Hey @paranoidgarliclover – We stopped into Gelson’s in SaMo while we were in the area recently to try out that special you mentioned, but the closest thing we could find was a full sandwich with two sides for $9.99. That worked out fine though, as my wife and I were splitting it, so it was basically like two small meals for $5 each. After I had the deli guy make our sandwich, I found out I could’ve had him add avacado for free, which I’d skipped because I assumed it would cost extra, so next time I’ll probably get a sandwich with avo on it.
Anyway, both the sandwich and the sides were very tasty–the pesto pasta was particularly good I thought–and it was just the right amount of food for lunch for the two of us, so I’m chalking it up as another good recommendation from this thread!
@Neekoman and @Ns1: I don’t think the menu lists a half sandwich option at the Century City or Encino Gelson’s, either.
However, Century City will spontaneously ask you if you want a half sandwich; at the Encino, I have to specify it (and I never knew they even offered it until I was telling one of the employees that a full sandwich was too big; she said, “You can order a half sandwich”).
Next time you’re there, specifically ask for a half sandwich + 2 sides (or even just call the deli to save a trip) to see if they’ll do it. I’ve never been to the SaMo one (I didn’t even know they had one there!), but I’m 99% sure it’ll work. Let us know!
Edit: basically, the half sandwich + 2 sides is an “off menu” item.
If they have a grill back there, you can also ask them to grill the sandwich (they don’t have a grill at the Century City one).
Gelson’s has an excellent selection of quality produce; while they aren’t cheap they are competitive. I can usually get items like frizee and baby artichokes I can’t find elsewhere. They do a Hatch green chile roast every year, and their prices are much better than Bristol Farms, https://www.gelsons.com/blog/Hatch-Chile-Roasting-Coming-to-Gelson’s.