Carey and I decided that in our time off between school and the beginning of residency (and when we’re actually in the country) that we would try to tour the great sandwich locations of the greater Los Angeles area. So you know, I love good food of most backgrounds even though I am a picky eater, but I have a special place in my heart for a good sandwich. There is something about its simplicity and combination of flavors that makes the sandwich the go-to food for me. I’m no restaurant reviewer, so bear with me.

In this first installment of this on-going series, I’ll discuss two locations we’ve visited.

Porto’s Bakery (Glendale)

Porto’s is a Cuban bakery and cafe that appears to do most of its business during the lunch hours. Well, it closes at 6pm on weekdays, so it obviously isn’t catering to the dinner crowd. We’ve eaten there twice in the past month and I must say I am ashamed I haven’t been there in the prior four years. Both sandwiches I ate—the Pan con Lechon and the Media Noche—were excellent. The pork on both was juicy and delicious. The Pan con Lechon is more of a loose meat type of sandwich whereas the Media Noche also has ham and mayonaise and makes for a more textured experience. The Media Noche also comes with mustard, but I hate mustard of all kinds, so I cannot give a decent review to that. It is a packed restaurant whether you go there on a weekday or a weekend, but the wait is worth it as are the treats from the bakery, which display excellent artistry. Also, the sandwiches come with plantain chips, a fun twist on traditional American side dishes. The chips only add to the uniqueness of the cuisine, which is familiar, but wonderfully different. By the way, the potato balls are astounding and it’s always worth ordering one and eating it while waiting at your table for your sandwich.

The Apple Pan (West Los Angeles)

The Apple Pan may serve one of the best burgers if not the best burgers I’ve had in Los Angeles. The Apple Pan has been around forever and when you walk into its perfectly symmetrical lunch counter dining room, you get the sense that if you visited fifty years ago, not much would be different. The burgers are juicy and have a great mix of fresh ingredients. Both Carey and I had the Hickory burger which is slathered in barbecue sauce and comes with Tillamook cheddar. The meat is warm and the lettuce is cool and crisp. I know some may argue that the hamburger really isn’t a sandwich but belongs in its own category and I could agree. Still, it’s meat, some fixin’s, and sauce between two pieces of bread (in this case a wonderfully toasted bun), so it is at least a cousin of the sandwich, if not a sibling. The fries are good, but not out of this world. The waiters pour your catsup (ketchup) for you, but that’s about as classy as it gets. Everyone sits at the counter and we had to wait as it’s basically first come, first served. Don’t expect to get a big group sittting together during the lunch rush.