All the fresh produce at The Spread is sourced from Farmer in the Dale, a local farmer's market that gets its produce from local farms. My Italian sub featured layers of ham, salami, and pepperoni, as well as a slice of provolone cheese. The sandwich was dressed with lettuce, tomato, onion, and green pepper. It was seasoned with mayo and Italian herb sauce. This was savory and tangy goodness. You can build your own sub at The Spread, and that's what I'm going to do next.
Location: The Spread, 66184 Pierson Blvd, Desert Hot Springs, California. Date: March 2, 2024.
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It's the ingredients that are chopped for this sandwich, not the hoagie roll itself. It seems to me to have similarities to another Italian inspired sandwich, the muffaletta, though this one had no olive salad in it. It had pepperoni, salami, ham, onion, romaine lettuce, and pepperoncini, all chopped up and spread on a hoagie roll with a dressing of mayo, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Italian seasoning (I could definitely taste oregano). It was salty, acidic, fresh, and spicy. The muffaletta is definitely noteworthy, and this sandwich came close.
Location: Spaghetti Western, 50048 29 Palms Highway, Morongo Valley, California. Date: January 28, 2024. Among cold cuts, pistachio mortadella ranks as one of my favorites. It's the crunch of the nuts that really make it for me. Then when you have it as a sandwich at a German deli with rye bread.....well, need I say more? I had everything on it, which was mustard, mayo, and a slice of cheese. Pistachio mortadella deserves its spot on my food blog.
Location: George's Market, 1023 Calimesa Blvd, Calimesa, California. Date: November 11, 2023. On the menu, these Greek meatballs were called spicy, but after talking with the waiter I realized that while there were many spices in them, none of them were hot. The meatballs were rolled in pita bread with tomato, lettuce, and a side of tzatziki sauce, and the sandwich was served with a side of Greek salad. This was all so delicious and refreshing. I thought I would have to take some home, but I ate it all, and it digested well.
Location: Santorini, 68375 E Palm Canyon Drive (111), Cathedral City, California. Date: October 18, 2023. I had this vegetarian take on the beefy ruben sandwich at a spa hotel in my home town of Desert Hot Springs. The rye bread from Aspen Mills (a local bakery) was stuffed with smoky tempeh (a fermented soy product), sauerkraut (of course), and a slice of white cheddar cheese. There was homemade special sauce in the sandwich, but I have no idea what it was. The tempeh was crumbled and mixed with aged cheddar, and it was heated up so the cheese melted and added moisture to the dry tempeh. The ruben was served with the traditional pickle spear that lent some crunch and welcome acidity.
Location: Azure Cafe at the Oasis Spa, 67589 Hacienda, Desert Hot Springs, California. Date: July 29, 2023. This refreshing Middle Eastern sandwich featured a generous smear of labneh over Arabic bread, and this cheese, that resembled a very creamy Greek yoghurt, was topped with zaatar, chopped tomato, cucumber, and fresh mint, and some whole kalamata olives. It was drizzled with olive oil. I could taste every ingredient: the fresh crunch of the cucumber, the creamy labneh (which was the kefir cheese), the thyme from the zaatar spice, and the olive oil. There was freshness from the tomato, salty brine from the olives, and it all worked so well; actually, it was even better than I thought it could be. This wrap featured great flavors of the Middle East in a healthy vegetarian package.
Location: Wrap Houz, 555 S Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California. Date: July 8, 2023. This was a hot link with cole slaw on the bottom and red onion and pickle slices on top. The link was smokey and spicy, and there was sourness and crunch from the pickles and onion and some sweetness and crunch from the slaw. This was some really good street food from a food truck that I discovered outside a bar I went to for a breakfast drink.
Location: Uncle D's Smokehouse BBQ & Grill @ Escapade Cocktail Lounge, 12347 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, California. Date: June 28, 2023. This sandwich was shaved tri tip steak with melted Swiss cheese on a brioche bun. It was served with au jus, which is why I ordered it (I love dipping), only to find out that the meat was so flavorful and tender that it didn't need the au jus! This place used to be fireman owned and operated, but it sold a few months ago to a police officer. Either way, they make everything from scratch. Nothing is ever frozen, and my hand cut fries were a star. None of the frozen skinny nonsense; these actually looked and tasted like potato. They brought ketchup to the table, but like the au jus it wasn't necessary. This is bar food at its best.
Location: The Station Taphouse, 41 W Ramsey Street, Banning, California. Date: June 27, 2023. This is street food that shows up every Monday outside The Craft Lounge in Beaumont. The Fry Bread Taco was Tonight's Special, and it came with refried beans, cheese, tomatillo sauce, and choice of meat. I chose the smoked tri tip, and when I bit into the taco I had an OMG moment. The generous portion of tri tip was tender and very smokey in the best way possible. This flavor could only come from a home smoker used lovingly. The fry bread was crispy, there was creaminess from the beans and cheese, and there was just the right amount of spicy heat. The taco was garnished with chopped tomato. If you get the chance, try this taco with the smoked tri tip; it should amaze you.
Location: Queso Gringo at The Craft Lounge, 690 Beaumont Avenue, Beaumont, California. Date: June 19, 2023. A bartender told me that this was the best sandwich in the valley. While I might dispute that, it was very good, and it had a superior interest factor as it came sandwiched between latkes (potato pancakes) instead of bread. The latkes were as thick as bread and quite crispy on the outside. For the meat you can choose corned beef or pastrami. I chose the pastrami, and I'm sure it was house made. The dish came with dill pickle spears, sauerkraut, cole slaw, sour cream, and apple sauce. The crunchy pickle spears were almost certainly house made, and three different kinds of mustard were on offer: deli, sweet and hot (my favorite), and yellow. I enjoyed dipping the latkes into the sour cream and apple sauce and eating the meat with the mustard. As you can see from the photo, there was a lot of thinly sliced pastrami between the potato latkes. This sandwich feeds two.
Location: Sherman's Deli, 401 E Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, California. Date: June 17, 2023. |
AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
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