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.

That's Amore!

Greetings, Dear Readers!

Sorry to those of you who may have shown up at the regularly scheduled time this morning to not find my new post. Your faith sandwichologist is a bit under the weather today and could not finish the post in time. 

But, enough of this pity party! On to this week's sandwich.

As you may have seen in the last few weeks, I've been trying to get to know my neighborhood a little bit better. The Noho Arts District, and adjoining Toluca Lake, are filled with numerous cafes and restaurants each with their own styles and flavors.

For this week's entry i simply crossed the street to Little Toni's, an Italian restaurant on the corner of a six-point intersection. Which is also impossible to get to without going south about 5 blocks and then crossing over.

But this isn't called the DANGER sandwich for no reason, so we ran quickly across the middle of the street to get there. 

Now, a warning for those that may not have been to this restaurant before, it can be quite a wait when the place gets packed. The times I've gone to Little Toni's, even after being seated, it's been some time since I've even seen a server.

This just gave me more time to consider which sandwich I've wanted. This time it happened to be the Meatball Sub. 

This sandwich was excellent. The meatballs were fully cooked, but moist and full of flavor and spices. The cheese was layered on above and below the meatballs, sealing in the delicious sauce (gravy for you crazy Italians). There were some points where too much mozzarella was in a mouthful, but it wasn't that much of a problem if you enjoy cheese, which I do. 

Lastly, despite all of this weight on top of a lightly toasted Italian roll, the sandwich held together very well, even with the roll soaking up some of the sauce during the sandwich. 

All in all a delicious experience, especially for someone who doesn't normally crave Italian food.

Don't forget that next week is the top 10 sandwiches of the last 100 posts. Will yours make it onto the list? Which sandwich would you put on the list if you were me?

Until next week...

Meatball Sub

**** Stars

Little Toni's

4745 Lankershim Blvd

North Hollywood, CA 91602