Sandwiches – Page 22

Sunday Sandwiches – Revisits to Best Donuts, Grab n’ Go, and Lit’l Pepper Gourmet

March 12, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches

Having a crazy schedule means that sometimes all I'm able to do is grab a sandwich, at sometimes a rather odd hour, on the way to the office.

Here are a bunch of revisits.

Best Donuts:

**** Best Donuts is now Barrio Donas

A stop for me when I'm getting to work on the earlier side; like 0530 – 0545. They keep changing the signage in the place, but at least the A la Mexicana, while now a dollar more expensive ($4.99), is still a nice early breakfast option.

A nice, rather light bolillo roll; eggs, salsa, a smear of beans….some jalapenos for a mild kick, melted cheese. Warm and not too filling….I don't want to need a nap when I've just gotten into the office.

I prefer the A la Mexicana to the Chorizo and Eggs, which started nice, but just got monotonous after a while.

Maybe too much of the same flavor.

Still, a nice early breakfast stop.

Best Donuts Bakery & Deli
4714 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Grab & Go – Convoy Court:

While I've had my share of sloppy sandwiches from here. I enjoy the yeasty bread and have gravitated to the "hot" sandwiches. Toasted, sandwiches like the Spicy Cappocolla and the Grilled Cheese Feta.

Crusty bread, a healthy dose of pepperocinis, onions, tomatoes, perhaps a bit too much shredded lettuce, and nicely melted, milky and salty feta. Still, it the bread that makes this machine go.

It does help that they open fairly early.

Grab & Go
7701 Convoy Ct
San Diego, CA 92111

Lit’l Pepper Gourmet:

Another place that opens pretty early….like 5am or something like that. The sandwiches here are huge and some of the "specials", as I noted in my previous post are a bit over-the-top. I had Lit'l Pepper cater two of my meetings….no one in either meeting finished an entire sandwich.

During one recent "off-hour" visit, I noticed they had a "Cubano" ($9.75) on the menu. So I ordered it.

As expected, this was a pretty hefty sandwich. Not a fan of the roll they used on this. I'd like something lighter…..not sure that exists in the LPG handbook though. Basically a modified pulled pork sandwich. A bit too much of a good thing, though the ham cut right through the pork and the pickles were nice; wish I could make out more of the milkiness of the cheese and I'm nto a fan of jalapenos on this one.

Still, I was able to share with someone else in the office. So we got two meals for the price of one. Maybe I should be like "Sandy" and stick with their "Classic" sandwiches. Curiosity gets the better of me it seems.

Lit’l Pepper Gourmet
8911 Complex Dr
San Diego, CA 92123

Sunday Sandwiches – Revisits to Baguette Bros and Banh Mi Bakery & Cafe

February 12, 2017 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

Nicer weather has gotten the Banh Mi Bug out of hibernation. Here are a few revisits.

Baguette Bros:

**** Baguette Bros has closed

Baguette Bros created some buzz when they first opened back in December of 2015. I hadn't heard much about them recently, so I decided to head back for a revisit.

Arriving a few minutes after opening; things were pretty quiet.

I really hadn't been overly impressed by the sandwiches in the past and really didn't know what to order….so I went with the interesting sounding Pho Banh Mi, which came with a hefty $9 price tag. Even during a slow time like this, I waiting almost 20 minutes for my sandwich.

I thought the bread was standard issue….a bit too much bread for a banh mi in my opinion. It also didn't hold up well and turned quickly into mush. The brisket had a great texture; not too tough, not too soft, but was really salty. For some reason, I really enjoyed the bean sprouts….the crunch and flavor added a nice "freshness" to the dish. That hoisin based sauce wasn't a favorite of mine……too much going on.

Overall, I still don't quite get this place. It seems more like concept over execution/taste. But for a lot of folks, that's enough.

Baguette Bros
4698 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Banh Mi Bakery & Café:

**** Banh Mi Bakery & Cafe is now Phuong Nga Bakery and Cafe

I'd wanted to go back to Banh Mi Bakery & Café a couple of times for lunch…but man; that parking lot can rival anything on Convoy during lunch hours! With Kaiser coming up, it's going to be really busy around these parts. Early one weekend morning, I needed to go into the office. I remembered that Banh Mi Bakery opens at 7am and also that "Calvin" had enjoyed the Meatball (xiu mai) Banh Mi. So that's what I got. Back at the office, I opened it up.

I'm kind of leary when it comes to Banh Mi Xiu Mai. I've had some terrible versions, but this was pretty good. The bread was nice and warm; I'd have enjoyed a bit more flakey/crustiness, but that's getting a bit too nit-picky. I still think the pickled vegetables here are a bit weak; just not sour enough. And in the case of a soft, rich tasting xiu mai, it just didn't hold up. Still, this was a nice sandwich.

A few weeks later, Calvin and I were finishing up a meeting. It was raining, but both of us were starved. We both thought about the Banh Mi Op La (easy over egg)……which would be nice for a rainy day breakfast. So we headed over to the strip mall and ran into the shop. We left with two sandwiches; being careful not to break the yolks until we ate them.

They hadn't cut these sandwiches in half; so when we started eating it became an oozy mess. After taking a bite we looked at each other….there was something different about the bread. It seemed kind of doughy and definitely not crusty, nor yeasty enough. Perhaps the weather had messed up the process on this day? But you need some quality controls in place to take care of that. Or maybe they changed their bread recipe? Bummer, because this was a nice sandwich in spite of the short comings of the pickled vegetables. The eggs were a bit over done, though we both enjoyed the crisp edges. The yolks were very soft, but not super runny; like I'd had previously. Man, the jalapeno on this day was spicy.

Not sure what to think. Was the bread just a case of an "off day". Or is this how it's going to be from now on? I'm hoping it was just a bad day.

Banh Mi Bakery & Cafe
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Suite H1
San Diego, CA 92123

Su Pan Bakery (and more!)Esencia de Sabor (Rolando area)

January 21, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

You are about to start reading another post of mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Today. it's written by Cathy; the guys are busy.

Many of our days start out with some sort of appointment in various parts of the County, then taking random roads home and stopping either if seeing interesting signage or many parked cars at a storefront. That's how The Mister and I noticed Su Pan Panaderia, a Mexican bakery located next to a gas station, sharing a parking lot with both a Liquor and Auto Parts store, on El Cajon Boulevard, West of 54th. There are not many spaces in that parking lot and we've ended up parked across the street. Walking inside, the cash registers are directly in front of you. An ever changing menu board behind those shows breakfast and lunch choices, made to order in the kitchen. There are some items on the counter and pre-made sandwiches in the refrigerator. In addition to the refrigerated bakery items, the fresh shelves, to the left, are constantly being filled.

These were some recent purchases: Different combinations of cake, crusts and cookies combined with chocolate, cream cheese, jelly, fruit, nuts, cream and/or butter based fillings. Everything here has an extract, essence, aroma, flavor!

For example, this large double cookie is layered with a buttercream and chopped peanuts- a sort of home made peanut butter filling ($1.59).
That large, round 'pastry' on the second tray above is essentially two round vanilla flavored cupcake tops, slathered with a buttery buttercream (not sweet if you lick that in between portion)which is also frosted on the outside then rolled in sugar ($1.29). It's delightfully soft cake, sweet only because of the sugar crystals and so wonderfully perfect in its butter-vanilla simplicity.

Back to the menu board and cash register area.On the counter there's a tray of fresh and flaky empañadas ($2.49). The cream cheese with jalapeño is always a good choice (although the tuna empañada is really good, especially when warmed).
The most expensive breakfast burrito choice is the 'Hash Brown burrito' ($5.49) which has everything in it- eggs, cheese, hash browns and sausage, bacon, ham and chorizo. Everything. Very good and very large.

On more than one occasion, a ham and egg bolillo (($4.99) is a breakfast choice. The fresh baked bolillo bread is cut in half and a thin layer of beans are spread. Cooked egg, pan fried ham chunks, rectangles of Cotija cheese avocado slices and canned jalapeño slices complete this large enough for two breakfast.

Su Pan Bakery 5006 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego 92115 (619)287-2078 open 5 am-10:30 pm daily Website

In December, when a cart of fresh baked good were being transferred to the cabinets, a deformed walnut cupcake one was spotted and the nice worker asked if we wanted it. Excellent flavor, crunchy walnut pieces and now a regular choice.

Saigon 5

December 27, 2016 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Pho, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Saigon 5 has closed

Along with Krispy Krunchy Chicken, Saigon 5 occupies a space in the new 99 Ranch Market Foodcourt. They also open at 9am, which, with my current wacky schedule makes it quite convenient for grabbing lunch at say; 10am.

My understanding is that this is owned by the same folks who run Saigon on Fifth.

I've found this location of 99 Ranch Market to be fairly empty every time I've visit. At 10am on a weekday; the place looked like a ghost town.

Not sure what to get; folks who emailed me mentioned stuff like Pho Bo Kho, which I believe was a special. There were no specials during my three visits, so I was stuck with the regular menu. On my first visit, I just got a simple Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup ($6.95), which was nicely priced.

I appreciated the nice little addition of the pork neck, which kept me busy digging little bits of meat out of the crevices. Enjoyed the greens in the broth as well. The broth was a bit on the "thin" side for me. I think it could have been a bit richer, but the flavor, while on the mild side, mostly salt-pepper, was fine.

The dumplings were on the chewy side; though each one had a piece of shrimp (no, don't get excited, not a whole shrimp) in it. Again, a little weak in pork-shrimp and light with regards to seasoning.

The egg noodles were done right, a slight pull and crunch.

This was not bad at all.

So I returned and went with the Pho Dac Biet ($8.95). The comparison to the "Mi" was night and day. I think I have a contender for the worst pho in the area.

A couple of meatballs and some tasteless, chewy well done steak….that's what almost nine bucks got me. The broth was insipid, almost like just salt, water, and perhaps someone gleefully waved a beef bone over the broth to hopefully impart some flavor. It's almost like they used the same broth as the egg noodle soup, but with even less flavor. The noodles were all chopped short and mushy, totally over cooked.

Less said the better…..I'm trying to forget this bowl.

A couple of weeks later I returned and decided on the Banh Mi Dac Biet ($4.50) as my tie-breaker.

The bread was starting to go, you could tell by the texture. It was also ice cold. I liked the pate, which was nice. Rich and funky. Though the person who applied had pressed so hard into the bread causing one long divot of mushy bread from one end to the other. The pork belly and a cha lua were fine; but on the dry side. They also really like a lot of black pepper here. The pickled daikon and carrots were shredded fine and quite crisp; but in my opinion had not been pickled well as it lacked zip.

I'm not sure what to think about this place. My first visit was pretty good, but that pho was just not good, and while the banh mi was below average, there are places that do better, and are open early.

The service was fine, Both young women who work here are pleasant, though one seems a bit detached.

Saigon 5
5950 Balboa Ave (Inside 99 Ranch Market)
San Diego, CA 92111

Red Card Cafe

November 8, 2016 mmm-yoso Gastropub, Salads, Sandwiches

** Red Card Café has closed

A few months back; Red Card Café replaced Kitchen 4140. I was intrigued at the concept, a Gastropub featuring various street food dishes.

I really like the space; casual, yet very nice…though I haven't set foot in the dining room, preferring the bar area or the outdoor seating.

The theme of the menu is….yep, global dishes from soccer countries. It's kind of out there, all over the place with everything from Cubanos, poutine….aracini to pierogies!

Over the last few months, I managed to visit four times. I like to check out a place a couple of times before doing a post whenever possible and the location of Red Card, in my 'hood made it easy to do multiple visits.

The owner; Caroline is a joy to chat with, and the folks here are pretty friendly.

The tap selection is small but decent, and they feature stuff from Bitter Brothers (right down the street) among others. So I started with a Golden Child.

One of the things I really developed a taste for during our trip to Tunisia was a nicely spiced merguez. Caroline hails from France and the chef is formerly from Sausage and Meat. So what more natural way to start things off than with a sausage, right? I did find out that the merguez was not made inhouse; bummer. I ordered it anyway. At $14, I thought a single sausage and some rather ordinary fries was not going to be a great value….unless that sausage delivered. The flavor of the merguez was a bit on the mild side; quite tame….based on the owner's background, I was expecting the thinner, rather snappy, slightly spicy, very flavorful meguez. I did like the house ketchup.

A few days later, the Missus joined me on a nice sunny evening.

Having just returned from Vancouver, where the Missus discovered an affection for Poutine and combined with Duck Confit, it just sounded like something we should try.

The Duck Poutine ($16) just had too much going on; too sweet, too heavy, you really couldn't taste the duck and the dish came across as being on the greasy side.

We also ordered the Cuban ($12) with Yam Chips ($3 when included with a sandwich).

The Yam Chips looked very dark and seemed a bit greasy, but was really crisp and had a nice salty-sweet potato flavor. The Missus really enjoyed this sorta-Cubano. The bread was nicely toasted; the mustard and pickles really lifted the flavor of the slightly citrusy and decently moist pork, and the slighty nutty-milky flavor went well with the sandwich.

This turned out to be a decent meal.

So I returned a few weeks later. This time I went with the Hot Dog which seemed a bit crazily priced at $12. It was however, quite good.

The hot dog tasted quite "porky", a bit different, loved the nice bacon bits, the wonderful house made mustard, and the sweetness of the caramelized onion. The potato bun went really well with all of this. And instead of being over-wrought and busy; I enjoyed this.

To balance things out; I went with the Kale Caesar ($7).

I enjoyed the fried kale which, along with the croutons added dimensions of crunch to the already crisp and fresh kale. The salad wasn't over-dressed and was very nice overall.

A few weeks later I returned; not being overly hungry, I went with the now rather ubiquitous Char Siu Steamed Buns ($14).

This was pretty mediocre, from the buns which seemed like something that was previously frozen, lacking the light fluffiness of fresh steamed buns. The meat was more like pulled pork than actual char siu. The sauce was a hoisin based glaze that was closer to a pseudo BBQ sauce than something truly Asian. It was also too sweet for my taste.

I finished the meal with a bottle of Three Philosophers for dessert.

Man, it had been a while since I'd had one of these.

In the end, I'm glad that we have Red Card in the neighborhood, heck, like I mentioned in Lynn's post of Red Card, this might be the best place on Morena now. And while I'm not the type to "just be happy to have it" and Red Card's menu, which is kind of all over the place seems to have its pitfalls, I'm glad to have another choice on the Boulevard.

Red Card Café
4140 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Caffé Bene

October 24, 2016 Cathy Caffeine Fix, Desserts, Sandwiches, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of the blog you are reading. Kirk has an even busier day than usual and Ed (from Yuma) is out and about (in Yuma) doing his things, so Cathy is writing today's post.

Caffe Bene has over 1600 locations in a dozen countries around the world. One of those locations is in San Diego, on Convoy Street (it shares the same parking lot with Prime Grill). Opening over a year ago, cc and Kirbie posted about it.Spacious with a simple decor, the 'Global Coffee House' offers a fairly quiet meeting space with free wifi…

coffees, teas, beverages as well as a variety of snack foods, treats and small sandwiches. The Signature drink here, 'multigrain power drink', Misugaru, can be served cold or hot and I like each version and have purchased one or the other on each visit here. It's tasty, not too sweet and quite filling. I think it may also be good for you.

There is a small selection of sandwiches on the menu. The above is a Spicy Chicken Sandwich ($8.95). Served hot on a fresh roll, the chicken breast, fresh spinach and melted cheese were quite fresh and tasty. The 'spicy' sauce was nicely hot, (not Sriracha sweet, just a good punch of heat). The side of potato salad was just enough to compliment the other flavors.

The ham and egg sandwich ($7.95) was not served hot, but was just as pleasant in flavor pairings. Hard boiled eggs, a good amount of ham, spinach, red onion and a mustard based sauce were all complimentary and made a nice little shared meal.

Caffe Bene is known for its Liege waffles and honey bread and we tried a simple order of a waffle with gelato ($5.50). Liege waffles are small, rich, stretchy/chewy and a bit crunchy from embedded pearl sugar in the batter; another variety of waffle. The gelato? Strawberry- a very densely flavored gelato, which would be good on its own but also went very well with pieces of the waffle.

Yes, it is a chain, but this is the only location around and it is quite nice.

Caffè Bene Website 4620 Convoy St San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 278-2204 Open daily 9 a.m.-midnight Website

Sunday Sandwiches, the Lima Edition – Sanguches de Chicharron at Dona Paulina

October 9, 2016 mmm-yoso Lima, Peru, Peruvian Restaurants, Sandwiches, Travel

Sunday morning in Miraflores is a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the night before. It is rather sedate, calm….there's not much going on streetwise.

At this point in our lives; the Missus and I are far removed from "the party". You know; Mom sued to say "nothing good happens after midnight. At a certain point in your life you figure out that "nothing good happens after 10 pm." That's kind of where we're at in life. Though when it comes to Madrid and Spain as a whole; the clock is thrown out the window.

Still, it wasn't that early for us as we left our hotel; 830 am is kind of a late start when we're travelling.

Still, the streets are pretty quiet on a Sunday morning.

We headed off to our breakfast destination. We had some great discussions with our wonderful driver, Benjamin during our trip to see the Nazca Lines. One of the questions I asked was about a typical breakfast in Lima…..I was told that we must get a Sanguche de Chicharron, a pork sandwich for Sunday breakfast, it's a Lima tradition. I'd heard about the iconic pork sandwich; I knew about La Lucha which is quite well known, but Benjamin told me that Dona Paulina is where he takes his family for Sanguches de Chicharron. Which we happened to see the previous evening when we had dinner at Punto Azul.

The place looks like a typical neighborhood Coffee Shop…..

One that sells pork and lomo saltado sandwiches……anyone want a tamal for breakfast?

In spite of the street being fairly empty; Dona Paulina was doing some good business on this morning.

The Missus got an espresso; I an Americano……

And we decided to split an Sanguches de Chicharron….JR….as in a smaller sized sandwich. I'm glad we did.

The sandwich is served using what they call a "French Roll" here. It is yeasty and relatively light. The sandwich is served with a nice salsa criolla which I sometimes make at home. The acid and pungency from the onions helps to cut all the richness of the pork.

There were three different slices of pork in the sandwich; one had a bit of skin and fat which added a nice richness; there's one rather meaty cut, looks like shoulder which, while adding bulk was on the dry side. The fat and moisture from the other slices and the salsa ciolla evened things out.

Of course the Missus loved the slices of camote; sweet potato in the sandwich.

Dona Paulina
Calle Alcanfores 715
Lima, Peru

It was a good thing that we shared this sandwich as we planned to have an early lunch.

Sunday Sandwiches, the Cubano Edition – Embargo Grill, Havana Grill, Andres, and Tropical Star

September 25, 2016 mmm-yoso Cuban Restaurants, Latin American Cuisine, Sandwiches

I set out on a bit of a mission the last couple of weeks. A couple of months ago, I was asked what I thought the best "Cubano type" sandwich in the area was. I quickly said Embargo Grill. Then then quickly thought that I'd hadn't been to other places in the area in quite a while. So I decided to head off in a quest of sorts and managed to hit up four places before I'd seen enough pork, ham, cheese, and pickles for a while.

And while Embargo Grill still came in on top; here's the places in order…..favorite to least.

Embargo Grill:

**** Embargo Grill has Closed

I think the Medianoche at Embargo Grill has gotten better over time.

The pork here, sort of a "pulled pork", was nice and moist and wasn't too salty this time around. That porky flavor combined with the slightly milky cheese and just the right amount of pickles did it for me. The bread was nicely crisp, toasted well, and the bread was nice and light, not too chewy. The one component I really couldn't make out was the ham.

The Yuca Frita was nicely fried. When done the way I like it; the smaller pieces have a light, airiness to them, while the larger pieces, are denser. The mojo was better than on previous visits.

Embargo Grill
3960 W Point Loma Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Havana Grill:

It's been about 6 months since I last visited and the menu has changed a bit; though the "El Cubano" is still there.

At first I thought this would be much too bready and not toasted enough, though it was done adequately. Here the flavor of the ham comes through quite well; teaming with the mustard and pickles. The plantain chips were cold this time around and not very crisp. The sandwich was a bit on the dry side but this is a very solid #2 pick for me.

Havana Grill
5450 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Andre's Cuban Restaurant:

**** Andres has closed

Good lord; could it actually be almost 11 years since I last visited!

My goodness; stepping in here is like talking a walk back in time. Plus, this was the only true "restaurant" of the places I visited.

The Cubano here was fairly mediocre.

The bread to filling ratio stood a bit too far on the "bread side" for my taste. The pork was rather dry and tasteless; though the nicely melted cheese shone through quite nicely, but it all came through as rather bland. Luckily, I ordered the Yuca Frita….I ended up pouring a good bit of the mojo on my sandwich. For some reason, like Tropical Star below; this was just too much for me to finish.

The Yuca Frita was decent; loved the smaller pieces which were crisp and creamy. The larger slices got cold pretty quickly and became quite hard. I do like the mojo here; while it could perhaps use more citrus; it is very garlicky and it looks like there's bacon or ham in it.

If you've ever walked to the back or the side banquet room at Andre's, you'll realize just how large the place is. The small façade belies that. This place is in my 'hood, I really should get here more often.

Andre's Cuban Restaurant
1235 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Tropical Star:

Here's another place I haven't visited in a while.

I had noticed that over the last couple of years; TS had expanded, then retracted back to what it once was. A charming little Latin Grocery that served rather inexpensive Latin American food. I thought it right that I should have the Cubano here.

This was totally by the book; slice of pork, check, thin slices of ham…check….cheese on both sides, check…pickles, yes indeed. It was indeed pressed; though the bread had seen better days. Overall, quite filling….partially because of all the fries; nice and hot, but lacking salt…but I only finished half.

I don't recall seeing Diet Inka Cola before……..even in Peru!

So not quite stellar, especially when compared to the others….but it was the most inexpensive. Plus, I like the older gentleman behind the counter. I always bus my own table and he seems to appreciate that.

Tropical Star
6163 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Sunday Sandwiches – Bale Sandwich & Deli (Mira Mesa)

July 24, 2016 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** This location of BaLe has closed

A few months back I noticed that Corner Sandwich & Café was gone and being replaced by Bale. I then plumb forgot about it, until I recently passed the shopping center again and took a glance. It appears the place opens rather early so I dropped by for a Banh Mi.

The place looks somewhat cleaned-up, in a somewhat typical VN restaurant kind of way. Instead of hordes of men having coffees and smoking cigarettes in the place, there's now what looks like two outside tables and things seem a bit more quiet. Only 8-9 guys, wonder where the Vietnamese Coffee/Beer/Cards social club moved on to?

I simply ordered a Banh Mi Dac Biet to go ($4.50). It felt kind of hefty and it was……

I've been mostly going to those places that pretty much make their own banh mi these days, so the bread seemed a bit of a shock. It was fairly hard, mostly crust, and the bread hadn't held up well. At least it wasn't as mealy as I recalled the bread being at their other location in Mira Mesa. Man, those were some thick slices of meat! There was also a huge smear of pate on this; which pretty much dominated the entire sandwich. Also, the pickled carrots and daikon here are thicker cut, which I don't mind at all. This seemed really rustic and was quite filling.

A few weeks later, I was in the area at around 830am. I was a bit hungry, but instead of heading to one of my usual suspects, I drove a bit further up Mira Mesa Boulevard and ordered a Banh Mi Op La from Bale. Fewer guys hanging out in the front on this morning; probably because it was a Sunday.

This must be the most pickled vegetables I'd ever had in a banh mi! Good lord……also loved the jalapeno which was nice and spicy. The eggs were a bit past the point of what I prefer in my easy over egg banh mi, but it was still good. The sandwich was warm, almost hot to the touch when I was given it, so I thought the best move would be to have it here. The bread was nice; crusty/flakey exterior, the interior hadn't been turned to mush; it wasn't overly toasted, yet so nice and warm. This is comfort food.

Once the gentleman working the front saw that I was going to have my sandwich here; he brought me a glass of ice water; nice touch. The sandwiches here are a bit more filling than what I'm used to, but it's good to have another option in the area. There's a number of various items; like Banh Beo and various noodle dishes on the menu, so maybe I'll try one of those next time….or maybe I should just have the Banh Mi Op La.

Bale Sandwich & Deli
9005 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

What’s My Craving? The Blairsteak from Monkey Paw

June 25, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Cheesesteaks, Pubs and Pub Grub, Sandwiches

**** Monkey Paw has closed

It was about time for my Cheesesteak fix and the Missus wanted some waffle cut fries, so it was back to Monkey Paw.

The Missus loves waffle cut fries; I'm not such a big fan….so here She can get the "Stoner Fries with waffle cut fries"….basically waffle cut fries topped with cheesesteak fillings; beef, in this case provolone, peppers, onions, and mushrooms.

There's a reason they call it Stoner Fries…sheesh. She can never finish this, so we always tell them to drop off a box when they bring the food. The Missus will use the leftovers to make a hash the next day with eggs and some kale from the yard.

Of course I got the Blairsteak…..and got it with waffle cut fries for the Missus.

For years the Missus has told me how gross cheesesteaks were….but this one has made Her change Her tune. I think it's the combination of the soft Amoroso that has a bit of a gritty finish, combined with the milky provolone, the earthy mushrooms and the sautéed onions. I think She wouldn't even need any beef in this….but of course, I'd miss it. She now shares half the sandwich with me. This ain't cheap at about $16 with the upcharge for the waffle cut fries….but it's a nice treat every so often.

And then of course; there's the beer. On one of our visits I got a chance to taste the Ashes from The Grave, a smoked brown that won a Gold Medal at the 2016 World Cup of Beer.

Nutty Chocolate flavors, mild sweetness, and a good smokiness that gets you at the end.

The Missus's favorite here is the Monkey Gose Bananas with Tart and Black Cherry.

We've come to enjoy Monkey Paw as a guilty pleasure. Love the divey feel, friendly staff, and the temperature of the beer is always good. The neighborhood might be kind of terminally "in transition", but it kind of helps with the vibe, which we prefer to Hamilton's which was just way too "hipster" and quite unfriendly the three times we've tried the place.

Monkey Paw
805 16th St
San Diego, CA 92101