Wednesday, June 17, 2015

CC Gallagher - Avalon, Catalina Island


Avalon is the ultimate island getaway when you live in SoCal and can't get on a plane. From the moment you step off the ferry onto the dock, you instantly start to crave a boozy brunch followed by a leisurely golf cart crawl.

A panini at CC Gallagher will clearly curb that craving, and despite being branded a typical tourist trap just like everything else near the dock, the prices are surprisingly fair for the not-so-parsimonious portions. 


The CC BLT assumes that combining two great things makes both greater. In this case, that assumption was incorrect. The double layer of fresh smoked salmon on crispy bread was definitely double the fun, but layering it with a half an inch of prosciutto created a cancellation that confused the palate and tasted downright bizarre. Then again, if you simply split the sandwich in half like I did, you get two differently-delicious open-face sandwiches to share.


The Tuna Melt is a well-made tuna salad with just enough cheese and a side accent of banana peppers to add a little kick. Not the most memorable but still a good choice.

The Roast Beef Panini was a rich helping of warm, juicy beef, but it would have been better if they hadn't forgotten the gruyere, and this is where the service went south. The staff were clearly not trained to handle any screw-ups, and the drama over this sandwich was the only downside of our day.

Catalina was breathtaking, but the tourist-town theme initially turned me off. CC Gallagher's didn't have tourist-town prices, and while I would go back to Catalina in a heartbeat, the service put a pretty big damper on my appetite.

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