Fat Sal's Deli, Pacific Beach, San Diego, CA

The Front Door No One Uses

 Sometimes you just feel the need for something that's bad for you.  You know what I mean, something that goes beyond the bounds of unhealthy and slips into down right disgustingly decadent.  Something that you don't want to know how many calories went into it, or how it will make you feel afterwards.  Something with the word "Fat" in the title, which is how the wife and I wound up at Fat Sal's Deli.

Packed until we got there, must have just missed the lunch crowd.

I usually don't go to downtown Pacific Beach as it is a royal pain to find parking.  This time I didn't care.  I'd just run a good eight miles, half it uphill, and my body was screaming for something bad for me, which is after all half the reason I exercise anyway.  After crusing around for a good ten minutes to find a parking spot my wife and I walked up to Fat Sal's.  Though it label's itself a deli you won't find any blocks of chicken or ham to be carved.  Everything is done in the back and most of the ingredients aren't the type you'll find in a deli anyway.

A large opening in led into pretty much brand new tables bolted to the ground and a long legged stools to sit on.  We walked up to the cash register in the back, made our order, and then ambled on down to a recently vacated seat near the front, the perfect spot for people watching.  About 20 minutes later our sandwhich came out.  Now this is where it gets good and decadent.

How can something so small looking be so bad for you?

I had decided to go with the Fat Sal.  It was an "extra wide" garlic bun filled with roast beef, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, fries, brown gravy, and mayo.  Wow that's a mouth full.  It was stuffed, literally with everything that was bad for you.  I took a big bite and managed to get a piece of roast beef, mozzarella stick, and onion ring.  I got to admit when I list of ingredients online I wondered if they could really make it work, but after the first bite I realized they had.  It was actually pretty good.  The only thing I didn't like about it was the lack of roast beef.  It was like they sacrificed a delicious cut of meat in order to put the cheaper fried food into the sandwich.

The Fat Sal

My wife settled on the Fat Anthony which had chicken fingers, mozarella sticks, fries, marinara, on top of ham, genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone, sweet peppers (thought she always holds the peppers), shredded lettuce, tomato, and red wine vinaigrette.  Half of that belongs to another hero sandwich in and of itself.  I took a bite of hers and though it wasn't bad but I liked mine better.  I put it down to not being a big fan of marinara in a sandwich.

The Fat Anthony

After we had finished eating we ambled out fat and happy, only to see "supposedly" Fat Sal just outside hustling a few departing patrons to "foursqure" and "Facebook" the hell out his place.  Normally that would be a big turn off for me, but this time it was nice to see an owner really pushing his business to succeed.  "Fat Sal" managed to do it without being a total jerk about it.

Outside of the sandwiches being good but not great, I really liked Fat Sal's.  It had a nice open PB atmosphere, the tables were clean, and the people were nice.  I'll probably head back there the next time I feel the need to eat something that I have no question is horrible for me.  I can't wait to try the Fat Juanita.  ... ouch...  I just hope my heart can handle another round.  It hurts a bit just thinking about it, but hey no one lives forever.

Fat Sal's Deli
956 Garnet Avenue
San Diego, CA 92109
(855) 682-4373
http://www.fatsalsdeli.com/

D.Z. Akin's, College East, San Diego, CA

It's Friday night and neither my wife nor I particularly feel like cooking.  A smile crosses my face as I think of a place we haven't been to in a while, one I know she will like.  After a quick back and forth on who will drive, we head out to the area around San Diego State University for a little piece of home cooking, assuming your home was a Jewish deli.  I smiled as we entered, it had been too long since I've been back to D.Z. Akin's.

Again I offer no prior or interpretive knowledge of Jewish cuisine.  Perhaps the food is better over in New York, or Miami, where I am to understand there are large Jewish communities.  Having no point of reference on Jewish cuisine does not matter though, as I have a very good, in my opinion, reference on what is great tasting food, and that can most definitely be found at D.Z. Akin's.

D.Z. Akin's can be found a little less than a mile away from San Diego State, yet every time I go I am surprised there are not more college students inside.  Maybe they are trying to save money, but as far as prices go D.Z. Akin's is around the norm for restaurant food, and that doesn't include sheer size of the meals.  Sandwiches stacked high with meat, salad's that looked as if they've used an entire head of lettuce, and dinners I've glimpsed on other tables, so vast I know that not even I would be able to finish them, but I digress.

When my wife and I showed up and there was a bit of a line so we wandered around the gift shop, a nice little set up for the tourists with San Diego nicknacks offset by gimmicky Jewish merchandise, in other words a gift shop.  This, of course, was so I wouldn't head over to the bakery/deli section.  I don't know what it is about the place but it is hard not to order a pastry on the way out.  Mounds of cookies, cakes, and other deserts luring people out of spare change and diet plans.  Then there is the deli, a particularly dangerous spot with my wife's love of cured meats.  After a few minute or so drooling our name was called and I half dragged my wife to our table.

Our waitress got our drinks out in no time at all, and I didn't need to look at the menu at all to know what I wanted.  I ordered the Pastrami Dip, which is the same as a Roast Beef Dip, on an over-sized plate filled to the brim with french fries, and glancing at the soup board above I decided to try the New England Clam Chowder, just a cup as I wasn't feeling my usual overpowering need for food.  My wife ordered the soup and salad, which is the usual mixed green salad, with a side of blue cheese dressing, and the Kreplach soup (basically chicken soup but with large dumplings filled with ground meat).

My soup came out first and as usual it was bigger than I had expected.  I asked for a cup, but they gave me what would be considered a bowl at most other places.  It was delicious, and I am very picky about my New England Clam Chowder.  I could tell right off that it was home made, just by the taste of the broth.  It was definitely clam broth, but there was a hint of something else that I still can't place, maybe oregano, or perhaps chilli.  Whatever it was it added a zing to the whole dish that I had to stop myself from shoveling it down as quickly as possible.  The clams were just the right size, not giant pieces that some restaurants try to pass off as hearty, but a few sizes smaller, and they were in every bite.  I ended up stealing some of my wife's french bread so I could wipe up the left over broth from the bottom of the bowl.

Then our main meals came out.  The Pastrami Dip was as good, if not better, as the first time I'd ordered it.  The dip, a small bowl of onion soup, was also made fresh in the restaurant and was delicious.   I gorged myself on that and steak fries, my favorite variety of french fry.  My wife on the other hand was not overly impressed with her salad.  She absolutely loves the blue cheese dressing, again made fresh at D.Z. Akin's but the salad was nothing to write home about.  The Kreplach soup on the other had was in her words "yummy."  I stole a bite of that and will probably order it next time I go.

Feeling full and happy we both made our way out the front door, but not before ogling the bakery one last time.  I managed to not buy something this time, but that was only because I was stuffed.  My wife took one sad look at it before heading out the door.  So that brings our average to 1 for 3, and I'm not including the other five times we have been there as that was when the bakery had closed before we left.  If you do find yourself still hungering dessert after finishing off your meal I highly recommend every cookie they have and everything with chocolate.  Just not all at once.

D.Z. Akin's
6930 Alvarado Rd.
San Diego, CA 92120
619-265-0218
http://dzakins.com/

The Rubicon Deli, Pacific Beach, San Diego, CA

It is rare that I will ever rave about a sandwich. My grandfather was a master sandwich maker, though he never went pro, and my family speaks of him with an awe reserved for NFL players and Nobel Prize winners. He would pile meat upon cheese upon bread, always applying the prefect amount of condiment (mustard/mayo/ketchup), until there was what could only be described as the perfect sandwich, not too dry, not too wet, and with a balance of flavors and aromas that would inevitably make the mouth water. Unfortunately no one else in my family was able to imitate such genius, and as such I have never had a love for the simple art of sandwich making, until very recently.

While I have no love of sandwiches I do have a weakness for pastrami. As a child my mother would fry some up in a pan and toss it down in front of me. No mustard, no bun, just greasy cuts of deli meat which I would quickly devour. So when I stumbled across the Rubicon Deli on my way home from a particularly long run it crossed my mind that perhaps it was time to rediscover my joy of pastrami, be it in sandwich form or not.

A week later my fiancé and I managed to find a parking spot on Mission Street, a miricale as it was just a bit past noon, and went inside. The interior is what I would call fast food trendy: Bright colors, hard seats, and pictures of surfers on the wall, but definetly clean and inviting. Having slept late I was in no mood for dithering so I got in line and went strait up to the counter to give my order. I knew instantly what I wanted, the Half Pound Dom Pastram, and despite my normal aversion to pickles I found myself holding my tongue and getting them in the sandwich. My fiancé knowing that I am a bit of an ass when I'm hungry quickly ordered the Achin' for Bacon. We also got chips, no french fries at this place, and a drink. Sorry no fountain drinks here, you can either get something from their fridge, which ranges from milk to Mexican Coke, or they have iced tea, sweet tea, which I recommend as it isn't too sweet, and lemonade with free refills. Then we sat down.

I was only halfway done with my chips when the food was brought out. Feeling a bit self conscious about the sheer amount of food I'd consumed over the holiday I decided to order only a half, but as you can see the Rubicon's half is more than most sandwich places' full. I took a bite, waiting for the acidic taste of pickle to overcome the taste of pastrami, but something strange happened. I could taste pickle, but there was a decided lack of brine in the bite. I took another bite , this time making sure to grab a hunk of pickle as I did, and it was the most amazing thing. The pickle tasted good, really good. The pickle added to the overall flavor of the sandwich as opposed to overpowering it. The pickle was so good it actually distracted me from the pastrami for a second, but only for a second. My next few bites were filled with confidence and it became a bit of a challenge to slow down and enjoy the combination of pastrami, swiss, sauerkraut, pickle, onion, and yellow mustard on garlic cheese bread. I paused halfway through to take a bite of my fiance's sandwich. In it was turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and avocado on pesto flavored bread. Personally I would have added a dash more mayo, but her sandwich was great, with a hearty portion of turkey and bacon in the middle.

I finished off my sandwich and the rest of my fiance's, wolfed down the chips, which also tasted great, and was left with a little chocolate chip cookie. I don't want to sound like a cookie snob, but I like my chocolate chip cookies with a bit more give, or flavor. This in store made chocolate chip was definitely head and shoulders above the stuff you find in the stores, but I still found it a bit dry and lacking in flavor. Still, I'll never complain too much about a free chocolate chip cookie, no matter how small it might have been.

Walking out the front door to a street filled with surfer types and late risers I smiled. Now that was a great sandwich, one even my grandfather would have enjoyed.

-Dedicated to the memory of Robert Brandon

The Rubicon Deli
3819 Mission Blvd.
San Diego CA, 92109
858-488-DELI

http://www.therubicondeli.com/