We Have A Verdict...DANGER!

Greetings Readers!

Even though the trial I was assigned to was short (3 days) I didn't want to waste a single lunch visit while in Downtown Los Angeles.

Most of the restaurants and shops close up after the working day is over, so it makes it especially hard to get down there for sandwiching during the week, and weekends DTLA is still somewhat of a ghost town (though it is improving).

Not wanting to take a long stroll, I walked past the Cherry Pick Cafe on South Hill street, only a five minute walk from the courthouse.

The cafe is a small, low-ceilinged and dark little restaurant. A perfect contrast from the blinding hours of fluorescents that I had to deal with in the court room.

Their menu is quite impressive. I stood in line and examined it the entire time I waited, and only made my decision as I reached the counter. I decided to switch it up this week from red meat and went for a tuna fish sandwich, but not just any old tuna.

The sandwich I picked was the Wasabi Tuna Fish.

I love wasabi. The heat that comes along with it, as well as the piercing flavor is something I have always enjoyed. Sometimes I even enjoy a huge dose of it so that I feel the burning run up to my sinuses.

Yeah, it's weird, but it's like I say with spicy additions: if there's a good flavor with high heat, I don't mind.

But the problem with this sandwich is that I barely tasted any wasabi at all. While you may enjoy just the slightest hint of the condiment, and it was still a good sandwich, I definitely expected more wasabi flavor than I got and so I was a bit disappointed.

The albacore tuna on the otherhand was very delicious. Flavorful, but not too fishy, the tuna was mixed with celery, red onion and red peppers which provided a bit of crunchy contrast.

I chose to go with sourdough bread for the tuna sandwich and was very pleased. A bit of sour bite and very fresh bread, this was a great choice for this outing.

So this concludes my last downtown Los Angeles sandwich for some time I imagine. Well, unless I manage to get down there before 5PM, or called for jury duty for a third year in a row in 2013.

As much as I love sandwiches, let's hope the second option doesn't happen again anytime soon.

Until next week, Readers...


P.S. - #Burbank adventures begin next week!



Cherry Pick Cafe
208 S. Hill Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
http://cherrypickcafe.com/

The Judge Has Ruled...Deliciousness!

Greetings my Dear Readers!

This past week, I somehow managed to be called to report for jury duty for the second year in a row. Not only was I called, but I was selected to be on a jury again.

Despite this, I was not disappointed for the fact that now I had the ability to wander the downtown streets, while everything was open, in order to have sandwiches for you all to read about.

One of my favorite places to wander into downtown near the courthouses is Grand Central Market. Knowing that I may only be downtown for a day or two, I took my time selecting a place to eat among all of the attractive vendors.

The tacos in this places are amazing. But let's not discuss that here.

I stopped by a newly opened stall called La Mamma's Burgers which looked exactly like an old lunchroom counter, completer with swirling stools.

The burgers here are straightforward options of beef or turkey, but are fully customize-able with different cheeses, sauces and vegetables.

I went for a basic turkey burger with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles and jalapenos.

Oh, and garlic fries. With huge chunks of garlic. Those were damn good.

The burger patty was delicious. Cooked to medium, full of flavor, and maybe just a bit greasy.

The vegetables were also fresh and crispy, adding a needed crunch to the sandwich. The main problem here was the bun. With the grease of the burger, it was not able to fully stay together through until the end.

But as always with a great lunch counter, the waitstaff and cooks were entertaining, and fun to talk with on my break from jury duty. It was nice to sit down and not have to hear testimony for five minutes.

Definitely give it a shot when you're downtown during the week.

So, one week down of my jury duty blogs, and one more entry to go on my week downtown for jury duty.  Then I will begin a series of blogs detailing sandwich shops in Burbank that I've started with Bryan Mahoney of The Burbank Leader. Make sure you follow him on Twitter (@818NewGuy) as well as myself (@danger_sandwich).

Until next week...


Turkey Burger w/ Cheese
3 1/2 Stars
La Mamma Burgers
Grand Central Market
317 South Broadway,
Los Angeles, CA

The Danger Sandwich Store!

Dear Readers, 

 

I have finally gotten around to creating something for the blog that I've wanted to do for quite some time. This afternoon I finally created a Danger Sandwich t-shirt on CafePress, and now it is available for you to educate the masses about the quality of sandwiches in this cotton t-shirt. 

More swag to come in the future and maybe some giveaways.

If you order it, make sure to take a photo of you wearing it so I can share it on the blog!

Click Here to be taken to The Danger Sandwich CafePress store.

Finally...Something Mildly Healthy

Greetings, Readers!

You know, sometimes sandwich places are hiding right under your nose, ad you may not even know it.

This past week I was scanning Yelp looking for more ideas for my upcoming trek with writer Bryan Mahoney when I decided to look for more sandwich shops on the main strip of the Noho Arts District.

When I happened upon Healthyca, I was surprised to find that it was one block away from my front door. Looking over the menu on their website, not only did everything sound amazing, it seemed to fit my latest need to find a sandwich that wasn't clogging my arteries.

While they do have completely vegan/vegetarian sandwiches, I was drawn to the Albacore sandwich.

Made with fresh local white tuna, tomatoes, lettuce, sprouts and purple onions. The tuna was also made using a vegan mayo.

The tune was excellent. Not too fishy, not to mayo-y, it had a very smooth flavor backed up with the earthy sprouts and fresh vegetables.


You are also able to decide which bread you would like your sandwich made with from a wheat wrap, ciabatta, wheat ciabatta or multi-grain wheat. All are excellent choices, but for this time I went with the regular ciabatta.

The bread was fresh, fluffy and did an excellent job at holding the sandwich together. While I will want to try another option next time, this was an excellent choice for my first sandwich at Healthyca.

Also, with each sandwich you are given the option to pick a side from quinoa salad, mixed greens, wild rice salad, herbed rice, and fresh fruit. I sampled both the quinoa salad and wild rice salad. Both had fresh flavors from the cucumbers mixed in, but the wild rice salad was also packed with dried cranberries which gave the salad a nice contrast of tartness.

It's great to know that this healthier option sandwich shop is so close by. Now when I've been on a deli binge (like my upcoming blog excursion), I will have a place close by enough to satisfy my sandwich needs and the need to still have a working circulatory system in 5 years.

Until next week, Readers...


P.S. - while I don't normally talk sports on this blog at all, I would like to wish the Flyers best in defeating the Penguins tonight.

Albacore Sandwich
**** Stars
Healthyca
4724 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91602
http://www.healthyca.us/

The Smell of Spring...And Sandwiches

Greetings, Readers!

This week I decided to further explore my neighborhood of the Noho Arts District and finally stopped in a place that I have known about, but have neglected to visit, for the last four and a half years that I have lived here in LA.

Philadelphia Sandwiches is a tiny shop across from the Television Academy on Magnolia Boulevard. The inside of this shop has tons of paraphernalia from the Sixers, Phillies, Eagles and Flyers and actually felt like an authentic Philly restaurant, and not just one with the name of that fine city propped out front.

Ordering a cheesesteak with fried onions and peppers, I had forgotten to ask at first which type of cheese was used on the sandwich. Would it be slices that were melted while cooking, or would it be the sin-of-a million-heresies called "wiz"?

At first I had thought I was given this atrocity, but noticed that even though it was yellow-ish, it was not wiz. The cheese was melted through the sandwich, but I wasn't that impressed with it. There also could have been more as it was a bit sparse.  Luckily, the meat was flavorful, finely chopped, and not dried out.

The rolls were great. They held together, were soft, fresh and had great flavor.

The website for Philadelphia Sandwiches claims their sandwiches are "the best" Philly cheesesteaks. I would disagree.

While they are very enjoyable, I would still rank a number of other cheesesteaks that I've tasted above it in LA, specifically South Street Steaks and Philly's Best. But I had to admit, I do like the fact that I have a very reputable and enjoyable cheesesteak shop within walking distance.

Like last week though, my physician could not disagree with that more.

Onto this weekend though, when I will be grilling hot dogs and sausages on my rooftop as one of my favorite pitchers of all time leads my hometown Phillies against the Pittsburgh Pirates in our second game of the new baseball season.

Ah, the smell of spring...and sandwiches. Until next week, Readers...


Philly Cheesesteak
*** 1/2 stars
Philadelphia Sandwiches
11112 Magnolia Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91601
http://www.phillycheesesteaknoho.com/

P.S. - having trouble with uploading photos here. They'll be up soon. Promise.