Picked up a “the sandwich” there on the way to a San Gabriel hike with my dog. Ended up giving the dog half the sandwich. It wasn’t anywhere near as magical as it used to be. Maybe its because Ross isn’t making them anymore. Maybe its because they are bigger and the bread is different. The mortadella overpowered everything else so it tasted like a bologna sandwich - minus the Miracle Whip. Could barely taste the olive oil and the cappacola was the merest hint. Ross was there and pleasant as always, and it still is a great place to find Italian ingredients, but I didn’t even want to eat the sandwich. I would love to be wrong about this; maybe it was an off day, so if others have a different experience please chime in.
Square bread or oblong shaped bread?
Square…
It wasn’t just the bread. The exquisite balance that “the sandwich” had is gone. I mentioned this before, but it tasted like a bologna sandwich without Miracle Whip. I hate Miracle Whip. My dog liked it.
“Okay I ate the sandwich - now throw the stick…I’m waiting…”
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The square one is vastly inferior to the original one, which has the better bread, less meat, better balance and is cheaper. I would reserve judgment until getting an original one first. Although I think the oblong one is still tasty, it doesn’t seem to have the same balance as it once did, perhaps because they are being produced in much larger quantities? Not sure, but give the oblong, football shaped one a try. The square one is just not very tasty.
Agreed. My dog liked it, although he likes anything except dogfood (what is it with dogfood? he likes treats - he hates dogfood).
I drive to Roma’s Deli for “The Sandwich” 3x a month when I’m in the area. After I tried The Ciabatta Sandwich once, i never picked it up from the counter anymore. I thought it was just my own personal taste.
“The old man must think Blueys are a bunch of drongos. He calls this brown-eyed mullet, dog food? Oy - what say you share that cut lunch, mate?”
Staring you down - hard.
“Ahhh - yummo! Old man gave in again - mind over matter, mate!”
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Brilliant interpretation. Rupert would like to appoint you his primary translator.
Heelers are so frickin’ smart and equally strong-willed and independent. I feel for their “masters.”
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Anyway, in response to the OP, the answer is definitely yes. If it’s on ciabatta bread I wouldn’t buy it. On any other bread, gotta get it with extra olive oil. Prepare for an oily mess later.
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Actually Rupert has a highly developed superego. He gets very ashamed when he does anything wrong, and never wants to be more than 20 feet away from me.
It’s such a shame. I think success spoiled what was a unique product. Oh well.
Thus, the nickname, “velcro-dogs.”
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That’s hilarious. My wife burst out laughing when I told her that. Thanks!
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Try the sub sandwich at Tony’s Italian Deli in Montebello for a sandwich that is a reasonable substitute. They bake their own bread and it consists of cold cuts, cheese and olive oil. I’ve been coming here since I was in high school. IMHO better than Roma Deli.
Tony’s Italian Deli
2012 W. Whittier Boulevard
Montebello, CA
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Just picked up a couple of sandwiches today. While I lined up to pay, I kinda felt the softness of the sandwiches inside the paper wrapper.
After I came home, true enough, i found out the bread was not the crusty one I used to enjoy. Did they run out or switched to a different supplier or keeping costs down?
Rosario was making the sandwiches last time I was in, and I asked where the good crusty rolls were. He looked annoyed and waved the sandwich at me – “Try it, it’s GOOD!” After some back and forth, and his first claiming that he can’t get them anymore and then allowing that he stopped getting them, he went into a big fuss about how the crusts got piles of crumbs all over and he got tired of it. He kept waving the damn sandwich at me so I took it home. Okay, it was better than those awful leathery-tough seeded rolls, but the magic is gone. I will go back, and I will tell him it’s okay but no longer great, and that I don’t give a rat’s ass if I’m hip-deep in crumbs. All I care about is this: is my mouth happy? Is my mouth thrilled and delighted? THAT is how things were with the great rolls. Maybe he had cleanup issues that drew attention from a Health Dept. inspector, I don’t know. But those magic rolls are apparently gone for good. And I guess so am I.
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