I gotta say, I love me a cold cut sandwich. Good bread, all the toppings, lots of meat and cheese. Along side a bag of chips, a pickle, and a soda and I’m in heaven. And of course I put the chips on the sandwich – gotta have that crunch. These days I’m much more careful about what I shovel into my body, so, needless to say, cold cuts are never on the list, save for the rare exception… which took place last week when I visited All About the Bread on Melrose.
This for me is the quintessential sub shop. No frills, no bs. What they do is sandwiches, and that is all you need. No table service, you order at the counter and they call your name when it’s ready. It’s kind of like the LA version of a New York Deli – everything you’d expect from a good deli in NYC, except it’s all pretty and white and spread out. Plus they have a super fancy touch-screen soda machine. And did I mention their mayo is house-made and vegan? So LA.
Immediately their hot pastrami sandwich caught my eye. I looooooove pastrami, and apparently they fly it in from the east coast. Drool. But I was appalled to see they serve it with pepperoncinis and pickles… ew. As a former New Yorker, I couldn’t support such a travesty. Besides, I really wanted a cold sub, so I went with The Godfather: spicy capicola, proscuitto, genoa salami, ham, and provolone. I of course get it with the works. I gotta say, it really is all about their warm, crispy, one-of-a-kind bread that they bake fresh every 30 minutes. Every bite crunches. Every bite is amazing. Accompanied with some salt & pepper kettle chips and a Mexican Coke? Sex. I actually went here once before many months ago and had their Tomato Basil Mozarella. Also totally delicious – they’ve got your back, vegetarians.
And the icing on this meat-filled cake? The cost. $6.50 for my regular sized sub. Starving artist = happy. The bigger one was around $2 more (I think). For that low of a price, you could definitely frequent this place numerous times per week, particularly if you stinge it up and bring your own drink.
The verdict: whether you’re a starving artist or a corporate businessman, All About the Bread is definitely worth your time.
All About the Bread
7111 Melrose Ave (at LaBrea)
Los Angeles 90046
www.allabouthebread.com