THE SHANGHAI SANDO SLINGER

The Petite Deli:
752 Columbus Avenue
(between Via Buffano & Filbert St)
San Francisco, CA 94133

Hot Pastrami Melt

This old Chinese lady could be the nicest person in Northbeach and she has chosen to defect from her traditional dumplings and fried rice and has perfected a number of American favorite deli sandos. This is a tiny (2 table, 4 chairs) joint on Columbus down from Washington sq. park. This is a regular hot pastrami samich, with the meat and cheese melted together before the fixings come on. She uses some kind of sweet & spicy dressing (maybe from the Orient) along with mayo and mustard, tomato, lettuce, onion, and peppercinis on your choice (recommend the wheat roll). Nothing out of the ordinary on this samich, but the flavor is all up in that mouth, smooshing and pounding out your taste buds. This has become a favorite for lunch on a sunny park day, combo with bag of chips and a beer from local corner store. She takes call in orders too if you want to swing by and pick up. Make sure to strike up a convo with this lady. I commend her for running a successful 1 lady sando shop in SF and focusing on ingredient quality and most importantly, taste. Enjoy!

$7.00 with chips

7 out of 10 Guido Fist Pumps

Word to ya Hunger.
Arog007

Sando in the sun

Mission Rock - SOMA/Mission Bay/Sea Shanty Row

Shrimp Po Boy

I am not a rich man, but I'm also not a Po Boy. But if it came down to it, I would rather eat a Po Boy than a Rich Man. A shrimp Po Boy that is.

Mission Rock, a popular weekend club hang out for a rather different breed of night-grinders has recently opened up its downstairs kitchen for daytime samich grinders. The difference between these grind tribes is significant believe you me, but that discussion is for another time. Either way....its some serious grinding. Uuuuhhhhhhh (aggressive pelvic thrust)!!

The Shrimp Po Boy itself was quite pleasing with a skipper's bounty of crispy fried shrimps, topped with some lettuce shit and some saucy cocktail sauce. The shrimp seemed to be quality/fresh and the frying done was not too greasy - not even a soak stain on the buns! Speaking of buns, these were your archetypical buns of the Po Boy genre (not too hard or crunchy, but larger for the poor hungry man- very astute thinking on MR's end). Accompanying this fine samich-of-the-sea were some irregularly cut french fries - an exotic hybrid of the tater tot and potato wedge. At first I thought they were donut holes or something!! But nope, they were potatoes, and they were damn good wingmen for the sando - an impressive flavor duo that had me interested at first taste.

However the most pleasing aspect of my experience at Mission Rock was watching the crane on the dry dock lift heavy shit and swivel around while I suckled on some cold Coronas. The wide open views of the bay and Oakland in the distance are also enjoyable. And did I tell you about the wildlife?? They got real birds out there, and not just your mangy crumb scavenging sky-rats. And after the giant doobtron shared among friends pre-meal, it was a great fucking lunch. Especially when we saw Radioactive Fish Boy slither out of the water into an abandoned sea shanty with a big ol' fish in his mouth, that's when we got really fucking amped.

So on your next longer lunch in agreeable weather, forgo the crowds at the Ramp and check out Mission Rock. And holler at the Fish Boy! He seems to lead a lonely life.....

Hungrily Yours,

Sir Grindalot

2 fishboy fins up!

Veggie Po Boiieeee

Where: Farmer Brown’s The Little Skillet out of 330 Ritch (SOMA)

What: Veggie Po Boy – roasted peppers, mushrooms and aspargus serviced with home chips

For a vegetarian Po’Boy this Sando was tasty although there was an overload on mushrooms. It definitely hit the spot. The bread was fresh (crunchy yet soft), the veggies were roasted. This sandwich did not lack in fillings. It is serviced with pickles, shredded lettuce, tomato, and a mayonnaise based spread. The sides of house made chips are refreshing and crispy. Fried to perfection! To spice things up add a little of there home made hot sauce. All the ingredients taste extremely fresh and are picked up daily.

Not only is the food goog but the place is cute. The set up is easy and the wait is fast. The menu is small and delicious. People are friendly. I overheard that the shrimp Po’Boy is the “jam”.

4 out of 5 Stars

Wich Doctor

My sandwich from Kitchenette

LOCATION: 958 Illinois Street near 20th Street & 3rd Street in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco

Pan Bagna - Olive oil poached tuna on acme baguette, roasted peppers, olives, lemony fennel-arugula salad $8.50

The verdict? I love the concept of Kitchenette - use only the freshest ingredients, limited menu, when they're out, they're out. This particular sandwich would have been fantastic if they went a little lighter on the olive oil. As you can see from the pic, this bad boy was swimming in grease (get it, swimming?) Overall, 3.5 out of 5 pickles (the ultimate sandwich side kick)

Big Willie Style

Sandweak the Womp Womp Wompwich from Pal's Takeaway

$8, The Almost Banh Mi (chicken, yogurt, cilantro, pickled onions, chilis etc on a French roll)

2751 24th Street at Hampshire

Let me first say that I was very excited about Pal's. It's a new little two-man counter operation inside a liquor store on the 24th St., and apart from the fresh high quality ingredients (meats from Fatted Calf, Becker Lane and Riverdog, and farm fresh veggies, etc.) I just like the cuttiness of the spot and the entrepreneurial spirit. That being said, this sandwich was some straight-up doo-doo. Right off the bat I noticed it was served at room temp, and was a little small. I'm used to Saigon Sandwiches, the gold standard for banh mis in the city, and those feel like a hot little football under my arm on the way back to the office; Pal's felt like a football too, but one of those tiny knockoff Nerf ones that are impossible to spiral with. Boo. Let's move on to flavor: The good news is, this tasted just lke something my mom would make. The bad news is, my mom can't cook for shit. Every ingredient on this thing was supposedly sourced from a sustainable, organic local farm, yet there was a serious lack of flavor, owing in large part to stinginess with sauce, toppings and all-around unjuiciness. There's really no excuse for that--even when I make myself a sandwich shitfaced at 3 in the morning, I am careful to apply an appropriate amount of sauce, and if I add some little goodies like pepperocinis, olives or sun-dried tomatoes (if I'm getting fancy), I make sure that those too are in the right proportion. STEP YOUR GAME UP.
I was pretty bummed because I went clear across town to get this fucker and brought it back to my desk like a little treasure, only to have my heart broken. I didn't even finish it, which is rare for me--when I go to Saigon Sandwiches I always get two banh mis and take them both down without stopping to breathe. So, listen up, "Pal": I like what you are trying to do with the artisan ingredients, original recipes and speakeasy steez, but you need to get your shit together before you try and get up in this here sandwich game. We will eat you alive.

1 out of 5 Bootsy Bourgeoisie Banh Mi Bummers

The Cold Cutter

BAO NECCI Danilo Bakery

516 Green Street between columbus and grant


I have been here before and it was pretty tasty, so a lovely sunny day a few friends were looking for a sando i suggested Bao Necci. Why not, outside seating was available so after ordering we perched outdoors by the window.
Having been here before I knew they werent quick, so after 15 minutes had passed and 3 sandos were not ready, I figured eh they are busy give em a break. After about 25 minutes we were wondering wtf eh? About that time the little mafioso who took our order saw us through the window. A look of recognition came over his face and he immediately hightailed it back to the kitchen. Problem solved we think. Lost order, bad translator in the kitchen, whatever, its sunny and none of us are in an office currently. Could be worse, sanduskys will arrive soon. It was a good thought anyway.

Baby mafia obviously hits the ganja farm pretty hard because this little bleached hair penne pasta purveyor had totally spaced on our order! Vafanculo! short term memory loss luigi?

These i imagine are his thoughts: (eh, lookat'a that'a guy with'a the shave head...i bet he a hungreeah guy....i tink i see him'a here'a yesterday'a...or was that today'a? i fohghetta sometime....eh whereza me rolling papers, i gonna build a nice spliff....whatsa those guys lookin at? maybe they ordera someting, i gotta headache...thank'a god mi papa owns'a this'a place, i shoulda be fired)

This being freaking AMERICA we do as any redblooded american males would do, send in my friends girlfriend to raise hell with the stoner mafia. We got sandos and an apology from the mama-san of the house. Though one sando was supposed to be eggplant and it was salamie, we couldnt fight the pure bakedness of the itals, which as a former deli worker i totally respect.

Lest i forget the actual sando, damn good. I got a mortadella w sundried and pesto w all the fixings. Delicious. Bread is wider than it is long so it can throw off the eye at first glance, dont worry they come fairly strong. Quality ingredients, usually ital soccer on tv. Kind of a cafe bakery as well so they only have like 8 sando options but the ones i have seen and tried were grand.

Just sit inside and stay on top of them, make eye contact, let them know, that you know, they are totally baked and forgot your whole order.

3/5 Bongrips in the deli cooler

CABBAGE

Porchetta me horny

Price: $7 Porchetta on roll with wild parsley

Location: Roli Roti at the Ferry Building Farmers Market Saturdays only


I don’t claim to know it all, but when I see a sandwich that resembles a baby’s arm loaded with savory, fatty, and moist boneless rotisserie pork, I know my belly is on its way to epicurean nirvana. The Porchetta sandwich served up by Roli Roti’s enthusiastic team of sandwich artists has delivered both excitement and disappointment on a few occasions. Inconsistency you ask? Maybe it is the nature of the Porchetta sandwich that is to blame for my love hate relationship with this Ferry Building Farmers Market staple. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Porchetta, let me explain. The body of the pig is gutted, boned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and cooked on a rotisserie. Next, the jolly French man at Roli Roti slices thick rounds of Porchetta, layers it on a grilled hoagie which he rubs into the succulent juices that accumulate on the wooden cutting board, tops it with wild parsley and hands you over a creation that will either give you a 12 inch food boner or leave you questioning why you waited in line for 45 minutes for a sandwich loaded with gelatinous pork trimmings. However, with good karma and a bit of luck, the Porchetta sandwich with its crunchy salty skin and notes of wild herbs including rosemary, fennel, garlic, and lavender has the potential to put a smile on the face of samich gluttons everywhere! At $7 a pop, I would give this Italian piece of art 3.5 bites out of 5 on the samich scale.



Pyle Style