Where's The Beef?

Greetings fellow sandwich lovers!

I've come to realize that sometimes, what we're looking for can be right under our noses. On the other hand, what we may find there might not be exactly what we want.

Let me explain...

I work in Studio City, arguable the best part of the Valley, and in this little neighborhood there is a well spoken of Argentinian restaurant known as LaLa's.

Now for the record, I love Argentinian food. Adore it. It's amazing. I love it so much in fact that every time I drive up to Santa Barbara I stop at this amazing Argentine restaurant (Cafe Buenos Aires on State St. for those of you interested).

So after being in Studio City for years, I decided that now was the time to order a sandwich from LaLa's. The first point to mention here is the amount of food that is given with the order1: 1.) the sandwich was very sizable; 2.) the fries were more than a large order from any major chain (and much more delicious); and 3.) a few slices of bread with delicious chimichurri sauce.

I swear if it were healthy to drink chimichurri sauce, I'd probably do it.

For this adventure, I ordered the Lomito sandwich. Finely sliced Angus beef, lettuce, tomatoes and Argentine sauce, I was hoping to be greeted with excellence, instead I was sadly disappointed.

The bread was good, the lettuce was crisp, even the tomatoes were enjoyable (and if you know me, that's rare for me to say). So what was the problem?

The beef.

Was it tasty? Yes it was. It was full of flavor and juicy. The problem was the chewiness. For something that seemed so well cooked, I expected a bit more of it to fall apart in my mouth, instead, there were times where I was pulling the sandwich away to separate it from what I had already tried to bite off.

This didn't happen every time, but enough to disappoint me.

I had tasted greatness, only to have it violently ripped away between two halves of gnashing, moderately pearly white teeth (coffee's doing wonders for that).

So would I be dissuaded from visiting LaLa's again? No, probably not.

Just next time, I won't be ordering the beef.

Until next week, readers!

*** Stars

Lomito Sandwich

LaLa's Grill

Studio City and Los Angeles, CA