We were driving downtown last weekend, my husband recounted his latest conversation with his mum in the UK.
“They’ve opened a new tea shop down the road from her,” he said. “They’re charging an arm and a leg for crap like ‘artisan’ bread and ‘locally sourced food’…”
He shook his head, and repeated “… Artisan bread,” and shook his head. He’s not into the latest foodie trends. All he cares about is if it tastes good. And lately, if it is vegan.
Fortunately, our destination, the newest Mendocino Farms sandwich shop, has a pretty nice variety of vegan dishes. I refrained from telling him that it is known for locally sourced and artisan foods, especially freshly baked bread. I thought it better to keep that information to myself.
The firm that handles the restaurants’ PR has been sending me mouth-watering menu information for a while now. Saturday’s occasion was a mom blogger event in their newly-opened shop at 7th and Fig, and it allowed us to combine two of our favorite activities: eating and taking photos of the sights downtown.
I was greeted by Mario and Ellen Del Pero, the husband and wife team who created the upscale sandwich chain. Mario took me on a short tour of the joint:
You may have noticed in that I am wearing different clothes at the end of the above video. That’s because while I took still photographs of our lunch on Saturday, I neglected to do a wrap-up on video. So my only choice was to go back and order another sandwich.
It’s a tough job, you know.
The only problem I faced while writing this post is that just thinking about Mendocino Farms makes me HUNGRY. Their menu of gourmet takes on classic sandwiches combined with more adventurous fare (including dishes for vegans and vegetarians) hits a sweet spot for my family, which consists of three individuals who cannot agree on one thing we might all want to enjoy at a family meal.
And it’s a problem because as of this writing, there is no Mendocino Farms outlet in the San Fernando Valley. Co-owner Ellen Del Perio assures me that will change this summer, when the chain launches a new location in Sherman Oaks. I did my best to convince her that she would find a willing new market up here in Northridge/Granada Hills, but I don’t think I was persuasive enough. I will just have to keep trying.
DISCLOSURE: I was not compensated for this post, other than our free lunch.
