It May Be Winter, But It's BBQ Time

Greetings, Readers!

I must admit that only a few weeks into the new year, and I've already broken some of my resolutions.

Mainly the one with trying to eat more pork.

This past week I visited a place that has been on the back of my mind ever since they went under renovations last year: Kansas City BBQ Company of North Hollywood.

Now I know you may be skeptical. How could any place in North Hollywood create BBQ as good as the city it's named after, which itself is a bastion of delicious BBQ?

Well, bear with me for a moment here, because you may be surprised.

Back to my breaking of resolutions...

When I arrived at Kansas City BBQ, I had planned to order the sliced pork sandwich and it was on the tip of my tongue when I was asked for my order, but at the last moment I ordered the sliced beef brisket sandwich (hey it's listed as one of their most popular items!).

The sandwich is impressive in size. A double-decker sandwich with three slices of standard white bread, the sliced brisket was delicious. Cooked in their barbecue sauce for twenty (yes TWENTY) hours prior, this thinly sliced meat falls apart in your mouth with each bite.

The brisket is full of smoky (from hickory wood) and spiced flavors (a secret combination of in-house spices) that just permeate your being. The white bread isn't even a factor in this sandwich really. It holds together, but its true function is just to serve as a vehicle for the brisket to be eaten.

So does it live up to the standard of true Kansas City barbecue? Well, I'm sure that if you sat down to a traditional barbecue place in that area, you'd find some pretty amazing restaurants, but honestly The Kansas City BBQ Company does an amazing job at creating delicious barbecue sandwiches far away from the area generally associated with the style of food.

For sides, definitely get some of the baked beans (full of smoky flavor and shredded beef) as well as the potato salad (a mildly spicy mustard based style). You won't be disappointed.

So Readers, I'll be wrapping up for a bit here in Los Angeles, as I will be back east next week and sandwiching in Philadelphia, New York and possibly DC. I have some ideas picked out, but if you have any suggestions, I would gladly take them.

Until next week...


Sliced Beef Brisket Sandwich
**** 1/2 Stars
Kansas City BBQ Company of North Hollywood
10863 Magnolia Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91601
http://www.thekansascitybbqcompany.com/

Federal-ly Mandated Burgers

Greetings, Readers!

I hope that in the last week you've put my burger recipe to use, or at least pondered what your own special concoction would be.

This week, I continued my summer burger run by visiting a bar/restaurant in my own neighborhood: The Federal.

Now I've visited The Federal a few times before, but only for drinks. This swank throwback-style bar on Lankershim in the NoHo arts district has become quite the hotspot since it opened.

From looking at the burger menu (and beer menu as well) it's obvious the Federal has a great selection for you to choose from. I settled on the Greco burger as I have yet to have a lamb burger for the blog.

This thick lamb patty came topped with a heathy dose of feta cheese, a handful of parsley, sliced tomato, olives and covered with tzatziki sauce.

The lamp patty was delicious. Cooked through nicely, but still thick, juicy and flavorful. The pungent feta cheese and tzatziki sauce added their contrasting flavors or pungent cheese and cucumber yogurt to the mix. In such a heavy sandwich, the refreshing cucumber tzatziki was an excellent, yet expected, addition.

Despite this burger being absolutely delicious, there were two problems that held this burger back from greatness.

The first problem was the parsley. Now the idea of adding parsley to the sandwich, I totally agree with. But in this sandwich, the stalks of the parsley were just too thick. So thick in fact that it usually took more than one bite, or gnawing, to get through them, not allowing for quick and clean bites of the burger.

The second problem was the bun: it did not hold together. I made it about two-thirds of the way through the sandwich before the bun was just in tatters. Part of it came from the fact that the sandwich is fairly large, but also that the tzatziki sauce had caused it to break down after a few bites.

Both of these problems should not deter you from trying the Greco burger, but they both had their part in holding back this burger from getting closer to five stars.

Until next week, Readers...


The Greco Burger
*** 1/2 Stars
The Federal Bar
5303 Lankershim Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 91601

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