Sandwich Week: Friday

Sorry.

I meant to post last Friday.

Really.

In fact, I had this whole plan to surprise you with a non-SF sandwich, but I just couldn't get it together logistically. Since the weekend has been over, I've been shoveling shit at work and only now have I had a chance to engage you, my dear reader. So…

Anyway, (clears throat) Sandwich Week: Friday

Last Friday I wasn't in San Francisco. Friday I, along with Bruce and Karen, was in Southern California for a 3-day weekend of aebleskivers, sunshine, and surly waitresses. More about that later.

On our way down to Solvang, we stopped at the Corner View in San Luis Obispo. Before I get into that, are all college towns in California the same or what? SLO was like a smaller, condensed, yet more racially homogenous, cleaner, and less seedier Berkeley. In fact, you practically had the same characters, right down to the "punk-until-graduation" types and the loser spare-changers.

Granted, SLO was not Berkeley (less druggy, less transient murderer-ish), but noticing a whole busload of prisoners from the California Men's Colony riding through the middle of town on a sunny afternoon, perhaps maybe it's getting there. Because my initial knowledge of SLO was knowing there was a prison there, I always assumed it would be your typical California prison town ie., Corcoran, Chowchilla, Crescent City, and Soledad. However, low and behold, it was a damn college town!

Who. Would've. Thunk?

While the location of the Corner View was central and while we had a nice window seat (actually, a "corner view"), the first thing we really noticed was the lack of service. And when we got it, it was in the form of a very brusk waitress who seemed as if any minute she was going to snap. Good thing a prison's nearby.

Granted, we did get there shortly after 1 PM and maybe she had just busted her ass for the lunch crowd, but when we were there it wasn't that busy and doesn't the lunch rush usually go well beyond 1 PM?

The special for the day at the Corner View was a "slow roasted, pulled pork" sandwich with barbecue sauce. Now, being from the South, I have a completely different understanding than most "Westerners" as to what constitutes a barbecued pulled pork sandwich. First, you must be able to taste the pork, and you must be able to taste the smokiness (if truly barbecued) or roastiness (I know that's not a word, but) on it. Second, the barbecue sauce isn't that sweet (unless you're having the "Texas-style") and I'm a stickler for the vinegar North Carolina-style BBQ sauce. Third, the slaw goes on the sandwich. It's not an afterthought or plate dressing.

To make a short story even shorter, my BBQ pulled pork sandwich at the Corner View was overstuffed with something resembling the texture of pulled pork, though soaked in a sauce that seemed part ketchup, part Bullseye BBQ sauce. The slaw was a "Thai-inspired" slaw dressed with sesame oil. Talk about con-Fusion.

I didn't bother with a photo.

Bruce had the bacon cheddar burger. He says it wasn't "fabulous", but mostly that it was better than a fast food burger. *Now that's a standard to live up to.* I think Karen had the same.

So that was San Luis Obispo. A whole, what 45 minutes (?), and no, we didn't stop by the Madonna Inn.

Madonna, Madonna, Madonna!

More on the Solvang trip soon, but in the meantime, check out this fascinatingly disturbing article from this week's Bay Guardian about toxic Mexican candy.

And as a tease, check out the photo below of an old-school Chow Mein (read: gweilo grub) joint smack dab in the middle of Lompoc.



Suh-weet!

If they ever go out of business, will someone please start either (A) a tin toy store, (B) a joint to eat out of toilet bowls, or (C) a new and/or experimental music venue?

Note: Must demand original signage and possibly interiors.

Corner View Cafe
BBQ pulled pork sandwich / $8.95 plus tip
San Luis Obispo, CA

And that's it for Sandwich Week kiddos, because on the 6th and 7th day I rest. Sorry for the Friday delay and hope you enjoyed it!

k.