A lot like Cuba: Hard to get to, worth the trip.

The Cubano @ Ironside

JEAN

Club Sandwich outing #2 took our small, but brave little group all the way over to Ironside at the intersection of 2nd Street and near-baseball-stadium street (i can't remember.) it's far enough from work that we had to cab it. but, to be fair, i think everything's at cabable distance. the interior is cool — almost like a larger version of Outer Lands in the way, way Outer Sunset.old, driftwood-y pieces of wood line the interior walls. and it operates the same way as Outer Lands, too: you order at the counter and take your number to your table.

needless to say, a bottle of white wine was in order (when isn't it?) so we toasted to our future stomach contents: the Cubano. That's what we were there for...well, all of us except for Meaghan who wanted the meatball sub because she's anti-pork. Dammit Meaghan! why don't you tell us these things before we make the official sandwich selection!

Anyway, here's my official review: pretty frickin' delicious. well worth the travel. i'd go back anytime for this or one of their other sandwiches. the only complaint is that the roasted pork was a little TOO porky. i know that's an odd thing to say, but it was. we all noticed it. it kind of robs the sandwich of it's other delicious ham and cheesey goodness and overwhelms it with porkiness. however, it was still tasty, the meat was nicely moist and the bread was nice and crispy on the outside.

incidentally, Meaghan's meatball sub was OUTSTANDING. that bitch always wins, doesn't she?

let's go back!

3.5 pickles.

TANNER

All I can remember of this day is that I was sitting at an edit house, making plans to do Club Sandwich to get the Cubano and then got a SURPRISE call from Mark Rurka who said "Remember that review you've been asking for weekly for the last year and a half.. well, it's at 2pm."

So logically one would reschedule in order to prepare for a review almost 2 years in the waiting. Luckily I've always had my priorities in order. So sandwich it was.

I thought it was quite good. I think the other members had trouble with the "porkiness" of some of the meat (as Jean stated.) I feel tho, that while the sweet clean ham was deee-recious, that the sandwich wouldn't have amount to much if not paired with that darker (greyish), roasted (dry), shredded (shredded) pork-meat. It reminded me of a lot of couples I know, a really rad person paired with someone, well darker and probably not super healthy for them. Actually no, who am I kidding? It reminded me of my own romantic patterns and how I really need to not go back down the road of dating the "bad boy."

Cos while it makes a really tasty sandwich for you, your friends will, eventually, complain about that dark meat, and then lunch just gets uncomfortable.

This lunch wasn't uncomfortable cos there was wine. And eventually they stopped judging my temporary happiness.

4.5 Pickles

MARK

What's with the unflattering pictures of me?? I know what you're thinking "But Mark, THAT'S what you look like." And my response would be "(sadface)." If I could figure out how to take them down I would, but jesus this code is insane. Seriously, you should see it back here, it's the Matrix.

I had all but forgotten about Ironside. When Jean told me she'd written a review of Ironside I said "Oh, well I'll have to go there." So, either they need to think of a catchier name or I need to stop taking so many pills. You decide!!

The place was open, airy, light. I like that. Like being outside but not. Like a summer camp for Urban Foodies. Well, there's an idea!

I wanted to love the Cuban, I really did. The bread/cheese/butter ratio was perfection. Crispy, moist. The ham was freshly cured to be just salty enough. But the Pork. A lot has already been said about the Pork already. I'm in the "no thanks" camp. I tried to get into it in the moment. I thought maybe it was me, it was MY FAULT for not liking the pork. Like I was the only kid at camp that didn't love Jesus. Or at least love him in the right way.

Maybe my palette isn't refined enough to appreciate the pork. Maybe it's just shitty pork. Maybe that pork was rancid and we are all lucky to be alive. Regardless,
I wouldn't order the sandwich again. And that's a pretty big fail in my opinion.

The Meatball sandwich, on the other hand, was outta sight. Loved it. I'd like to go back and try other things on the menu, but let's be honest, the shit is far. Too far for lunch. For dinner maybe, but not for lunch. Do they serve dinner? Let me check.

ooOOoo... yes they do! Looks cute. Lamb sausage pizza, asparagus & lemon risotto. They also have a happy hour: $1 off drafts, $5 off pitchers. Very promising.

3 Pickles

IF WE WERE LOBSTER, WE'D BE ON A ROLL.

The Lobster Roll @ Anchor & Hope (San Francisco, CA)

JEAN:

after a brisk walk (read: run) to the restaurant, we were very much in need of some refreshments. i was glad to say my friends, Paco & Lola, were able to help by providing us with their delicious Albariño. asked to describe it (Paco & Lola Albariño, that is) some people called it "gulpable." other, more creative people dubbed it "stone rosey" and "springy." whatever. i'm not here to judge people, just food. we WERE here to try the lobster roll, after all — wait, so why the hell are Meaghan and Mark getting a freaking vegetable BLT to split?! to make me furious?! probably.

the Lobster roll is really the only sandwich option for serious Club Sandwichers, right Tans? it's lobster, cushioned inside a yummy, eggy, grilled hotdog bun, surrounded by Old Bay potato chips and tangy cole slaw. how could you resist? on first bite you get a big dose of lemony, meaty heaven. my only concern was its structure. the scoop of lobster was placed just atop the bun and i wished it was smushed farther down because my "filling" kept leaping from it's bun back onto the plate. maybe it was just afraid of my mouth...my point is, shove the lobster further into the bun because otherwise more than half the bun is empty. as i said at lunch, it's like buying a 3-floor building and only occupying the top floor.

i give it 3 pickle chips.

MARK:

Anchor & Hope is yet another nautical theme restaurant in the heart of the bustling Financial District (what is it with San Francisco and the ocean anyway? Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, the Ferry Building... I dare someone to tell me why we have so many seafood restaurants here?!). We were greeted at the door by what i would lovingly call "a wench." She showed us to our table and handed us a shot of orange juice "fight off scurvy while at sea." Not amused bouche. Our waiter was dressed unconvincingly as a pirate. The peg leg was fake, the hat was 2 sizes too small and his "parrot" was actually a chicken dipped in green food coloring. But I did appreciate having to "walk the plank" to get to the restroom. Nice touch! I didn't know whether or not to pee or pray for a Peter Pan rescue.

Jean picked a delicious wine for us- "Paco Rabanne" They make cologne as well, the wine is far superior. Maybe wine is just un-ripened cologne? I guess we'll never know. Since I've had the lobster roll 6 or 7 times, i thought I'd split it with Meaghan and get the vegetarian sandwich on the menu that came with lime chips. Those sounded delicious and I was absolutely right. Light, salty and with little bits of lime rind. The vegetarian sandwich (which will not get a real review due to club Sandwich guidelines) was pedestrian.

The lobster roll was just as lovely as I remembered it. Big eggy brioche that hold ups to the solidly dressed lobster bits. Mild for sure, but in a decidedly authentic way. The coleslaw was unoriginal, and the Bay chops are no match for the lime ones I devoured, but I was so full from the 2 sandwich halves that I didn't mind that the sides were lacking. By the way, don't freak out when the waiter hands you the bill brandishing a giant hook-hand. It's perfectly harmless and gives you a nice scare to sober you enough to return to work.

I give it 3 pickle chips.

MEAG:

Anchor & Hope, yes another nautical themed restaurant but, in all fairness nothing like Crabby Joe's just a short walk away. It's filled with lovely little nautical surprises, like the light bulbs. Frosted glass with names of fish and other "sea like" words etched into them. Delightful.

We started with the yummiest white wine - thanks Jean. It was like the server was the Kool-Aid man on a hot day. I couldn't drink it fast enough. Refreshing, crisp and a perfect compliment to the half Lobster Roll I was about to order. Half because a) I'm (according to Jean) a food robot and b) well there is no b). The Lobster Roll was almost as delicious as I had imagined. The brioche was toasted and buttery, the perfect weight to accompany the mild and meaty lobster laid gently into it. Paired with a crunchy slaw and Bay chips (which I ate without any hesitation) I was wishing I just ordered a whole one. But as a food robot, I would have been overcome with guilt. And it's not like the wine, bread with extra salt salty butter, two types of chips and two half sandwiches wasn't enough.

I give it 3 pickle chips keeping in mind we have nothing else to compare it to yet.

TANNER:

My blog post is entitled "Where's the Cheese?"

I've been dating a lactose intolerant Mexican for about a year. I've been doing things like ordering nachos "dry" and pissing off line cooks as I attempt to reinvent the quesadilla.

So it was much to my disappointment that on one of the first food dates I had outside the clutches of my cheese-less romance, the prescribed sandwich, the famed Lobster Roll, was a far cry from what I had imagined.

I Anchored my butt to the seat & Hoped for a bubbly concoction of lobster surrounded by a rich white fondue. Slightly singed at the top, like a Brulee, cushioned by a crisp and buttery thick cut of angel soft brioche, it would have been not unlike a savory cheesy gnocchi, or say the world's best artichoke dip, except minus the artichokes and the dipping.

Unfortunately what I got was a borderline tasteless (and you can be quite certain cheese-less) chilled lobster salad stuck inside a funny looking (but not altogether awful) square hot dog bun.

And so the Lobster Roll is getting 2 pickles. Sue me.

THE MEMBERS OF CLUB SANDWICH, A SANDWICH CLUB.

Meaghan, Jean, Tanner and Mark. (from left to right, including the reflection in the mirror.)
nothing really qualifies us to be sandwich critics other than a lifetime of experience as food eaters. that's why we prefer to be called Sandwich Appreciators.