It's Been A Long Time...For Some Short Rib

Welcome back, Dear Readers!

After having survived freefall on my 30th birthday, I was reminded that I still had so many sandwiches to taste yet in life, and what better time to take on one I had been postponing for quite some time.

Having relatives visiting me for my birthday, I decided to take them to a swank little eatery known as Joan's on Third in West Hollywood.

Taking a seat at one of the sidewalk tables, I anxiously awaited my Short Rib sandwich. Now Joan's has an amazing selection of sandwiches, and from what I hear, most are amazing. So if you are interested in trying this place out, but not dying for a short rib sandwich, you have plenty of excellent options.


Pulled short rib, melted jack cheese, arugula and sweet red onions stack up between two slices of grilled country bread. The short rib had definitely been cooked down the right amount of time. It just about fell apart when I bit into it, without being too mushy or ending up too dry.

Since the rib meat was pulled, the melted jack cheese permeated the whole sandwich from bread slice to bread slice.

The country bread was lightly buttered, lightly grilled, and highly delicious, adding a bit of crunch to the otherwise softer insiders of the sandwich.

Wow.

I'm still not sure why I delayed so long in eating this sandwich as it was definitely highly enjoyable, delicious, and worth a second trip. The sandwich is very similar to the sandwich i reviewed at 8 oz. Burger Bar back in December 2010, but I feel like Joan's version of the sandwich slightly edges out that one.

Like I mentioned before, Joan's has an incredible deep menu listing that can satisfy almost any customer, so if you're in the area you should absolutely check it out. But if you're looking for what most people (including myself now) consider the pinnacle of their sandwich mastery, you'd do well to try the Short Rib Sandwich.

In other sandwiching news, I will be heading back to Philadelphia for my brother's wedding this weekend will hopefully get at least one sandwich in for you east coasters to read about.  Congrats to Evan and Liz on their big day in advance.

So, Philly, what's the sandwich that is a must have?

Until next week, Readers...


Short Rib Sandwich
****
Joan's on Third
8350 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
http://www.joansonthird.com/

Who you callin' jive, turkey?

Welcome Back Dear Readers!

I hope your sandwiching this week has been most excellent.

I recently noticed that I am quickly approaching one year of sandwiching and blogging (i tried to combine these words, but every possibility seemed hopelessly clunky). Despite this, I have such a long list of suggestions of places to try, not only in Los Angeles but numerous other cities as well, and I thank you all for helping me on this road to discovering sandwich greatness with your suggestions.

This week I tried a local shop in Hollywood that is beloved by its closest followers and is quickly spreading its name among LA foodies.

While searching the internet for a new sandwich to try, I stumbled upon reviews of The Oaks Gourmet, an excellent eatery in Hollywood. Not only does it have an inspired selection of food, coffee, and drinks, but it's close enough to a few fun after dinner entertainment spots such as Upright Citizen's Brigade and my favorite coffee spot, The Bourgeois Pig.

I was drawn to The Oaks Gourmet because so many people praised the Pulled Short Rib French Onion Dip sandwich. Two of my favorite sandwiches so far, Short Rib Sandwiches and French Dip, the combination of the two had to be spectacular.

But instead of trying this out, I decided to switch it up a bit. Besides last week's Chicken Cubano, I had been eating a lot of red meat sandwiches lately, and thought that maybe I should stay away from the red meat for another week.

My doctor agreed.

So after a bout of indecisiveness, I chose the Oven Roasted Turkey & Camembert Cheese sandwich. Combining freshly cut turkey, red onions, creamy camembert cheese, baby arugula, a sherried fig and shallot aioli all combined on toasted dark honey wheat bread, this truly was an upstart young sandwich looking to make a name for itself.

The turkey was delicious. Fresh and thinly sliced, this delicious deli meat was a generous portion stacked high on the sandwich.

Something that was completely unexpected with this sandwich was the sweet taste that was so prominent. With oven roasted turkey, creamy camembert and earthy arugula, i did not expect so much sweetness to be present, but it was an excellent surprise. The sherried fig and subtly sweet honey wheat bread combine to evenly match the savory turkey and camembert.

My only problem with this sandwich was the bread. The dark honey wheat definitely added to the sweetness of the sandwich, and tasted great, but the level of toasting was sub par. It was so lightly toasted, it didn't seem toasted at all, more like the bread had been a little stale on the outside. With a slightly higher toasting level, I think this problem would be easily remedied.

This sandwich is definitely worth your time though.

Until next week, dearest readers!

Do the DANGER!


Oven Roasted Turkey and Camembert
**** Stars
The Oaks Gourmet
1915 N. Bronson Ave (Corner of Bronson and Franklin)
Los Angeles, CA 90068
theoaksgourmet.com