Siesel's is a fairly regular stop for me these days. Admittedly, I used to drop by every so often for ham hocks (I really like theirs – it's a key ingredient for my Portuguese Bean Soup) or some bit of higher quality red meat (usually not for Asian dishes), heck I've even bought stuff from what I call the "frozen protein zoo". But, ever since the Pandemic began I've been shopping there more often. I've found several specialty grocery items I used to get from the now closed Bristol Farms at Siesel's and on recent visits some of the produce looked quite good as well!
On a recent visit, I was a bit hungry and passed the Deli Counter. I then recalled Cathy's post from over a decade ago and realized that even though I've been to most of the sandwich places in the area, I had never given a sandwich from Siesel's a shot.
I perused the menu where prices range from $7.99 to $10.99 for sandwiches. Siesel's sells Dietz and Watson products and that's what they use for their sandwiches as well. The gentleman behind the counter saw me checking out the menu, came over and apologized. Apparently, they had just raised prices of all sandwiches by a dollar that week
I had noticed the "specialty sandwich" was named after the Fire Company right across the street; Station 25. The folks working there are so nice, you always see them greeting people, giving dogs treats, oogling babies, and they are an integral part of the Bay Park community. So, I decided to order the Station 25 ($10.99). I also got a small bag of chips as well. I then went and got the grocery items I needed before circling back to the counter to pick up my sandwich which was ready.
It felt quite hefty.
It was a large sandwich on a nicely toasted "French" Roll.
So, as you can see, there was a lot going on here! From the three meats, Hot Ham (Capicola), Turkey, and Bacon. The "Buffalo" Cheddar was actually a good match in this protein laden sandwich as it added a bit of spice. Loved the sprouts and avocado. The triple threat of sauces, chipotle mayo, mustard, and D&Ws oil-vinegar "hoagie sauce" was a bit too much. I'd probably go without the mustard next time.
This ended up being two meals for me. Gone are the days when I could polish off a large sandwich like this in one sitting.
This was a decent sandwich and with pricing these days worth the price.
I had to do some shopping a few days later, so I decided to try another sandwich. I went with the Cuban ($9.99).
I definitely didn't expect anything like what I've had at other places, heck, this is served on the "French" Roll! Sadly, it seems that they forgot to toast the roll. This bread overloaded sandwich also had way too much of the mustard-mayo based sauce.
Unlike the Station25, this didn't seem like a good value.
This past weekend, I stopped by and decided to grab yet another sandwich. This time I went with the "Rudy" ($9.99). Man, this was another hefty sandwich.
I'm not a big fan of "deli chicken", because it usually doesn't have flavor and is dry. This version sports D&Ws "Buffalo Chicken" which actually has some flavor and was moist and tender. I loved the flavor of the sourdough, but it didn't hold up well on the short trip home. There's pepperjack cheese and peperocini which added some nice "zip". Avocado, lettuce, tomato, and mayo rounds out the sandwich. This was pretty good. I'll probably get this again without the mayo and eat it on the premises.
Overall, I prefer the sandwiches here to the typical supermarket stuff. The prices, at least for these days aren't bad, and some of the sandwiches are quite generous in size. It's good to have yet another option in the area. And convenient for when I need to do some shopping at Siesel's. Not sure why I didn't do this earlier…..
Siesel's Old Fashioned Meats
4131 Ashton St.
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon – Sat 9am – 7pm
Sunday 9am – 6pm
I'm glad we headed out early as we spent a good amount of time checking out various galleries and all the wonderful art!
In what was a very classy move, I was brought out a cup of the bisque as well since I had to wait for my next course! Super cool! The bisque was decadently smooth and velvety, but the Missus said there wasn't enough earthy mushroom flavor for Her. Of course, She's become 
Perfectly seared , this wiggly slice of heaven was delici-yoso, with the duck demiglace adding another layer of rich-savory flavor. The "French Toast" teetered on the sweeter side, but the foie gras nicely brought it back to earth.
This was a nice meal, with classy, yet warm and unstuffy service, and worth the price in our mind. The Missus enjoyed the wine pairing. It was a great way to end our time in Santa Fe.
It was a nice day and a good hike, though I was kinda huffing along at the top of the peak. Considering that Santa Fe is at 7,000 feet and adding another 1200, it's no wonder.
This is the 
It's very tender, moist, with a pleasant porkiness, the panko breading crisp and perfect. To us, the fillet is better than the loin when dining in. We usually don't order any rice or soup with this. As we want to keep on going!
I don't know who thought of this one, but to me it's a winnah! Love the creamy, rich, and mild liveriness of the Ankimo paired with the crunchy, smoky, pickled-sour daikon. And adding a bit of the shiso brought out even more complexity. As with the Wagyu Nigiri; I'll be sad when this is no longer on the specials menu.
And life is good! It seems we found a keeper for a casual date night spot.
The Bulgogi was quite tender, perhaps a shade sweeter than I prefer, but not bad at all. Richard enjoyed this as well, telling me that this was better than what had recently had at a Korean place on Convoy! Go figure.
Yes, mini huaraches with adobo rabbit. Loved the mild adobada seasoning with the "corny" huarachitos, the acidity of the salsa verde, and the calming avocado salsa. Even though the rabbit was on the chewy side, the interplay of flavors was quite nice.
The eggs were nice and runny. The chiptole harissa flavoring was interesting, not as acidic, quite smoky. Man, that baguette was quite good as well. This prep really brought out the citrus-peppery tones of the cilantro.
The place had one table going when I arrived. The young lady working was quite cheerful and I looked over the menu. I came to the "rice plate" portion of the menu and realized I hadn't ever tried any of those dishes. So, I figured I'd go for the gusto and have the rice plate with "Bi, Cha, Thit, Dau Hu Ky" (shredded pork skin, grilled pork, steamed meat loaf, and fried bean curd). Which, in the typical Mignon Pho "not to offend" was called ahem, "Yummy in my Tummy" ($15.75) on the menu. I placed my order, did my shopping and returned. After a five minute wait I was food to go. The young man bringing me my order even apologized for having me wait a few minutes!
Well, if you're keeping score this is how it went. I really prefer this dish with com tam, broken rice which lends a nice texture and fragrance to the dish. This one used Jasmine rice which would have been perfectly fine if it wasn't so dry and hard, like it hadn't been cooked long enough.
 The skin on the Roast Pork was slightly crisp, but the flavor was way too sweet and the flesh was too hard and chewy. The skin on the roast duck wasn’t bad, the fat had been rendered nicely, unfortunately this too was quite bland and tough.
