well, whatever the reason they call it unique, it's still a pretty good little shop. And it got me wondering, how many more of these little shops are in the area? I'm sure there's one near you…..
Unique Deli
8865 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92123