Culture Connoisseur: Ike’s Place

I love a good sandwich, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there’s an Ike’s Place in Southern California.

Ike’s Place is a very Northern California thing, but it’s slowly making its way down the coast. I first went to an Ike’s Place in San Francisco, and went to the Westwood one on Saturday. It was just as good after a long morning at the Getty Museum as it was in the late afternoon looking at the city at the top of Corona Heights. I recommend the Stephan Jenkins or the Paul Reubens, but everything is so good that you can’t really good wrong.

There are a few things I like about Ike’s Place:

It tastes WAY better than Subway.

That’s enough for me to like it.

It’s not cheap, but you can get two meals out of it.

 I bought a Stephan Jenkins (grilled tomatoes, pesto, provolone cheese and turkey) and a water, which ended up being about $10. But I ate half at lunch and the other half the next day, and I have to tell you, it was almost better.

The bread is to die for.

Get the Dutch crunch bread. It’s totally worth the calories.

The Dirty Secret Sauce.

I don’t want to know what’s in it, but it’s like a souped-up mayo.

And they give you a treat.

They stuck a caramel apple pop in my to-go bag. (Granted, I gave it to my mom, but the fact they gave me any candy at all was a very impressive gesture.)

Do you have a favorite independent sandwich shop? Tell me about it in the comments.