Double Dose of Deliciousness

Mo's Royale with Cheese

Greetings, Readers!

I sit here at my desk, composing this week's blog sans glasses! For those of you who did not know, I can still see fairly well without them, though reading a computer screen is mildly more difficult.

Like nose 8 inches from the screen more difficult, so I apologize for first wave typographical mistakes.

But one thing I will not be making a mistake about is the level of deliciousness provided in this week's sandwiches. 

SandwichES. Plural.

I've reviewed sandwiches from both of these places before, so this is more like a quick update. 

The first stop was Mo's in Burbank. Previously I have stopped here while sampling the best burgers of Burbank in which I thoroughly enjoyed their Menage a Trois burger. While I did want to return to that delicious offering again, I decided to switch it up with a Royale with Cheese.

The Royale is an Angus beef burger topped with tempura fried dill pickles, with cheddar cheese, Sriracha Thousand Island and crispy pancetta between two halves of a brioche bun. The pickles and Sriracha Thousand Island added great flavors of sweetness, spicy and a bit of sour pickling tastes. All were great contrasts to the mellow flavor of the medium-cooked Angus beef.

But the crispy pancetta. Wow. Little chunks of crispy-outside, chewy-inside pork not only added a delicious bacon-y flavor, but were a great textural contrast.

The only problem with this sandwich was the bun. While adding its own sweet flavor, it wasn't much to write home about. It held together until the end and did its job though. 

For the second of this week's sandwiches, I returned to Philadelphia and a small tavern called Three Monkeys. My trip back east was a brief whirlwind, but there was still time to get a sandwich and beer with my dad. 

While I previously reviewed their Caribbean Pork Sandwich, this visit was all about the daily special: A grilled cheese sandwich on Texas Toast with 5 oz. of crab meat in the middle. 

I know, fantastic. 

The garlic and butter grilled toast was delicious, added a contrasting flavor to the very mellow and smoky flavoring of the melted cheddar cheese and the crab meat, which was well seasoned and incredibly delicious. 

As far as I know, this sandwich is only a weekend special, so if you happen to be in the area on a weekend, you should definitely stop in and see if it's available. It will be well worth your time. 

Well, thank you Readers for joining me on this double dose of deliciousness this week. I hope it was enjoyable for you, and inspiring as well so that you go out and either try these exact sandwiches or something close enough. 

Until next week...

Royale with Cheese

**** Stars

Mo's Restaurant

4301 W. Riverside Dr.

Burbank CA

Crab Meat grilled Cheese

**** 1/2 Stars

Three Monkeys Cafe

9645 James Street

Philadelphia, PA

Home Again, Pt. 2

Greetings, Readers!

I was wondering this week, what is your favorite local place for eating? Sandwiches or not, I imagined all of my dear Readers showing me their favorite restaurants and imagining it would take years to visit them all.

Three Monkeys Cafe has become a bit of a favorite place away from home (although it's technically home since I am from Philadelphia).

Visiting this place three times in a long weekend probably could solidify that statement.

On the Sunday that I was heading back to Los Angeles, I sat down at the cafe and perused the specials menu. Today something definitely caught my eye: The Caribbean Pork Sandwich.

The sandwich consisted of a slap of roasted pork topped with a healthy dose of sweet mango salsa. The pork and mango pair incredibly well, and this sandwich is no exception. My only problem with it was that the pork wasn't as tender as I would have liked. It wasn't exactly tough, but a longer roasting/marinating time could have made the pork a more standout component.

The roll was a lightly toasted sesame seed roll that didn't add too much to the mix, but wasn't bad either. I definitely preferred the Blackened Tuna Steak sandwich from their regular menu, which is also much more frequently available. If you make your way to Three Monkeys sometime, I can highly recommend that sandwich instead.

Despite this sandwich not living up to the promise of their other offerings, It is very easy to see that the standards that Three Monkeys' menu lives up to a very high, and delicious standard. It is absolutely worth the visit the next time you are in the Philadelphia area.

Until next week, Dear Readers...


Caribbean Pork Sandwich
*** 1/2 Stars
Three Monkeys Cafe
9645 James Street
Philadelphia, PA 19114
http://www.3monkeyscafe.com/index.php