The Hills Are Alive...With Deliciousness

Greetings, Readers!

How are you faring now that the election season is finally over?

Did you have a sandwich to celebrate the fact that it will be at least a week without political ads before the next election season begins?

This past weekend, wear of the draining political ads on TV, I made my way out to Agoura Hills to visit a place I had only recently heard about: Ladyface Ale Companie.

Besides the sandwiches, the other draw to Ladyface for me was their in-house beer menu. Starting with a pumpkin pie spice flavored bock and moving to the Belgian tripel, I was thoroughly convinced that their beer was equally well crafted and delicious (especially the tripel).

My sandwich decision was not as easy to decide on. I had looked at their menu a few times the entire week before I had even gone, and was still undecided as to which sandwich I would pick. Finally though I had settled on the croque-monsieur, mainly because of my intrigue with the sandwich ever since watching Gordon Ramsay make one on the UK version of Kitchen Nightmares. 

Between the lightly grilled pieces of bread of this croque-monsieur rests two thick slices of Niman Ranch ham, Gruyere cheese and bechamel sauce. The Gruyere cheese was thoroughly melted proving a slightly smoky, slightly salty flavor. The two slices of ham provided a slightly sweet flavor to the mix as well as having its definitive ham flavor.

For a person who is not a huge fan of this particular pork product, this ham was delicious and some of the best I've ever had, outside of Porto's cubano.

The grilled bread was lightly buttered, lightly toasted, and highly delicious, keeping the sandwich together until the end.

Overall, my experience at Ladyface was highly positive and delicious. Their beer paired with their delicious food offerings (also tried the mac and cheese and house pretzel: both top notch!) make for an excellent meal away from the city on a Sunday afternoon.

Definitely worth a trip to Agoura Hills.

Until next week, Readers...


Croque-Monsieur
**** 1/2 Stars
Ladyface Ale Companie
29281 Agoura Road
Agoura HIlls, CA 91301
http://www.ladyfaceale.com/menu.html

The Great Burbank Deli Hunt - Part 5

Greetings, Readers!

I am sad to announce some very bad news to you: this is the last entry in our Burbank adventure.

Did you think I was going to say I was ending the blog? Because that's insane. I may be on a new diet and exercise routine, but that does not mean I will give up my love of sandwiches, nor my love of reporting it.

The real problem with writing about Burbank is that there are just too many places to review, so I will have to tackle this area again in the near future.

On our last stop in Burbank, my traveling partner Bryan mentioned that the Burbank Deli & Carryout was known to have the best liverwurst sandwich in town. Now, I have never had liverwurst, nor had I even thought about it as a possibility for consumption, but I was up for the experience.

If i was going to try it, why not at the deli with the sign that says "best wurst in town"?

Sadly though (or luckily enough?) the deli hadn't served liverwurst in a few years, but had kept the sign because it had become such a staple of the shop. Speaking with the sandwich artist we were recommended two different sandwiches: The Pastrami and the Assorted Meats.

Having already tried numerous pastrami sandwiches, we decided to tackle the Assorted Meats Sandwich.

Stacked with ham, bologna, salami, roast beef, lettuce, jalapenos, peperoncini, provolone cheese, tomatoes, salt, pepper and mayo on a long Italian roll, this sandwich delivers with flavor and is filling.

Each of the meats lends their own distinctive flavor without really tripping over each other. The ham and bologna flavors blend well together with the salami and roast beef sticking out from the crowd with their own distinctive flavors. The peperoncinis and jalapenos add a spicy kick while the lettuce gives this meaty sandwich a little bit of crunch.

Oh, and the roll held up throughout the entire ordeal. Quite the feat for how much is contained inside.

So this ends this journey through Burbank to discover some of the best delis in town. Besides finding numerous delicious sandwiches to eat, I think I gained an insight into what makes Burbank a great town.

Not only did we find great neighborhood delis, but we met the people who owned them, who worked in them, and who added to the great culinary experience of Burbank.

Meeting the people was just as enjoyable as eating the sandwiches that made them popular.

So use this adventure as a reason to get out and learn about some of your neighborhood eats and learn more about your neighborhood/town/city. You'll be glad you did.

Until next week, Readers...


Assorted Meats Sandwich
**** Stars
Burbank Deli & Carryout
1414 W. Alameda Ave.
Burbank, CA 91506

The Great Burbank Deli Hunt - Part 1

Greetings Readers!

I am very excited to start this week's blog because it is part one in a series of entires that will focus on sandwiches in the town of Burbank, CA.

For those of you who don't live in the area, Burbank is home to studios like NBC and Warner Bros. as well as many other production companies. Despite being a hub of the industry in the Valley, it is also a quiet suburban town with a tight-knit community.

I've visited a few places in Burbank for this blog in the past, but this trip was going to be different. It began when I was contacted by Bryan Mahoney (@818newguy on Twitter) who writes the column Burb's Eye View for the Burbank Leader. We decided that we join forces and take on various delis and their sandwiches in Burbank, giving us insight not only into what sandwiches are popular there, but also giving us a chance to meet some of the colorful characters that make up this great part of Los Angeles.

For our first stop, we visited a well known mom-and-pop deli called Otto's Hungarian Import Store and Deli tucked away on a quiet street corner.

Besides a wide variety of meats, cheeses, import beers and other deli offerings, Otto's also stocks a number of European sweets that tempted me during our visit. Most notable Kinder Happy Hippos. It was hard not to buy a box of them, but then that would ruin the first leg of our trip.

On suggestion from the owner, we ordered the Otto's Special. This sandwich is a true meat lovers sandwich. Ham, bologna, forest ham and three different types of salami all packed in a long Italian roll with Swiss cheese and Hungarian peppers.

Wow.

All of the meat was very fresh and bursting with flavor. Despite all of the competing flavors though, you could easily tell each of the meats apart from the other, and without the combination becoming overpowering. It was amazing, as I had half expected it to just be a singular combined flavor. Even with all of the filling, the roll stayed intact until the end, never once yielding to the massive amount of meat inside.

It was great.

While the sandwich was delicious, the owner added to the enjoyment of this stop. He talked to us about the history of Otto's, suggested numerous options for our sandwich, and even presented us with slices of Hungarian sausage to sample and a lotto ticket for each.

Otto's is known in the neighborhood as Otto's Lotto because of the large number of people who have won after buying their tickets from them. I was not so lucky with my ticket.

So, if you love Hungarian food, or are just looking for a superb deli in the Burbank area, you would be best served to head to Otto's whenever you can (they're closed on Sundays though). The delicious sandwiches, fresh deli meats, world beers and European sweets will appeal to everyone with good taste.

That's all for this week, dearest Readers. Join me again next week as Bryan and I take on another local deli in Burbank!

(For Bryan's article on our Burbank sandwiching, click here.)


Otto's Special
**** Stars
Otto's Hungarian Import Store and Deli (closed on Sundays)
2320 West Clark Avenue
Burbank, CA 91506
http://www.hungariandeli.com/

Eating My Way Through Portland, OR (Part 1 of 5)

The coolest logo ever.

Hello, Readers!

This past weekend, I made a trip up to the northwest for the first time since my 2009 trip to Seattle. This time I stopped in the city of Portland, Oregon, which is a city I've always wanted to visit since I fell in love with the northwest on my last trip. Coincidentally, this trip was also my last state on the West Coast to visit (and 31st overall).

But what is one to do in the city of Portland? Besides visiting a few historical and sightseeing spots, Portland is well known for its food and beer. Breweries and restaurants are on every corner, and it made the selection of sandwiches for this blog so difficult.

This may be why it'll be a five part series.

Prior to my trip, I had planned out a few spots that I wanted to visit and review for the blog, but today's entry came from a chance wandering through the north part of the downtown area. Passing by an awesome sign with a sickle and a hand holding a sandwich (akin to the former USSR logo), I decided I had to stop into The People's Sandwich of Portland.

Being drawn in by the awesome logo and posters outside, the first challenge of the weekend came in choosing which sandwich to eat. Each with its own cool name, I decided to go with the Hammer & Pickle.

Why you ask? The Hammer & Pickle is a cubano sandwich, and we all know how I feel about cubanos.

I frequently reference the cubano at Porto's in Burbank as being the top sandwich I have eaten since starting this blog, so this sandwich from TPSP had a lot to live up to.

The sliced ham and pork loin were grilled and joined with melted Swiss cheese, crisp pickles, homemade mustard (all condiments are made in house) and mayo (made with organic eggs) and pressed in a french roll on the grill.

The ham and pork loin were tender and delicious. The Swiss was melted throughout the sandwich lending a delicious smoky/savory flavor. I think one of the best surpsises in the sandwich came from the homemade mustard which reminded me a bit of horseradish with that slight burning feeling at the back of your nose.

Note: I love the taste and feeling of horseradish. It is always a good compliment, and that mustard-y feeling is present here in all its delicious glory.

So you stack all of these delicious ingredients into a french roll that's pressed on a grill with a crispy, flaky and golden outside with soft and fresh insides and you have...

The best cubano I have ever eaten. Hands down. All of the flavors blended together incredibly well and were each prominent on their own, contributing their portion of deliciousness.

Oh yeah, and they even threw in a tiny tootsie roll for after your sandwich.

Sorry Porto's of Burbank, you had an excellent run as the top sandwich of the blog, but I will now find other reasons to visit Portland, just to have this sandwich again.

Part 1 of my trip to Portland ended on an incredibly high note, could my other stops live up to the hype?

Until next week...

Hammer & Pickle
***** Stars
The People's Sandwich of Portland
53 NW 1st Street
Portland, OR
sandwichofportland.com

Havana Sandwich

Good Morning, DANGERites.

You are in store for quite a delicious surprise this morning.

Something that even caught I, the great Sandwichologist, off guard.

I have always heard wonderful reviews of a place in Burbank called Porto's (also with a location in Glendale). And despite passing it numerous times on my way to downtown Burbank, I never stopped in to try it.

Well this time was different. I had a date with one of LA Magazine's top 17 sandwiches of Los Angeles: The Cubano.

When I first walked into the shop I must admit I was slightly stunned at the interior. This place is huge, bright, and very fancy looking. After taking the atmosphere of the place in, I ordered and took a seat by the window.

My waiter brought my sandwich, and for a moment, I stared at my next challenge: The Cubano. Made up of slow roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, butter, mayo/mustard, and pickles on Cuban bread. This is what people have raved about.

I took my first bite and I felt as if my tastebuds started a cha-cha-cha in my mouth.

It was a flavor explosion, and I loved it.

The slow roasted pork is of excellent quality. It's tender, juicy, and full of flavor. It had definitely been stewing for quite some time before being added to the sandwich.

Normally, I'm not much of a fan of ham (although bring on a number of other pork products), but I definitely enjoyed it on this sandwich. Working together with the full flavored pork, the ham added a nice, more subtler secondary flavor.

The bread was flaky and soft and complimented the contents very well. I feel if the bread had been thicker or heavier, a lot of the taste of the sandwich would have been lost. This bread allows the flavors to fully attack your tastebuds.

Now normally, I'm not much of a fan of Swiss cheese, but it really did add an excellent taste to the mix. Smooth, with a strong flavor, and perfectly melted on top of the meat, this was an excellent choice.

Top all of that off with a little mayo, a little mustard, and some dill pickle chips and you have the Cubano.

In place of fries, which would have weighed down this sandwich and not have been as enjoyable, Porto's added lightly fried banana slices. Thinner than normal banana chips, and sliced lengthwise, they were light, airy, and crispy. A perfect addition.

Danger fans, I know you trust me to be completely honest with you in my opinion.

You trust me to lead you in the direction of delicious sandwiches, and eventually to the sandwich which will be so DANGERous, as to take my own life away.

So believe me when I say that so far, this is one of the best sandwiches I've had for this blog. If you're in Los Angeles, you really need to try this. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Until next time...DANGER!

**** 1/2 Stars

Porto's Bakery and Cafe

3614 W. Magnolia Blvd.

Burbank, CA 91505