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Simple as a Sandwich Submitted by: carinachiodo
Danville Station Firehouse Bar & Grill, Danville, CA

Suburbs, in my experience, are hosts for those seeking simple, sound lifestyles. Also according to my experience, the best type of meal to have in a given environment is one that reflects its atmosphere. Suburbs are simple, as are sandwiches- therefore, a sandwich is my go-to choice when dining out in my suburban hometown of Danville, CA. Not many sandwiches stand out to me, however, among the millions of handheld, semi-manly meals between bread out there. This is rare because it is hard to find a sandwich in which every aspect of each full-mouthed bite is flawless. A perfect sandwich is unusual, according to my snobbish sandwich standards, as not all of them are made with whole wheat bread that’s toasted to a crisp, buttery perfection on the outside, yet remains soft enough on the inside to act as a sponge, housing a generous smear of pesto aioli that will absolutely make the meal as irresistible as it is. The Veg-tastic sandwich at Danville Station Firehouse Bar & Grill challenged my standards, but surpassed the benchmark of all other sandwiches I had eaten before. I usually complain that my sandwich isn’t hot enough, as my highly annoying sandwich standard list is excruciatingly long and detailed. However, this sandwich was so hot, that the cheese was actually still melting between the veggies as the waitress presented it to me. I actually had to wait, impatiently and salivating, for at least a full minute so that it would cool before taking my first messy mouthful. This was a pleasant contradiction to my usual sandwich-eating ritual, which is attempting to devour it in under five minutes, before the cheese begins to solidify to an unpalatable, saturated gunk of fat-like edible substance. Room temperature means mediocre at best. Delish. My only critique for this work of art was that the veggies could have been a bit less oily. That way, the thick slabs of grilled eggplant wouldn't have slipped and flown out from between the greasy bread slices mid-chew, flopping onto the plate as they landed. Each grilled vegetable slice carried out this sandwich escape-act in a way very similar to a freshly caught fish trying to writhe and bounce its way back into the water. Still, this was the best sandwich I’ve had in my hometown, and, after thinking about it so much again, I’m glad that my lunch break is in 12 minutes.