On Saturday, after taking in a matinee at Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre, I was more than…read moreready to have a late lunch. It was nearly 3:30 pm.
I remembered this California Sandwiches across the street. I had never been to this location before. It was time to visit it.
There was lots of parking. It's where a bunch of box stores are, including Lowe's Home Improvement and Michael's.
This California Sandwiches is a part of a row of three businesses. When you are looking north on Warden Avenue, it's California sandwiches on the left, Freedom Mobile in the middle, and Big Guys that is closest to Warden Avenue. All three businesses are just south of the Merchant's Flea Market.
I parked close to the eatery and walked over. There is a ramp if you require a wheelchair or rolling walker to get there.
I walked in. There were two folks in front of me in the lineup to place an order. The woman, in particular, was taking her sweet time ordering her sausage sandwich. Luckily, I had had some popcorn during the movie. I wasn't hangry. I was hungry, though.
When she was finally done ordering, I got up to the front counter. There is plexiglass that separates you and the staffer. She was nice, but she couldn't hear my order because the woman next to me kept talking to another staffer for some reason. The staffer and I both looked at this woman. When she had finished talking, I repeated myself. The staffer finally heard me.
I ordered a veal sandwich with mushrooms. Toppings seemed to have increased since I last ordered this sandwich. It was $2.50 for mushrooms. I love mushrooms that it's a non-negotiable for me.
When the woman in front of me was ordering, I was admiring her purple sneakers. Sure enough, we struck up a conversation. She noticed my purple t-shirt that I had on. We got to talking about her sneakers. She got them from Amazon and said that they were comfy, but ran large. She said that they were fine with her arch support and socks on. It was nice chatting with her.
She was on the high maintenance side, though. Staff were extremely patient with her. She had ordered a canned drink, but wanted it in a glass. A staffer grabbed one from the shelf. The woman asked that the glass be rinsed out.
The lineup behind me became long. It's what happens when you need to wash a glass out, I suppose.
I paid with a credit card. I tapped and was done. I waited patiently off to the side for my food.
I will say that service is slower here than most California Sandwiches that I have been to. I think the woman receiving the food from the kitchen, and then placing it into bags or on trays was spaced out. It was interesting to observe.
When she rattled off my order, I acknowledged her, which seemed to snap her out of whatever temporary trance that she was in. She handed me my paper bag with my sandwich. I thanked her and left the eatery.
There were tables and seats to dine in. However, I felt like eating in my car. It's private. I can listen to good music. It's good. I'm used to it.
Out of all California Sandwiches that I have frequented, this place takes the cake, um, sandwich. I got the largest veal sandwich ever. This place was generous with the layers of veal that were between the bun, with an equally generous amount of marinara sauce smothered on top of the veal.
I unwrapped my sandwich and the right half of it automatically fell to the right. It was that weighty.
You do get a bunch of those thin, flimsy napkins. I had to use them all. Another reason to eat it in your car is that it's a messy activity. I had marinara sauce on my face and around my mouth with each bite like a kid. It was a sign of a decent sandwich.
Oddly, I never wore my sandwich. I normally do with a large, messy one. If the sauce or mushrooms had to fall out of my sandwich, they did onto the wrapper. Yay to no clothing stains and not doing laundry that night!
This sandwich was gigantic and yummy. The veal was tender and perfectly breaded. The marinara sauce was flavourful. It was the perfect amount. I got a lot of mushrooms, which made this mushroom fan happy. The bun was soft and allowed me to grip everything as well as I could.
Looking back, I should have stopped after devouring half my sandwich. It was so hot and delicious that I ate the other half. I then suffered from being full and had to take a walk. Otherwise, I would have passed out in my car for an hour or more.
I dig this eatery a lot. My sandwich was excellent. Staff were helpful and pleasant. We'll see what folks are there when I return next time.
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