Northern California Sandwiches

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, stuffed some meat in some bread while gambling, and thus here we have it, one of Britain's most significant contributions to Gastronomy. These are my favorite sandwiches in Northern California, beginning with ordinary ones to ones that can only be loosely said to be sandwiches.

Pictured above and below is a Farm Burger (on Gilman in Berkeley)--grass-fed, dry-aged and freshly ground. I had them add two free ingredients, roasted garlic and smoked paprika aioli. Farm Burger is a national chain from NC. This $7 burger is much better than In & Out, Five Guys, Nation's, Austin's P. Terry's, really on par with much more expensive Kobe Beef burgers. Great salads, too, btw. 

Italian subs from the Temescal Genova Deli, which closed last week after nearly a century, sadly. Above is their Genove Salami specialty sandwich on ciabbata, below is a Roast Beef on sourdough. Italian subs from old school places like Genova and Molinari's in North Beach are on such an exalted level, that most other Italian subs I've had are like bad parodies of the real thing. The first time I had one of these I felt for those moments the kind of passions that lead people to love.

Pastrami Reuben at Thistle Meats in Petaluma. Freaking PERFECT. I've made hundreds of these in the industry, but you can't come close to this quality without the calibre of these ingredients: local & sustainable and utterly delicious. Right on Petaluma's main square across the street from the Seed Bank.   Thistle Meats is fabulous, and so are many of the other restaurants, cafes and local grocery stores down there.

Saigon Sandwich, Eddy & Larkin, the gold standard for Bahn Mi, as far as I know, in the United States. I always tip well and get the most expensive one--perfect fresh crisp baguette, unctuous pate, thinly sliced pork, jalapenos so spicy they'll grow new hairs on your body, fresh cilantro and carrots. Sometimes there's this freaky Asian homeless guy out front semi-screaming and chanting in a strange yoga pose. The ladies who work here are some of the nicest, sweetest people I've ever met. How they can keep up that demeanor in such a rough part of the Tenderloin is amazing.

Not that far away in the Saigon Town part of the Tenderloin is The Chairman, famous for their dish, the Chairman Bao. I first encountered them at last year's Maker Faire in San Mateo--their food truck was easily the best of those I tried. Well, their bricks and mortar location on Larkin is fantastic too, basically outstanding Asian Fusion, along the lines of NY's David Chang & Austin's East Side Kings. Pictured above is their Braised Pork Belly on Bun with pickled daikon. Sublime.

Speaking of buns, here's one of many great versions of Peking Duck available throughout the Bay Area.

Dumplings. Essentially the same idea as a sandwich, but of a much older origin. Hand-pulled dumplings from San Dong Best on Geary.

Shan Dong Deluxe, Sunset neighborhood in SF.

Oxtail dumplings from Kirin in Albany.

Lamb dumplings, China Village in Albany.

Tacos. Something else very sandwich-like. Here's the lone entry from my current hometown of Vallejo, CA, these are various sorts of tacos from Rancho Viejo on Broadway. The one on the top left is what you want to order, trust me: fish tacos, Baja-style. Best version of fish tacos I've ever had, by a long margin.

But for the best tacos in the Bay Area, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind, at least based on what I've tried and hear about, that this place, El Paisano, in the Fruitvale area of Oakland, is where you wanna go. Every type of taco is great, though I particularly love their Lengua.

Finally, here's the most radical "sandwich"--Nam Tok, a rural Thai rice dish, rice with peanuts, chiles, preserved pork, rice power, lime juice, lemongrass, green onion, served with lettuce. You're supposed to eat the Nam Tok with the lettuce as the bread. Light, refreshing, and satisfying. Every version I've had is different from all the rest. This is the first version we had, from Chai Thai in Oakland.