You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

This sammie doesn't have a ton of curb appeal when shut with the breaded edge facing outwards, and so was skeptical of it. I assumed that the bun would have a hard shell to rip up my mouth - the unfortunate side effect of a crusty sandwich.  But within my first few bites, I cannot believe the error in my ways. What a brilliant concept to pile Eggplant Parmesan with tomato ragout into a feather-light bun! It has a sharp tomatoey tang with just the right amount of acidity, and the satisfying oily texture of eggplant melts right into a kind of savory pudding in the mouth. Presumptions aside, this elegant and hearty Italian comfort food is packed with flavor and it does so right in the convenient format afforded by the sandwich. *Editors Note: Sadly the Eggplant Parmesan is no longer in rotation at PLENTY.

A friend and I agreed the personality of the sandwich changes with each person who prepares it, and today we felt something was a little less than parfait with our Haloum Grille. Folks at Le Pick Up seemed stressed . The longest wait ever, and our lunches sat around too long. Temperature of the cheese is important to experiencing haloumi’s firm the texture and the release of its saltiness, and I prefer when it’s grilled directly before entering the sandwich.  Creamy spicy slaw of red cabbage, carrot, and kale soothes the major crust burn associated with the crispy multigrain toast. Ideally it’s the bread that should be soft and the haloumi that gets to shine as the crispy grilled champ that it is.   Nevertheless, we stayed for hours at the back picnic tables, chatted with the servers, overheard some drama about the evening closing procedure, broke a dish, and spilled a coffee. A good day. 

Whole pieces of freshly roasted turkey, made in house, thick and still sizzling crispy bacon that melts in your mouth like chocolate, mayo, crisp lettuce and real tomatoes. Yep, this is the real deal. I really appreciate when bacon goes into my sandwich hot. Other sandwiches on offer include a straight up BLT, Grilled Cheese, Steak Florentine and Pear and Gorgonzola, with loads of great desserts, beer and breakfast to boot. No one seemed shy about having a craft beer with lunch on a Saturday at noon. Felt a little chintzed by the tiny side bowls of chili, but I've had a very satisfying full bowl of that before, though it seems the recipe has changed since to include more rice or barley.  The Grove is across from SFMOMA and the Museum of the African Diaspora, making it the perfect museum lunch that's not actually in the museum. 

The chief attraction of squeezing some fried egg and cheese between two pieces of bread is to maximize the portability and speed of breakfast. So please give me a breakfast sandwich and I'll run off to where I need to be, okay? Arbor Cafe's decent, but not stellar, breakfast sandwich includes the above along with a side of salad in a large takeout box. The solution is to ask ahead of time to put the whole works into a wax paper bag, but in a pinch, lift the lid on sammie, insert salad, close it up and run to work. The egg appears to be expediently prepped as a half-inch deep sheet, with chives sprinkled on top and then cut into squares. Cheese is generous, there may have also been mayo. Slight crust burn.

Young Elvis says: careful with this one folks, you know the taller the sandwich the worse the crust burn.