The Sandwich Spot

Review #19

We tried going to the Sandwich Spot last weekend. The sign on the door as well as on their website says open Sundays until 5:00 pm.  But when we all arrived at 4:30 pm, we found out they closed at 3:00 pm!  Luckily we were all in the mood for pizza so we went back to Duffs.  It was just as good as last time, but add the vegan “Mother Earth” pizza as a winner!

Today we decided to get to the Sandwich Spot nice and early, with no chance of them being closed.  It was clean, cute and had ample indoor or outdoor seating.

Their huge menu is on the wall, and it will take you a while to read through all of  it. Here is just a sample.

You will need this key to decode the sauces.

We were told that the Dutch Crunch and sourdough breads are made in house, and we were steered in the direction of their Dutch Crunch which most of us ordered.  My son ordered The Hitman, a great sounding meatball sub.  After we all took our seats, they came to tell us that they were sorry but they just sold out of meatballs.  Did I mention that this was at 11:30 am?  And looking at the picture above, you can see there wasn’t much traffic to speak of.  Ran out you say? There must have been an entire football team arriving just before us at 11:00 am, all demanding meatballs.  After the look of horror dissipated off my boy’s face, he ordered a turkey sandwich with NOTHING ELSE ON IT.  The kind man felt so bad….or maybe he was just sucking it up for the blog….he offered us a very cool Sandwich Spot baseball cap.  Son said no thanks.  Hubby said hell yes.

Hubby ordered the Mulligan.  The Dutch Crunch bread looks like a giraffe.

Marilyn ordered The Heinsenberg on sourdough. Ooey, gooey, yummy!

Kelly & Joyce shared a #3, Cardiff Club. There is no shortage of meat on this one!

And Tracy and I shared, the very apropos, Hot Mess.  If you know us, there isn’t much explaining needed!

Honestly, I don’t even know what was on there, we ordered it on name alone, but it was warm, chickeny and slathered in sauces.  Tracy chose to eat her half daintily with knife and fork while I went all in with hands, a stack of napkins assisting the job.  The giraffe bread was soft in the center, but had a nice crunch to it, hence it’s real name and not “giraffe bread”.  I prefer the name giraffe bread.

There are 42 different sandwiches at The Sandwich Spot to choose from.  And right next door, we have Handles, with 50 different flavors.  Here is what I propose:  Sandwich Spot, come up with just 8 more sandwiches and then have suggested pairings for every single sandwich with your next door neighbor!  Is this brilliant?  I think so!  For instance, a Hot Mess might meld perfectly with Banana Cream Pie.  Joyce & Kelly’s Cardiff Club might be paired with German Chocolate Cake.  Each sandwich will have the exact right ice cream to pair with!  And since this is my idea, it seems only fitting that I am the one to come up with the pairings.  It will take a L-O-T of tastings, but I am up for the challenge!  Sandwich Spot, call me, we will talk.

Bottom line: Forget the chains.  Come to The Sandwich Spot for some local, great tasting, up-scaled sandwiches. They are plenty big to share, which not only justifies the $10ish price, it leaves you with room to head next door to Handles when you are done. If you can’t find street parking, go to the underground, there is usually plenty.  Sure a few mistakes were made, wrong closing time… no meatballs…but it’s how those mistakes were Handled that counts in sandwiches and in life.  Today they were handled with friendliness and a free hat.   And you thought you were just getting sandwich advice!

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Handles Ice Cream Part 2

Review #20

This is Handles at 11:00 am.

This is Handles from 11:15 am to closing.

For our second time through, ok, ok, maybe third time, who can be sure, we dabbled in some different flavors.

Mmmm

Mmmm Mmmm

Now, I could go on and on but I am going to stop here and simply tell you what you really want to know.  “Is it worth the line?” The answer is “YES”!  I urge you to take my advice from the review “Handles 18.5”, it really is the way to go.

Bottom Line:  Handles is unique because the ice cream is home made.  The flavors are packed with all the yummy goodies in it like candies, fudge and cookies.  The line is long, but can be bypassed if you are brave.  But there is just something cool about being outside, in your sweet Encinitas town, ocean breeze kissing your cheeks, standing in line with your community, waiting for something that makes everyone so happy.

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Next week, Sunday, September 17th at 8:00 am Ironsmith Coffee Roasters.  We were told to get there nice and early for the freshly baked breads which go fast!