Let’s Go Down To The Farm

Greetings, Readers!

I hope this past weekend saw you sandwiching well during the Super Bowl and its horrific and exciting end. Maybe you created your favorite sporting sandwich, or tried a new one, like I did.

Mendocino Farms. Oh, you crafter of creative sandwiches. I’ve been past both Hollywood locations numerous times, as well as the Sherman Oaks one but had yet to stop in until we happened to be passing by this weekend, returning from a trip to the homebrew store.

Standing out amidst a massive condominium complex in Sherman Oaks, Mendocino Farms is a welcoming eatery space in which the lines fill up quickly but move just as fast. If nothing else, the short wait will give you enough time to peruse the menu. Seriously, I went back and forth about ten times before deciding on my sandwich for the afternoon.

Banh Mi? Chicken MBT? Pulled Pork? Tuna Melt? I mean seriously, each sandwich sound ridiculously delicious, and from what I hear, they actually all are. Regardless, I settled on the Blue Buffalo, a sandwich of shaved, slow roasted free range chicken breast in a spicy buffalo sauce, blue cheese cabbage slaw, tomatoes, and Mendo’s krispies all on a panini grilled Drago’s Bakery soft roll.

The chicken is a nice cut, juicy and a great base flavor for the sandwich. Each bite does give you a bit of that spicy buffalo sauce flavor, but I actually wish there was a bit more. The blue cheese slaw brings a bit of the funk to the sandwich but does cover up some of that vinegar-y flavor of the sauce. I wished there had been a bit more of each with a better balance overall to make this a big hit.

The slaw and krispies added a bit of crunch, and the roll was delicious and held together until the end. Overall it was an enjoyable sandwich, just wish it had been kicked up a notch.

The rest of the menu looks pretty delicious as I mentioned before, and I’m looking forward to trying their Banh Mi next time as it has become one of my favorite types of sandwiches. If you’re up for something well crafted and delicious, definitely give Mendocino Farms a shot. You may even love this sandwich with its more muted flavors than I had expected, especially if you’re not into potentially over-intense flavors as I am.

Until next week…

Blue Buffalo, Not Blue Cow
**** Stars
Mendocino Farms
14141 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA
mendocinofarms.com