Sandwiches – Page 19

The Hat (Murietta location)

May 23, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Ontario/Riverside/San Bernadino, CA, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! never takes a vacation, but sometimes Kirk or Cathy leave the general San Diego area and food is involved. Today, Cathy is writing about a place just North of the San Diego County line.

In 2006, I wrote about The Hat, with another post written on the last day of 2009. This longtime (since 1951) casual, Los Angeles based diner, open for lunch and dinner, known for 'World Famous Pastrami', opened a location in Murietta in September of 2015.

The architecture mimics the original locations,
even the wallboard menu. Hot and cold sandwiches, chili and a few sides along with beverages are the offerings.
Order, pay and your number is called. The bag on the left is filled with a small french fry order ($3.19).
Three of us shared the fries (and we each ate a lot) and this is what we ended up taking home.

The roast beef dip ($9.99). The bottom piece of the bread is dipped in au jus before the meat is put onto the fresh French Roll (you can get au jus or gravy if you want to dip more of the sandwich…or your fries…) is my favorite item here. Thin sliced, tender, lightly seasoned beef is great in its simplicity. (Although I am spoiled by Philippe The Original, this location and the dip sandwich is close enough to satisfy.)
The World Famous Pastrami ($9.99) with mustard and pickle is what The Mister always chooses. The peppered smoked corned beef is deeply flavored, sliced thin and served on the same French Roll, unless you ask for it to be served on rye bread. Either choice is going to be great.
The side by side of the two sandwich halves shows the dipped beef sandwich was not filled with as much meat as the pastrami, but had only one sandwich been ordered and not knowing the possibility of more filling, the beef dip is satisfactory in size.
This side order of chili ($1.99) was quite large, meaty (no beans) and spicy (in a good way). It went well with the fries as well as on its own.

It's nice to have an outlet of a longstanding traditional restaurant so close. Mary has been to The Hat.

The Hat, 11 locations. Website open 10 a.m.-11 p.m. daily

Florence – Santa Maria Novella Church, Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, and Dinner at Il Tartufo and Il Lampredotto (In Mercato Centrale)

May 14, 2018 mmm-yoso Florence and Tuscany, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Sandwiches, Travel

After recovering from a busy morning, we decided to head on out to do some exploring and last minute shopping.

First stop, Santa Maria Novella Church.

This church stands just a short walk away from the busiest parts of the city; but it seemed quite relaxed, except for all the hawkers. Construction of the began in 1279 and was completed around 1357. The upper part of the façade was completed around 1470 by Alberti. We were actually going to another destination (more on that later), but decided to stop in here. After all, it was covered by the Firenze Card.

The interior, much like Basilica de Santa Croce is large and open. The Cruxifix here is by Giotto and dates back to the 13th Century.

Another rather famous work in the church is the Holy Trinity by Masaccio whose work was lauded, but died at the young age of 26. (Some say he was poisoned by a jealous rival)

During the 16th century, under orders from Cosimo de' Medici, Vasari painted over the frescoes in the church while creating his own work.

Brunelleschi, who designed the dome of the Duomo is also mentioned as designing the layout of the church as well as creating this wooden crucifix in the Gondi Chapel.

We also went to check out the Cloisters.

And then the Spanish Chapel, which had wonderful frescoes by Andrea di Bonaiuto depicting the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ.

After leaving the church, we went around the corner and down the street to a shop that was once run by the Domincan Monks of Santa Maria Novella, the Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy (Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella). It is one of the oldest pharmacies in the world having been established sometime in the 13th century.

It doesn't look like much from the outside, but is quite huge….and busy. The Missus, who loves shopping was overwhelmed with what to get from the huge lists of products.

Walking around I noticed what looked like to be the old entrance from the Cloisters.

As much as the Missus likes to shop, She is easily overwhelmed. Indeed, when in places like cosmetic shops in Japan, the Missus will often send me photos of the make-up items She needs and I'll go find them by matching the photos and designs on the boxes and containers. After about twenty minutes in here, the Missus was fried.

I had noticed a little Tea Room off to the side of all the crowds.

I suggested getting a nice cup of tea before heading off. Which sounded like a good idea to the Missus.

I had a nice cup of Earl Grey. The Missus, fascinated by the offerings ordered a medicinal liquor, whoa, really sweet…..yikes!

But it was a nice break in the action.

Walking back through the store, I found something that I thought the Missus should purchase. "Acqua di Santa Maria Novella" is said to be the remedy for hysteria and the accompanying indigestion. The Missus wasn't amused.

There was one more place I wanted to visit in Florence. So we decided to head off before dinner, to find a pig. A pig? I always have some oddball items I want to see when travelling and Atlas Obscura has only fed into that desire. Earlier in the day I got to check out Galileo's middle finger, now I was after a bronze pig named Il Porcellino. It took some effort to find Mr Piggy since it's in the area of a large outdoor market. Some nice folks in a nearby restaurant helped us out when I pointed to their little brass pig in the window and asked directions.

So, the drill goes that you place a coin in the mouth of the boar and let it drop. Should it go to though the grates you are destined to have good luck. You then rub the snout, which has been polished smooth from all the folks rubbing it. This ensures you'll return to Florence someday. The coin thing is not as easy as you think. The poor Japanese fellow in front of me tried three times and it never went in. I got it on the first try!

Take that, Mr Piggy!

We decided to do something fun for dinner on this evening and headed off in the direction of Basilica de San Lorenzo.

These duo, playing in front of Monumento a Giovanni delle Bande Nere were really good so we stopped and listened to a couple of songs.

I'd read that the second floor of the Mercato Centrale housed a food court food stands that were pretty good an a lot of fun. It was fairly busy when we arrived, but I had a plan in mind.

The first stand we headed to was……

In case you don't know; tartufo means "truffle".

We ordered the Tagliolino al Tartufo Nero. I was told that these Tartufo Nero were the last of the season (it was the end of March)……it sounded like fun, so why not.

So while the Missus waited for our pasta, I went to the wine shop in the corner of the food stands. Man, the folks here were so nice….I believe the name of the shop is Enoteca Chianti Classico and it was the best glass we had in Florence, the temp was perfect, nice acid….unfortunately it was from Alsace!

Man, that was a pile of truffle on the pasta. The fragrance of the truffle was amazing, though the flavor was quite mild. There was a bit too much sauce for our taste, but the pasta was cooked perfectly. Not bad for 20 Euros. Yes, fresh pasta with truffle in a food court from a food stand.

While we were eating, we saw this huge young man….swear to god he looked like a sumo wrestler. Turns out he was Korean. He cracked us up when he looked at what folks were eating a loudly exclaimed "Paaaa-AAAstaaAAA"! He said this with such sincere joy that you couldn't help but laugh. Oh, and he did get his two plates of pasta!

Next up? After returning our wine glasses we headed to this stand near the other end of the collection of food stands.

Where I saw this sign…….

Really. Florence's ultimate street food made from the abomasum, the "fourth stomach" of the cow with truffle?

Don't mind if I do.

The fragrance of the truffle cut through some of the funky smell of the lampredotto, but didn't interfere with the gamy-offal flavor. I thought the bread was pretty good; light and yeasty. The guy also put some of the mildly spicy salsa verde on this was well. The texture was a bit tougher than versions I had in other dishes during our visit, but this wasn't bad.

The Missus also wanted the Trippa alla Fiorentina as well.

Which arrived just as the Missus got back with our next glass of wine. A nice, light Chianti. She told me the guy working the wine counter was so nice as She asked about the various wine. When She picked one out he told Her, "good, very good, you on vacation, there's no time for bad wine!" You gotta love it.

This tripe was a bit tougher than other versions, but had no off flavors, and was quite tasty overall and for 5 Euros…..

While the Missus went for dessert, I dropped off our wine glass, something I guess others don't do? I got a very nice smile and a thank you from all three folks behind the counter of the wine bar.

I then headed straight for the central bar and got the Missus an espresso and me……well, I thought a Negroni would be a nice way to end the evening.

By now, the place was getting quite busy.

So it was time to stop taking up seats and head on back to the apartment. We really had a fun time at Mercato Centrale.

Mercato Centrale Firenze
Piazza del Mercato Centrale 4
Florence, Italy
Upstairs Hours Vary from 10am – Midnight

We got back to the apartment, had the last glass of wine and went off into dreamland.

Our wonderful host, Matteo was nice enough to arrange for a taxi to the rental car stand for us. He told us, it was the best way to get there. We had gotten up fairly early and packed, our cab wasn't due until 955. Since the Baptistrey opened at 830 and was essentially right down the street we decided to head on over.

Plus, the Missus wanted to see what was behind those bronze doors.

The most striking site was the mosaic on the ceiling.

Which of the Last Judgement.

As we waited for our taxi, we watched daily life in Florence go by……

Lots of tourists yes; but daily life goes on for all the residents.

You know, we ran out of time and didn't even make it into the Duomo. So maybe Il Porcellini is right. I'm going to have to return.

Well, we were off to get our rental car…..

Next up. It's off to Parma. But first, a stop for lunch!

Thanks for stopping by!

Florence – Climbing Campanile (Giotto’s Tower), the Duomo Museum, Dante “Stuff”, Galileo Gives Me the “Finger”, and Paninis From SandwiChic

May 12, 2018 mmm-yoso Florence and Tuscany, Italy, Italy, Sandwiches, Travel

Oh boy….another morning in Florence and just like the previous morning the Missus was ready to go. Since tickets for climbing to the Dome of the Duomo were sold out, the Missus decided we should do the Bell Tower of the Duomo; the Campanile. We got there right when they opened at 830am.

I'd read that this climb was easier than climbing to the Dome, by something like 49 steps…..so I was relieved a bit. Until I actually had to do it. The Missus told me it was going to be a "piece of cake"….only 414 steps!

Boy am I getting old….. up the winding steps…..you arrive at a platform thinking, "this isn't too bad". Until you find out there are even more steps to the next platform. Rinse….repeat…..

There are actually three platforms….I hadn't read about that, so everytime we stopped, I thought we'd made it.

If I was going up to the thirty-first floor….I'd take the elevator. But not here…..

Though I have to say, the views were amazing.

Having the dome in view makes for a more dramatic shot in my opinion.

I even pointed out the street we were staying on, Via Dei Servi, to the Missus.

Of course….we now had to go back down. Getting there early was actually a good move. The higher you go; the more cramped the stairwell is.

I felt great as we exited Giotto's Tower….it was great to be alive. I did want to take a short break though.

The Missus loved the doors of the Baptistery that faced the Duomo, called the "Gates of Paradise". That door of the Baptistry was the work of Lorenzo Ghiberti, who initially won a contest, defeating Brunelleschi (more on him later), for the right to build first the North Door, then the East Door. In all, Ghiberti spent 48 years of his life on those two doors. The original panels are on display in the Duomo Museum, which is why the Missus wanted to visit.

In fact, most of the original sculptures from the Duomo, Baptistery, and Bell Tower are on display in this museum.

One of the more enjoyable areas in the museum is the Gallery of Brunelleschi's Dome. Remember him? In the end, he got a pretty good gig himself…..designing and building the Dome of the Duomo. We really enjoyed the short video presentation, it was so informative.

Other interesting sculptures. Mary Magdalene by Donatello.

This haunting and realistic work was completed by Donatello when he was over sixty years old.

This version of Pieta by Michelangelo, also known as "The Deposition".

It is said that Michelangelo, now in his seventies, originally created this work for his own tomb. There are many different theories about why Michelangelo tried to destroy this work. Much of it was later repaired, but notice that Jesus is still missing a leg.

Once done we headed down toward Piazza della Signoria. We were doing a bit of shopping for gifts. On one of the side streets we came across a small church.

On one of the walls we noticed a painting of Dante Alighieri. This is Santa Margherita de' Cerchi also known as the Church of Dante and Beatrice. The church dates back to 1032. Supposedly, it is in this church where Dante first saw and fell in love with Beatrice who would become his muse. They were both nine at the time. This church is also said to have been the location of Dante's marriage (nope not to Beatrice) to Gemma Donati. Beatrice would marry a banker named Simone di Bardi and die in 1290 at the age of 24.

Literally steps away is Casa di Dante (the Dante House Museum). Since we had the Firenze Card we thought we'd just go ahead and visit.

It was not Dante's "home" per se; as many of the buildings of this time have been torn down. If you're a Dante fan, you'll love this tiny three floor museum of all things Dante.

Florence is full of places to see; large and small. We literally walked a few steps from Casa di Dante and saw folks going in and out of this doorway. We walked in a saw a little chapel with some very nice frescoes. This is the home of the Congregation of the Buonomini di San Martino, formed in 1441 to help those who have fallen into hard times.

How could I not give a couple of Euros?

There seem to be fascinating places like this around every corner……

Down every street……..

A story to be told…..

We finally got to Piazza della Signoria.

Where the Missus spent some time trying things on at the location of Ireri Boutique on Via de Gondi. By now, I had decided on one last stop before lunch.

The Galileo Science Museum (Museo Galileo – Institute and Museum of the History of Science). Not for all the amazing collection of telescopes, scientific instruments…..history….

I wanted to see Galileo's middle finger.

Galileo and the church often clashed, on April 12th, 1633 he was convicted of heresy and was placed on house arrest until his death in 1642. Finally, in 1992, Pope John Paul II declared that Galileo was right. In some odd way, I find the placement of Galileo's middle finger somewhat…..ironic?

Or perhaps it was just because I was getting hungry?

The Missus had been wanting to try a panini in Florence and I had a place in mind. We walked back to where our apartment was and headed four blocks to Sandwichic. The place was packed, though things moved fast. I ordered our paninis on the classic Tuscan schiacciata. We headed back to the apartment and enjoyed ourselves.

The Missus got prosciutto with pecrino, porcini, and truffle cream.

I got the prosciutto cotto, a really nice ham, with pecorino and crema de peperoni (no, not pepperoni), a red pepper sauce.

The sauce was a bit too sweet, but the Missus loved the prosciutto cotto.

The schiacciata was wonderful, fairly light, yeasty, great texture, nicely toasted around the edges, but still soft inside. With a couple of glasses of wine….it was quite nice.

SandwiChic
Via San Gallo 3/r
Florence, Italy

And then it was nap time!

Chicago Fire Grill

April 22, 2018 mmm-yoso Burgers, Hot Dogs, Sandwiches

After moving to our UTC location last year, I drove down to Renaissance Towne Center to see what were some of the lunch options. I quickly noticed that JK Burgers & Hot Dogs ( it replaced the long standing Chicago on a Bun which I first posted on back in 2005 a few years ago)was gone and had been replaced by a shop named Chicago Fire Grill.

I love my Chicago Dogs (the Missus especially enjoys SuperDawg), so much so that I even ordered one at Hot Doug's (after I ate the Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage of course). So, I decided to stop by.

The design of the place remains the same….though now it's bright yellow. another very unique thing about this shop id the Owner, George, who chats everyone up, has very unique opinions, and always cracks me up. He does remind me of the colorful characters I've met from or in Chicago.

So of course I got the Chicago Dog, priced nicely at six bucks, which comes with what I call very typical Chicago "Natural" style fries.

The fries were very hot, potato-ey, and really reminded me of what you'd get at places like Jean and Jude's Red Hots. Usually not my favorite style since it can get soggy and there not much crispness; but this was pretty good.

The dog; from Vienna Beef had a nice snap, the dog had, in the typical way been "dragged through the garden", with tomatoes (a bit too unripe), sport peppers (a favorite), the radioactive fluorescent green relish, and the typical, standard issue poppy see roll. I didn't ask if it was a Mary Ann Poppy Seed Bun, but it sure looked the part.

The roll didn't stand up for very long. It was also cold; so I don't think it had been steamed. Other than needing celery salt; this was a good facsimile, and a good deal at six bucks. Plus George's unending rambling to customers cracked me up.

I was told to come back and get the Lamb Burger. Being a good soldier, that's exactly what I did. A lamb burger and fries for nine bucks ain't too bad these days. It was pretty hefty.

The fries didn't hold up too well on the very short drive to the office.

The burger itself looked fairly messy, but the bun really stood up well.

Loved the gaminess. When I was asked for doneness, I answered "medium", thinking, like many burger places in San Diego, this was just a question and my burger was going to be well done regardless of what I said. I was wrong; it was moist, with a nice chew, and totally medium.

Loved the milky-saltiness of the feta cheese, and the nice mild acidity and creaminess of the tzatziki. Nice pungent onions helped cut through any richness….though again, the tomatoes weren't ripe enough to add anything to the sandwich.

Overall, a pretty good burger.

Having been quite satisfied with my previous two choices, I decided to revisit and order the one item that call Chicago home that I enjoy more than a Chicago Dog……an Italian Beef sandwich. Which I ordered "wet"……..

While the roll; a perfectly respectful Gonnella Roll; I'm thinking par-baked, held up well. The beef was really tough and surprisingly dry. It also lacked flavor and the jus, of which the folks at the shop nicely packed for me wasn't beefy; it had way too much herbs in it and was quite greasy.

The fries this time around were also on the greasy side, I'm thinking from the jus that had dripped on it.

Well, two out of three ain't bad.

I'll keep coming by; basically for the Chicago Dogs and the prices. I'll definitely try some of the other sausages and burgers….but that Italian Beef is definitely a "no go"…..oh, and I'm definitely looking forward to George's "words of wisdom" as well.

You can read Soo's post on Chicago Fire Grill here.

Chicago Fire Grill
8935 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122
Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 9pm
Sat – Sun Noon – 9pm

Sunday Sandwiches – Revisits to The Sandwich A’Fare, Philadelphia Sandwich Company, and Gaglione Bros (Point Loma)

April 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Cheesesteaks, Sandwiches

A trio of sandwich revisits for a warm, almost summery Sunday.

The Sandwich A'Fare:

**** The Sandwich A'Fare has closed

I had a meeting finish at 1230pm and needed something, anything, before my next battery of meetings. By this time, most places in the area are just too busy. Then I thought about The Sandwich A'Fare, which is kind of hidden away in the rear of the strip mall we call the "Kearny Mesa restaurant refugee mall" because it houses Abbey BBQ and the Philadelphia Sandwich Company. I got in, one person ahead of me, got out in ten minutes with my "Godfather".

This was actually better than what I had on my previous visits. The bread seemed fresher and more yeasty and it wasn't over-dressed with too much mayo. Perhaps it was because the owner, Bud actually made my sandwich this time.

No muss, no fuss, and out the door for $6.25. I have a special place in my heart for these Mom-and-Pop sandwich shops. You can see why.

The Sandwich A'Fare
6904 Miramar Rd. Suite 107
San Diego, CA 92121

The Philadelphia Sandwich Company:

Speaking of the "Kearny Mesa restaurant refugee mall" and specifically the Philadelphia Sandwich Company. The last time I visited, was nearly 8 years ago (time does fly, huh?), during one of my Cheesesteak round-up posts.

Another crazy day of meetings stretching thru noon. It was almost 10am and I recalled that the PSC opened at 10. So why not give them a try again after all these years?

Parking in the upper lot here during lunch can be a horror show, but I had no problem just a few minutes after 10.

The young lady working here was awesome and efficient. Really very nice.

I got the 6 inch "Joe's Special" ($7.75).

For scale purposes I placed my iPhone behind the sandwich.

There's something about how they griddle the meat here; it's a rather unappetizing grey, surprisingly dry, and very bland. The cheese wasn't spread out evenly. The roll was fine; an Amoroso. Not enough mushrooms, not enough flavor, not enough lovely gooeyness for my taste.

The Philadelphia Sandwich Company
6904 Miramar Rd. Suite 207
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 4pm

I grappled with what I had eaten and thought about with regards to the PSC. I hadn't had a Cheesesteak in quite a while. Gaglione Brothers, especially the Point Loma location, had been a nice guilty pleasure over the years. But it had been a while. So, just for perspective, I decided to drop by.

Gaglione Bros (Point Loma):

**** This location of Gaglione Bros has closed

Well, it looks like the sign has changed.

I ordered the Mushroom Cheesesteak with Onions.

I gotta say; I was kind of bummed. While the bread was nicely toasted, yeasty, with a nice texture, the cheese and meat weren't incorporated together well. This lacked the nice gooey and gloppy mixture of meat and cheese. No singed lips and tongues from the napalm juiciness as the meat was on the dry side. The light milky flavor of the cheese was lacking….I'm wondering if they've changed this over the years or is it just how it was griddled today?

While better than the PSC, this was no trophy cheesesteak.

Gaglione Brothers
3944 West Point Loma Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Which lead me to wonder…….I know that Monkey Paw has changed ownership. It has me wondering how their cheesesteak is?

Santa Barbara – Stearns Wharf and Lunch at Barbareño

March 16, 2018 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Gastropub, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Santa Barbara County

We had driven up to Santa Barbara to relax and enjoy ourselves. It was a bit on the warm side when we visited, but we had really enjoyed the previous afternoon and especially dinner at Yoichi's. On this day; well, I made dinner reservations, but not much else. We woke and decided to drive down to Stearns Wharf; tourist central. But during this time of the morning, it was so peaceful.

Looking around; it's obvious why visitors love the wharf; built in 1872, it was at that time the longest wharf south of San Francisco and North of San Pedro. And the views are lovely.

And on this bright and sunny day, sans the crowds, we got a chance to notice things…..

As we were leaving a vintage car club drove up to the wharf and parked. I loved the license plate on this one……

A lovely visit on a relaxed morning……

We decided to drive around a bit and visited the Santa Barbara Public Market, Gelsons, and Whole Foods. Not very inspiring, but it was a nice way to kill time.

When lunch came around, we parked at where we were staying and decided to walk down to a place on my list, Barbareño. Which was a rather hot and sweaty one mile walk down De La Vina Street. The place only served lunch in the outdoor area, with a limited menu.

Our Server, who was obviously a college student was very friendly, efficient, and really knew the menu. I'm not sure if it's because of the clientele, but the staff at restaurants in SB, really knew their stuff.

I ordered a Tri-Tip sandwich, Brussel sprouts, and "Animal Potatoes" for the Missus and I. I happened to mention that we'd be sharing the sandwich. And when it arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to see that they had split it for us!

This was a perfectly serviceable tri-tip, moist and decently tender, good smokiness, with a pico de gallo type relish and good amount of cilantro. A nice yeasty roll and this was quite good. Don't get me wrong, this ain't Firestone Grill, but it was enough.

It came with a arugula salad.

The Brussel sprouts looked good, but were on the mushy side and a bit too sweet for us. The Missus really enjoyed the Animal Potatoes, the cheddar cheese added a nice saltiness, the caramelized onions a decent sweetness, and the Thousand Island Dressing……not the Missus's favorite, but I enjoyed the creamy-richness it added. The potatoes were nicely crisp on the exterior; though a bit hard in texture.

I don't think Barbareño is serving lunch anymore….too bad, because this was rather nice.

Barbareño
205 W Canon Perdido St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

What wasn't nice was wanting a nap and having to walk that mile back to where we were staying…..though we did eventually get that nap.

Thanks for stopping by!

Montreal – Jean-Talon Market and Schwartz’s Deli

March 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Canada, Canada Food and Restaurants, Diner, Markets & Grocers, Memorable Meals, Montreal, Sandwiches, Travel

I knew we needed some exercise after our zillion calorie meal at Au Pied de Cochon. So I had planned on hoofing it up to Jean Talon Market but it was drizzling so we decided to catch the metro instead. When we arrived the place was pretty much deserted.

It was pretty quiet and we weren't going to be doing any self-catering during our last evening in Montreal, so we just kind of wandered around.

Nothing caught our fancy, so we decided to head on back to Mount Royal area.

Jean-Talon Market
7070 Henri Julien Ave.
Montreal, QC H2S 3S3, Canada

It was a pretty good walk.

There are some pretty interesting buildings in the area, like this one.

I couldn't figure out what it was, so when we returned I looked up the address and it's named Musée des pompiers de Montréal. It's the firefighters museum; which is only open on Sundays from 130pm to 4pm.

It was still a bit early for our lunch destination, so we decided to grab a cup of coffee and relax. We found this very modern-hipsterish looking shop named Dispatch Coffee.

I got some espresso and they served it up right….with sparkling water.

Dispatch Coffee
4021 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2W 1Y4, Canada

By this time our early lunch destination was ready for business.

I'd heard countless times that you "need" to go to Schwartz's when in Montreal. It's an iconic purveyor of Montreal smoked meat….don't be calling it pastrami in MTL. While similar in in terms of being seasoned, cured, and smoked, classic pastrami is made with beef navel, the front or "ventral" part of the beef plate. Montreal smoked meat like corned beef is made with the brisket. You can read more about the differences at a load of sites; some of them humorously opinionated. I was here to eat.

One quick thing about Schwartz's. You'll see the opening hours listed as 8am; you can get stuff next door to go at that time. But if you want "hot meat", you'll have to wait until 1030.

We got in right at 1030 and sat at the counter. The young man who served us was great; friendly, helpful, in that truly Canadian way.

The place filled up pretty quickly.

The young man pointed out that the "classic" Schwartz's combo was a Smoked Meat Medium Fat, Fries, Dill Pickle, and a Cherry Soda……we got fifty percent of that, the dill pickled, crisp, nicely balanced in flavor and the Smoked Meat Sandwich Medium Fat (9.75 CAD – about $7.40/US !!!). We watched with anxious anticipation as the meat for our sandwich was hand cut.

Man, this was good!

It's not very often that a place delivers on all the hype and expectations. Schwatrz's did this and more. From the surprisingly tender and moist texture, to the balanced seasoning, not too salty, but with more "umph" than most pastrami sandwiches I've had, the wonderful savory tones really shone. The bread was soft, but stood up well to the pastrami with the flavor of caraway, that malty-nutty-spiciness, bringing things together. The mustard added just enough acidic-pungency to cut any richness.

The Missus is still talking about this sandwich.

There was a line forming outside the deli as we left. I can see why…..

Schwartz’s Deli
3895 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2W 1X9, Canada

A while not everyone would agree, I'd say Schwartz's really delivered. We left, satisfied and not stuffed, just perfectly happy.

Amsterdam – Albert Cuyp Market and De Blauwe Pan

March 10, 2018 mmm-yoso Amsterdam, Dutch Food and Restaurants, Netherlands, Sandwiches, Travel

There was really only one place the Missus wanted to visit in Amsterdam; the Van Gogh Museum. So on our last day in the city we headed off from the Jordaan, past Leidseplein, making it the museum a bit before opening. So, we had a chance to wander around and take things in. Like the "I Amsterdam" sign……a wonderful example of city "branding".

The skating rink reminded us that it was indeed winter.

The Von Gogh Museum was quite a fascinating visit. It was very visitor friendly; though no photos. Unlike what it seemed everyone else; we obeyed the rules.

The displays went through Van Gogh's life; his influences, and struggles.

My main takeaway from the museum was, that if not for the efforts of his brother Theo….who died of syphilis two years after Van Gogh at the age of 34, and mainly his sister-in-law; Johanna, Von Gogh might not have been the revered artist he is today. You can read more about that in this wonderful excerpt from Smithsonian. We wouldn't have such fascination with the "mad genius" who (might not have) cut his own ear off, whose inner demons eventually had him commit suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound. He died at the age of 37.

Whooo…boy…..

From here we decided to head off to Albert Cuyp Market. It was a nice walk, we passed places like the Royal Concertgebouw ("Concert Hall").

Albert Cuyp Market was established in 1905 and is the largest street market in the Netherlands with 260 or 300 stands depending on what you read.

So; you can imagine it's all here; from flowers, produce, and seafood……

To Vietnamese Springrolls, pickled herring, and various knick-knacks…..need a watch, anyone?

And of course, those Stroopwafels……

Our intent was to grab something to eat there; but for some reason, nothing really called to us and we weren't very hungry.

So, we decided to head on back. The sun had appeared, chasing some of the damp gloom away.

The Westerkerk Church really stood out, its bell tower stretching to the sky.

We meandered through the "Nine Little Streets" and did some light gift shopping and headed back to the Jordaan.

We searched for a couple of places on my "list"but for some reason we couldn't find them. So we just decided to stop at this quiet, sort of funky corner café.

It's one of the those places where you can get anything from coffee to beer to desserts (one woman was having a gigantic "slice" of apple pie). The prices were reasonable, though it really took a while for our food.

Anyway, it took a while but I finally got my Smoked Salmon Sandwich a bargain at 6,5 € (About $7.50/US).

The bread was decent; loved the addition of the boiled egg, the smoked salmon was also fairly good, lightly smoky, not too salty, with no off flavors. Loved the pickles and the tomatoes were ripe? Red onions and capers are the perfect foil for smoked salmon.

The Missus had a Cheese Sandwich which She also enjoyed.

After all that rather rich food over the previous few days this was a nice respite in a sort of diner-ish kind of way. The customers were also quite interesting and diverse.

Café De Blauwe Pan
Westerstraat 200
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Hourse
Sun – Thurs 10am – 1am
Fri – Sat 10am – 2am

We had thoughts of heading to the Anne Frank Museum, but were too tired. We decided to bucket that for our next trip to Amsterdam.

It was nap time.

Thanks for reading!

Sunday Sandwiches – Goumet Artisan

March 4, 2018 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

**** Gourmet Artisan has closed

Even though we’ve moved offices; one thing remains the same. I still eat lunch at my desk more often than I prefer. And with the latest move, the variety I have close access to has also declined. There is one item that will often have other folks in the office walking by my cubicle (yes, I no longer have an office either), often just to say “hello”…..hmmm…..quite suspicious that it’s when I have one of these.

The folks around know that there’s no way I can finish this sandwich up AND eat all those truffle-parmesan fries. So I’ll often give most of the fries away.

Where is this from? Well, one morning after moving offices, it was around 10 am and I was hungry. Having meetings starting at noon, I headed over to Supernatural since on my previous visit they were serving breakfast from 9. Unfortunately, they were closed and I had to wait to get my fix. I noticed this shop in the old location of Supernatural.

It’s like the ultimate hipster wood-paneling guy went a bit crazy here. I did like the menu though; fairly tight, burgers, salads, flatbreads, and a few odd and end items that seemed a bit out of place…..Buffalo Chicken Wings???

On my first visit, I got the Prosciutto Sandwich and it’s been my usual order since. At first I thought it to be bit pricey at ten bucks. Until I saw all those fries you can get a salad instead, but why?).

And while meat lovers might complain that there’s not a whole lotta meat in this….well, it’s prosciutto, not the best quality, but quite decent….it has a good amount of flavor and the burrata and arugula does quite well too. It does edge on the “too much bread” end of things; but I like that it’s toasted and still rather crisp. My one complaint is that the sandwich has both mayo and pesto making quite rich. I’ve asked for the easy on the mayo; and both times they left off the pesto. So now I ask for it on the side.

And those fries usually stand up real well to the 10 minutes or so back to the office. Being thin they stay crisp for a whole and you get a whole lot more cheese/truffle oil to potato. Those who like wedges and dinner fries may not care for these. The folks in the office never complain. As an aside; my favorite panini on the press we have at home is prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomato, arugula, and pesto….go figure.

Over time I’ve tried a couple other sandwiches like the Vegetable ($9).

Roasted eggplant sounds like a good ingredient for a veggie sandwich; but it wasn’t enough on it’s own to do the trick. There wasn’t enough salt or acid…..even the Balsamic Dressing was too weak and not enough roasted red peppers. This is when you really notice the “too much bread to fillings” ratio is off.

The Turkey Panini ($9) was decent.

Again it was the case of nice textures; crisp lettuce, creamy avocado, without enough flavors to stand up to the bread. The tomatoes weren’t ripe enough and on this occasion, the sandwich could have used more pesto. I did order this once with Garlic Aioli which did make a difference; but I think it still needs some umph….

The Italian Sub ($9) was also decent, I’d have it again.

Though again, the sandwich just edges on that meat-to-bread cliff. Also, I thought the Swiss Cheese wasn’t a good match for this sandwich. This and the prosciutto sandwiches do remind me of lunch sandwiches in France, though a little lighter in filling than Italy.

Some of the folks in the office mentioned that the sandwiches didn’t have enough meat for them. Fair enough…..I’ve always been about a balance of textures, flavors, and bread. And I’ve never been able to finish the entire sandwich and fries without some (convenient) help.

Things sometime take a while to make at Gourmet Artisan, so if you’re in a hurry you might want to call in your order.

The folks are quite friendly and they write nice little notes on my take-out package.

Gourmet Artisan
7094 Miramar Rd. Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours:
Mon – Fri 10am – 6pm
Sat – Sun 10am – 4pm

The Patio Marketplace at Axiom

February 26, 2018 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Sandwiches

**** The Patio at Axiom has closed

The ever expanding Patio Group recently opened another location of what Eater San Diego called their "corporate hospitality arm", the Patio Marketplace right up the street from our offices. It's located in the Axiom Office Building. It's pretty much in walking distance, so I decided to drop by for an early lunch.

It's a huge space; like 8,000 square feet; with outdoor and indoor eating areas and a bar.

Since they had just newly opened, there was basically no one around during my two visits. The place features a coffee bar and is only open until 6pm from Tuesdays to Wednesdays right now. I was told…..the staff here was very friendly and chatty on my visits, that breakfast is basically only grab and go stuff from the cold case.

The lunch menu featured three sandwiches, three salads, and two flatbreads, with basically nothing under fourteen bucks

I went with the Carne Asada BLAT Club ($15).

The sandwich was no joke. Quite hefty, a bit too much bread that was a bit too hard for my taste. The thick cut bacon; Nueske's I'm told was thick cut and nicely done; there was a nice single layer of decently done beef. It wasn't overdressed, though the tomatoes were under-ripe. I usually enjoy a certain proportion when it comes to sandwiches; perhaps excluding a smoked beef sandwich from a place like Schwartz's. This was too much bread for me. Though a rather decent "corporate" sandwich.

The fries didn't hold up on the short walk back to the office and were soggy and over salted.

A couple of days later, I decided to visit again. The menu, which is rather limited at this time, left me wondering what I should get…..salads were from $12-14, but if you wanted some chicken it was 5 bucks more, carne asada 6 bucks more. So, I went with the Speck Ham Flatbread ($14).

I enjoyed the crisp speck, nice saltiness, though it was kind of over-kill with the bread again. I'd have preferred this amount of protein on a smaller and more crisp flatbread, without whatever made this very salty and the middle really soggy, keeping the nice, milky, Havarti. The entire middle section was saturated and not pleasant to eat. I appreciated the pungent red onions and the bitter-peppery arugula which also added texture to this dish.

Overall, really nice folks. It's probably better to call if you're doing take-out, both of these took at least 20 minutes wait time. The food is not bad; it's just not something I crave or am searching out; especially with $15…for lunch, without drinks, on the line everytime. I mean I love charcuterie and all, but am not quite sure about having a charcuterie board for lunch ($19), then heading back to work…..but maybe that's just me.

The Patio Marketplace at Axiom
4535 Towne Centre Dr
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours
Monday 7am – 3pm
Tues – Thurs 7am – 6pm
Friday 7am – 3pm