Bay Cities Italian Deli UPDATE - Santa Monica

 

I wrote them off for five years because I didn't like a sandwich. Yes, I was an idiot.

Never judge a deli by just one sandwich, even if it’s their signature. Sorry, Godmother, you’re just not as magical as I wanted to believe, even on the second try. The meats are soft and salty, the mortadella almost creamy, and there is significant credit to be given for overall balance, but their other stuff is so much better. 

The Spaniard, for example, is a much stronger sandwich. The jamon is sliced so thin, and the accenting chunks of spicy chorizo are just...everything. The gruyere is melty, and the roasted tomatoes are next-level gooey and sweet. This is coming from a person who hates tomatoes.

“Pot roast should NOT be a sandwich!” 

“It’s too much.”

"I don't know about this..."

Shove it because I love it. Shredded chunks of soupy beef, braised to fall-apart tender, it’s loud and proud, a messy, soupy American dip. It's Sunday dinner in a sandwich, Phillippe's be damned.

Sandwiches are satisfying, but don’t stop there. Their deli counter is the best I've seen. 

Lukewarm Buffalo Wings don’t sound like they’d be great, but the sauce has a mouth-watering mix of spicy yet sweet and sharp - buy a bucket and make it a large.

The Mac n’ Cheese is the best stuff they sell, and the best I've had; big floppy elbows with the best bread crumbs, literally, ever.

The best stuff you can buy, just bring some cold hard cash. Great for Italian groceries, and check out all the cheese. Try all the sandwiches, too, and don’t leave without mac n’ cheese.

Bay Cities Italian Deli – Santa Monica

I rarely complain about a generously-portioned Italian sandwich under ten dollars, but after all that build-up, the Godmother was even more disappointing than the 5^th volume of Game of Thrones. (Yes, that does mean I read the first four. Don’t judge.) 

Although I loved the crispy bread that put Italy’s boot on the map, I expected a little more from a deli counter known for the permanent line in front of it. The thing is, if you're going to give a sandwich a chills-up-the-spine dominatrix name like the godmother, it needs to resemble the female version of the gambling godfather, not the slipper-synthesizing fairy godmother from Cinderella. And while the well-balanced mix of meat and veggies do form the kind of sweet harmony that can only be found in a fairy tale, the flavors are pretty fairy-dust weak. The miniscule slices of prosciutto don’t carry much flavor, and the ham is just okay. It’s pretty hard to tell the salami from the bologna-esque mortadella, and the coppacolla could have been absent for all I knew. “The works” are a winning combination, but the Italian dressing adds some unnecessary oil to this mess of meat that only tastes like a marginal upgrade from Oscar Mayer. I’ve had worse sandwiches, but I’ve also had better. Put this sandwich together and what have you got? Bibbidi bobbidi boooooo.