I’ve had a few bad take-out experiences at the Woodhouse on Fillmore, including one time this past summer when I ordered separate Maine lobster and toasted-buttered Dungeness rolls for pick-up, and got two gross King crab melts with heavy layers of plasticky yellow Kraft looking cheese on top instead. I ate about a third of one of them before deciding it was totally disgusting and giving the rest to the homeless guy who sleeps next door. The most frustrating part about it was that when I called to complain about the order mixup, the woman who served me acknowledged that she made a mistake but wouldn’t refund me over the phone and said I’d have to come in again to swipe my card, which is really stupid. I took sandwich credit instead but then every time I’ve tried a sandwich on Fillmore, I’ve been disappointed. Their french fries suck too… and I’m not crazy about their chowder either. I do like the Castro restaurant for their raw bar and Louies; especially before a film if I can get there early enough to beat the long queues.
Whoa, THAT’S a mix-up. And those are not inexpensive items. Hate to imagine being the people who had their taste-buds on the gooey-cheesy setting and unpacked nothing more than melted butter. (Though fish melts of any kind are definitely not my thing, a craving’s a craving.)
Service really does make a difference. We get take-out from La Mission maybe once a week and theydo make mistakes, like forgetting the chips and salsa. But they’re SO NICE – and their food is delicious and reasonably priced – about making it up to us. Once my husband actually drove back and I think we got comped for the whole (embarrassingly) large order. Mostly he just says, “Hey, you guys [error],” and they offer desserts or whatever. Everyone’s very pleasant about it. It adds a lot to your day.
Oh to be fair Woodhouse was nice enough about the mixup. I just thought that it was a huge inconvenience to ask me to go all the way back to swipe my card again for a refund. Woodhouse is kind of out of the way and was only convenient for take-out when my wife would occasionally go to some yoga studio in the neighborhood, so it was kind of a hassle to truck all the way back for their error. I would’ve expected that they could easily take care of it on their end. As you said, it wasn’t exactly a cheap order at around $25 for each sandwich, sides, etc. Anyhow, I took restaurant credit which was used on a second take-out order after another one of my wife’s yoga classes, and I’m sorry to say it was not much better. I’m with you btw - cheese and fish just don’t mix; at least not in a sandwich! Yeccch!!
Not very French. But echo’ing @Mr_Happy’s love for the buttermilk chicken sandwich with slightly spicy coleslaw from Grégoire. Got mine in Berkeley.
Chicken was moist and crispy. The star was the coleslaw- it was tangy, mildly spicy, and very delicious.
Augie’s Smoked Meats is my choice for pastrami - Augie’s Montreal Deli at 875 Potter Street in Berkeley.
For best value, I order The Meat Plate $15.
Craving an extra pickle or more coleslaw? Just ask!
Finally tried @atomica’s suggestion of [Canyon Market (and the Glen Canyon Park).
Got 3 hot sandwiches to eat fresh and warm in the car and we all thought they were quite fab.
Turkey & bacon with sundried tomato spread and cheddar. Originally got this as the safe choice for the kids but it turned out to be the favorite for the adults. The intensely-tomato-ey sundried tomato spread was great. And it elevated the normally safe and boring turkey bacon sandwich to a whole new level. All sandwiched between crisped up grilled soudough.
Steak & onion with caramalized onion, provolone, dijon mustard, mayo on a baguette. At first the sundried tomato spread totally overshadowed the flavors of this sandwich and I thought it was a bit bland. But after a few bites on its own, the subtlety of the flavors shined through. The steak was well marinated. We liked it.
Chicken & gruyere with bacon on a focaccia. This turned out to be the relatively safe choice. The gruyere was my favorite part of the sandwich.
Wonder who supplied their bread and the cheese for the sandwiches, because those were very good.
Canyon Market sandwiches can supply for a fancy picnic lunch at the nearby Glen Canyon Park. The park itself is fab too.
Pre-made cold sandwiches.
Canyon bakes all their own bread (but they get bagels from House of Bagels). My Friday morning routine is to walk my dog down and buy a sourdough baguette for my daughter, they’re my favorite baguette in SF, grab one next time you are in.
I’m partial to the No. 23 - Salami and Coppa with balsamic vinaigrette, provolone, and olive tapenade on ciabatta (which used to be the No. 6 - their sandwich numbering system is a mystery to me).
Have you had the tuna melt? That’s a hard sandwich to find, much less a tasty one that doesn’t rely on canned tuna.
No, but I do like tuna melts so will give it a try sometime.
Reuben, Canyon Market. Really good, Canyon takes care to make their sandwiches right with high quality ingredients.
Where is Canyon Market?
Glen Park neighborhood, San Francisco
Be still my heart.
That’s a good looking Reuben.
Yeah they do it right, bread is toasted so it doesn’t get too soggy from the kraut which had a sharp tang to it, high quality Gruyère, melted, etc.
the banh mi at Charles Phan’s newest - Chuck’s Takeaway.
it’s pricey, but bread is spot on - made in-house, and all the meats were fresh and delicate. only thing missing for me on this were pickled carrots/daikon.
the chicken pate was my favorite part.
We also really liked the Japanese style egg sandwich:
Creamy but not too, beautiful orange-yolked eggs, and again, fresh, in-house made, pillowy bread.
I also tried Jo Jo’s Bollito last week - braised beef belly - incredibly tender, with a surprisingly spicy enough salsa verde. needed a touch of salt, but otherwise swoony in its extreme juiciness.
I want a real bar and grill type done on a flat top and broiler.
That is tasty tuna though.
Is a shawarma a sandwich? Lamb and beef shawarma, Shawarmaji, Oakland, CA.
This is “arabi style” - cut up and served with tahini and toum sauces, potato salad and house pickled veggies. I remembered to ask for hot sauce this time, the shawarma needs it for the richness. Toum and pickled veggies are boldly flavored, I like that they don’t dumb things down. Prices have gone up quite bit since I was last there (before Esquire named them one of 2021’s best new restaurants).
