Advertising | Masthead | Archives | Contact | Home

By Tim Neagle

We all owe a debt to the Earl of Sandwich, a largely forgotten English nobleman who, history says, was the first to realize what a taste treat could be had by inserting meat, fish, cheese or whatever between two slices of bread. Although it is a bit hard to believe no one had ever thought of this before, the Earl has gotten the credit for that humble culinary masterpiece, the sandwich.

For sandwich lovers, the Inner Sunset holds many delights. In this completely non-scientific survey, we will visit some of the finest sandwich purveyors on and near the UCSF Parnassus campus.

First of all, you don’t even have to leave campus to enjoy a great sandwich. The long lines at Palio’s and Subway show that many are devoted to the sandwiches offered there. For my money, however, you can’t go wrong with the sandwich bar at the Courtyard Cafeteria, better known in these parts as Nurseteria. The sandwiches are made fresh right in front of you, and if there is a better sandwich than their sublime turkey and cheese on a Dutch crunch roll, well, I’d be happy to eat it.

Although the Nurseteria turkey sandwich has brought me joy, variety is the spice of life, and there are many fine sandwiches to be had once you stroll off campus.

The first sandwich shop you’ll come to as you wander down Irving is Yellow Submarine. It’s easy to find because there’s always a line out front. But you will quickly discover these sandwiches are worth waiting for: a variety of flavors are featured, all coming on a delicious roll, topped with a truly tasty sauce. The meatball is my favorite, but go sample the menu until you finds that special sandwich to call your own.

A bit farther down the street is Pluto’s, purveyor of sandwiches and salads. The bonus here is that you can have your sandwich your way: helpful sandwich-makers will follow your directions in compiling your sandwich (or salad.) One niggling complaint about Pluto’s: it’s pretty dark in there, and if you’re alone and want to read the paper (or whatever) while you eat, you’ll find yourself coming down with eyestrain. Could someone please ask Pluto to turn up the lights?

Continuing down Irving, we soon reach 9th Avenue. This intersection is the culinary mecca of the Inner Sunset, with restaurants galore on the two streets. But we’re focusing on sandwiches (remember?), so we first turn our attention to Park Chow, on 9th near Lincoln. Park Chow offers salads, pasta and pizza, but the real treat here is the daily sandwich special. With a different sandwich for each day of the week, accompanied by salad or fries, and Park Chow has your sandwich needs covered!

Reversing our field back to Irving, we would be remiss not to slip into Pasta Pomodoro on Irving. For a sandwich? Yep. Try the pollo panini, with chicken, spinach and fontina cheese on toasted bread. Heavenly!

Further on up 9th Avenue is Howard’s, one of many diners in the neighborhood. Their filet of sole sandwich is only featured occasionally as a special, but it is worth plunging inside if you see it on the specials board outside the restaurant. The sole is breaded, and served on a roll with lettuce and a side serving of tartare sauce. Fabulous, especially when served with Howard’s fine French fries.

For the last stop on our sandwich tour, it’s further up 9th Avenue to Sandy’s Vietnamese restaurant. There are a number of fine dishes here, but the Vietnamese sandwiches are truly a bargain for less than $5. The barbecued pork sandwich found the most favor with me, but you may have other favorites. At these prices, how can you not sample them all?

Sandwiches are a subjective thing, of course, and one man’s masterpiece may be another’s culinary disaster. Maybe you have a favorite that wasn’t mentioned here. Feel free to contact us at synapse@ucsf.edu to let us know about your favorite spot to get a sandwich.