Short Rib, Shorter Days

Greetings, Readers!

Is it Autumn in your town yet? Because here in Los Angeles it's still in the mid 90s, which is definitely making it hard to enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches and thick tomato soups.

So instead this week I headed over to a fancy little shop in Toluca Lake called Olive & Thyme which had just popped up on my radar.

I had wanted to try their Middle Eastern Chicken sandwich, but was sad to find out that this sandwich is only served during lunch hours. Not to fear though as their menu also had a Braised Short Rib sandwich that also sounded incredibly delicious.

I'll be sure to report back to you on the Middle Eastern Chicken sandwich if I try it out in the future.

The Braised Short Rib sandwich is stacked high with succulent shredded short rib, horseradish creme fraiche and caramelized onions between two slices of grilled country sourdough bread.

The short rib had been cooked just right, so that it just melted away in your mouth with every bite. Combining that with the caramelized onions gave the sandwich a faintly sweet taste.  The horseradish creme fraiche provided a flavor contrast with the occasional burst of heat.

The grilled sourdough bread stayed together until the end, despite being under pressure from the heavily stacked short rib. It also added its characteristic suor flavor, providing a third flavor contribution to the mix.

Overall, this was an excellent braised short rib, though the trip was still a disappointment as I missed out on the Middle Eastern Chicken sandwich. Ah, next time!

Until next week, Readers...


Braised Short Rib Sandwiches
**** Stars
Olive &Thyme
4013 Riverside Drive,
Toluca Lake, CA
http://www.oliveandthyme.com

Danger.....OVERRULED!

Welcome back Dear Readers!

I hope the week since we last met has treated you well.

I know the sandwich gods were looking down on me this week as I've found some excellent entries to tell you about in the weeks to come.

But for now, let's travel back in time to my Jury Duty this month, when I was lucky enough to try a famous restaurant twice in the same week.

This time I tackled the Braised Short Rib sandwich at Gram and Papa's

I've already described in detail the decor of Gram and Papa's in my post two weeks ago (The Verdict Is...Dangerous! 1/12/2011), and this aspect alone makes this an excellent spot to lunch with friends.

But now that I wasn't taking in my surroundings and could solely concentrate on the sandwich at hand, would it still hold up to the gold standard of the Chicken Salad Sandwich?

I mean, we are talking about a Braised Short Rib sandwich here.

Then again, short ribs layered on Cheerios sounds appealing to me. How could we go wrong here?

The thing is that G&P's has another home run on their hands with this sandwich, even for people who aren't as taken in with short ribs as I am.

The ribs themselves are delicious. Tender, slightly smoked, and incredibly juicy, you don't ever want to stop chewing because every bite adds another dose of flavor to the mix.

The ribs are covered in a smoky provolone. It's perfectly melted between the the roughly chopped chunks of meat and adds an excellent flavor contrast to the ribs.

Finishing off this sandwich is a delicious dipped brioche roll. With a lightly glazed and golden exterior, and a fluffy and buttery inside, this bread is an excellent match with the sandwich and just falls apart when you bite into it because it's so soft.

It's rare that I've written about two different sandwiches from the same restaurant but Gram and Papa's deserves it.

As to which is better, The Chicken Salad Sandwich or the Braised Short Ribs Sandwich, I'd say it's close but I'd make the Chicken Salad Sandwich the winner.

But in the end, we're all winners when we get to eat these two DANGERous entries.

Until next week, Readers!

Braised Short Rib Sandwich

**** Stars

Gram and Papa's

227 E. 9th Street

Los Angeles, CA