** Update: Mama's Grill has Closed
I keep finding little sandwich places I never knew existed…….this shop is pretty close to work, in the same strip mall as Jersey Mike's and Sieu Sieu BBQ. I'm not quite sure why I missed this place, I guess it's overshadowed by the chains….Carl's Jr, Rubio's Test Kitchen, Jersey Mike's…..not places I usually frequent.
If I recall, this place used to be Sima's Grill? Which sadly, I never had the chance to try either.
I wasn't going to let this place go without checking it out. I'd finished up some meetings and had a late lunch…late for me is like 130pm, I usually like to eat at 11….things are less crazy on "the Mesa" at 11.
The placed looked like any of a number of sandwich shops scattered throughout San Diego. The meat is Boar's Head…and like I said in my post on Crossroads Deli; Boar's Head, is Boar's Head. I like to see what interesting items are on the menu. Well, there's no shortage of that here, some of it, like the 1 pound "T-Rex" is a bit over-the-top.
I decided on the "Surf and Turf"($9.95). I didn't expect the hefty sandwich that I got.
This was a two-fisted sandwich. In fact, i only finished half of it. The beef, as expected was on the chewy side and kind of bland. I was surprised how many shrimp were in the sandwich. I like the finely shredded lettuce on this….it gave even more texture to sandwich. For me, what really made this thing tick was the cilantro pesto and the chipotle (I know it's everywhere – but it worked here) sauce. It just gave everything that little umph it needed.
I couple of days later I tried Ma's Muffuletta ($8.95). This I was less impressed with.
The sandwich was basically a pressed panini, the bread toasted a bit too hard. There was a generous portion of capicola, prosciutto (low grad and very salty), and supposedly mortadella…which I couldn't make out. The pressing had rendered a lot of the fat making this kind of greasy…..there wasn't enough bread or anything to balance out the amount of salt in the olive spread and meat. Again, I could only finish half the sandwich, but for a different reason……
Another day of meetings, another late lunch. I decided to stop at Mama's and take something back to the office. I quickly ordered Ma's Veggie ($7.55).
First off, I like the way the bread was "pressed/griddles", it really provided some nice texture. I was also surprised at the amount of avocado in this sandwich. For some reason, the cream cheese seemed like overkill…perhaps if the sandwich also had some sprouts and shredded lettuce to add more contrasting textures and interest.
Still, this wasn't a bad sandwich by any means….in fact I was told they'd make anything anyway I want it….sounds like a veggie minus the cream cheese with lettuce, cilantro and chipotle sauce, doesn't it?
Mama’s Grill
7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon – Fri 830am – 5pm
Sat 9am – 330pm
Sun 1030am – 230pm