West Coast Sourdough Sandwiches: a Review
Fin lives in California's Central Valley. He enjoys writing food reviews.
West Coast Sourdough
Well you might ask yourself, how many new restaurants does a community need? How many fast food places are enough?
And sandwich shops? How good are those? Why not just another burger joint or a chicken shack? Do we need another place to compete with Subway, Charley's, Togo's or Quiznos?
Seesh you might say.
But wait, this place is a little different...
an interior view
What is Sourdough Bread?
Well, sourdough bread, as you might have guessed, actually has a bit of a bite to it. From what I could find online it is actually healthier for you than regular bread. According to one article I found on healthline.com, sourdough bread uses a mixture of wild yeast and lactic acid - which is found in flour - as a starter in order to get it to rise. Most breads use a form of baker's yeast in order to get the dough to rise.
I have read that some starters have been around for more than a century. I'm not sure about the preservation process or how this specimen is handed down. I just know that it tastes good. And of course, many of you have heard of the Francisco Brand bread which is famous for it's sourdough. I don't believe the restaurant and the bread manufacturing company are in association in any way. But we'll get to that.
I just wanted to talk about the restaurant here. And mention a little about sourdough bread. For more information on the history etc, see some of the links I've included below.
About Sourdough
- National Geographic
More than a century ago, San Franciscans discovered the city's famously foggy climate offered the perfect conditions for making sourdough bread. And today,... - The History of Sourdough
A brief history of the Twinkie with some links to a recipe that is similar and other popular sponge cake recipes.
A Little History
The Francisco Baking company and West Coast Sourdough are not at all related.
The Francisco Baking company is headquartered in Los Angeles. West Coast Sourdough was founded in San Francisco. The Bay Area is known for a variety of great foods, but the comfortable weather and other barometric conditions make it an optimum place to create the tasty bread.
There was another sandwich shop called Sourdough and Co. which in a federal lawsuit claimed copyright infringement. According to one source: "In its federal suit, Sourdough & Co. alleged that former licensees committed trademark infringement by continuing to operate after terminating their agreement with the company and using similar branding, only under a different company called West Coast Sourdough."
Not quite sure what that means and it sounds uninviting, but all I wanted was a good sandwich. I could find no associations between Francisco Bread and the West Coast sandwich shop other than the fact that they both have a likeness of the Golden Gate Bridge as their logo.
a sample loaf of Francisco sourdough
My Sandwiches
Well, as you can see, there are a variety of flavors to choose from.
I sampled two of my favorite:
The French Dip
Turkey and Swiss
The French Dip: Absolutely delicious. Thin, just like I prefer, slices of premium, flavorful beef tucked under a slice of cheese. The spicy mayo is optional but with French Dips I like to keep it simple. Just meat and cheese please. The Au Jus was perfect. I was pretty certain it was instant, but by the flavor, I actually wanted to believe that they had cooked the meat in it.
The bread though, was amazing. You could definitely tell it was fresh baked. The right texture - not too rough or too soft. And just the right tinge of sour. Sometimes you get sandwiches made on sourdough and are so overwhelmed by the bite that you want to wash your mouth out with gasoline. (Not a good idea with the prices of fuel these days). But the bread was so delicious. It didn't even require any wet sauces to make it consumable.
Turkey and Swiss: Well, I had mine toasted and it was warmed up just right. The meat was great and tasted like it was from one of the more spectacular delis. The cheese was fine and not that synthetic stuff some sandwich shops try to pass off.
I'm not a big eater, so I opted for the smaller, four each variety, and it hit the spot. Just enough. Very filling. Perfect bread, tasty meat and a fine slice of Swiss.
I am definitely going back.
Turkey and Swiss
Other Things
It looks like this shop is pretty simple. A great franchise. They have salad options, a macaroni, and of course soups.
It looks like there is a schedule for soups though, so if you are a fan of the basic chicken noodle, you might have to wait until Wednesday. As you might expect, Clam Chowder is available every day. And of course, you can get these in a bread bowl. A sourdough bread bowl of course.
I don't think they have Chili, which of course would be delicious with their bread.
There are a limited variety of meats and veggies, but this is just a smaller franchise. But they manage to be a bit creative with the Chicken (Chicken Salad, Grilled Chicken and Buffalo) and with the turkey as well (Garlic Pesto, Turkey and Salami, Cracked Pepper, Cranberry, and just plain).
So I highly recommend if you are in California and you find yourself walking by this place, you check it out.
Delicious....
a view of the local menu
© 2022 Finn
