Who knew questioning the deliciousness of the sandwiches in Berkeley would arouse such passion?
After Berkeleyside ran a post a few days ago pointing out that San Francisco Magazine had not found any sandwich made in Berkeley particularly worthy of note, dozens of readers objected to that characterization of our fine city.
Eater SF even picked up the post, expressing its wonder that Berkeley had been frozen out of the Bay Area-wide contest.
I had pointed out that I enjoyed the sandwiches from Star Market, Café Panini, Café Fanny, Fred’s Market No. 2, and Saul’s. Apparently, that list barely does justice to the city’s lunch menus.
Here then, is a list of favorite sandwiches (with commentary) from Berkeleyside readers:
“EZ Stop deli on Shattuck. Been in business a long time, even when I was at BHS in the mid to late 80’s.”
“Oyster poorboy at Berkeley Bowl.”
“Anything the Bread Workshop makes!”
“I’d add to the Berkeley list Summer Kitchen Bake Shop. I think their lemon chicken sandwich is a classic.”
“Tangerine on Solano Avenue”
“What about the outdoor Brazilian Cafe/Stand on University, a half block down from Oxford? Great sandwiches, great music, great atmosphere, great people. Check it out!”
“Cafe Intermezzo? Totally huge, fresh sandwiches, that are so Berkeley.
“Gregoire has built an empire around his scrumptious sandwiches– and rightfully so.
My personal favorite: a classy twist on a spicy tuna roll: toasted Semifreddi’s white bread with Sriracha aioli, salad, seared Ahi tuna and homemade potato chips.”
“Angeline’s on Shattuck makes a terrific po’ boy, and Sea Salt makes a pretty good lobster roll as well.”
There were a few people who opined that San Francisco Magazine got it right and that Berkeley has crummy sandwiches. One commenter blamed that on the bread in the Bay Area, which he thinks is a scene-stealer. It often is chewy with a hard crust, which detracts from the sandwich fixings. Bread in the east is much better as it compliments rather than takes away from sandwiches, he said.