Any time you tuck some foodstuffs between two slices of bread, you’ve got the makings of a passable lunch. Sandwiches aren’t hard. I whip up the same one almost every morning, twice even, for my daughter’s and my daily grind lunches. And they’re not bad sandwiches. I treat myself to bread that’s one step above the really cheap crap, affordable but decently thick turkey in bulk from Costco, some basic sharp cheddar, and even a leaf of green lettuce to liven it up a bit. It’s a sandwich I can eat everyday without complaint, but where’s the joy?
I’ll tell you where: Central Coast Specialty Foods in Lompoc. These folks sell ultra-fine ingredients for home chefs—a boatload of exotic cheeses, quality cuts of humanely raised meat, and a vast assortment of unique condiments, relishes, and pickled veggies. Any schmuck could waltz in for some Roquefort sheep cheese and walk out the star of the next wine picnic, but these people have all of these fancy ingredients just sitting around every time they go to make a sandwich. The results are symphonic sandwich melodies that are somehow more moving than the sum of their parts.
The menu is extensive, with an entire wing of hot dogs, sausages, soups, and salads I had to just ignore till next time. After hemming and hawing for a solid 10 minutes, I settled indecisively on the Roast Beef Broiler, with horseradish cheddar and stone-grain mustard on sourdough.
That first bite. It was one of those bites where your whole body feels like it’s melting into a pool of bliss in your chair, and you can’t stop mumbling the words, “Oh my god,” around a mouthful of decadent sandwich.
This thing was on a whole different level than my brown bag lunch from home. It’s almost offensive that they’re both correctly called sandwiches, because they’re not even remotely the same. The care Central Coast Specialty Foods puts into selecting only the finest ingredients is apparent, and the price isn’t even correspondingly exorbitant. My sandwich cost $10, which is barely higher than your standard deli fare and well under what you’d pay for sit-down lunch at a regular restaurant.
If you’re trying to have a fantastic food weekend, do yourself a favor and find an out-of-your-comfort-zone level fancy dinner recipe and head to Central Coast Specialty Foods to pick up the ingredients around noon. But before you do any shopping, stop by the deli counter and order a couple of sandwiches. Or a soup, or a dog, or a salad.
Then, take your time while you scan the shelves for adventurous cheeses and ask the friendly staff for some wine and craft beer pairings. They’ve got options. Go home with your haul, and surprise a loved one with the best freaking sandwich they’ve ever had. After that, I can’t tell you how to live your life, but I don’t know, go for a hike or do some crafts or errands or something while you wait for that hunger to regenerate. Now it’s fun, home-cooking time with a bottle of wine and some music. Dance around and get silly while you cook. No one’s watching. Get excited, because you’re about to dine on some beef wellington, baby!
All-in-all, Central Coast Specialty Foods is one of those local gems that reminds you how good food can be when you treat it like something special and favor quality over expediency. Treat yourself!
Tuck contributing writer Nick Powell between two pieces of bread and contact him in the morning at npowell@santamariasun.com.
Powell’s Picks
• It’s been open for a little while now, but the new Orcutt Burgers location in Vandenberg Village is a real treat. It used to be a different burger joint, and the difference is striking. The building used to be visibly worn-out, and the service used to be painstakingly slow. Despite that, the burgers at the old place were pretty good, but now the whole experience is lovely. Orcutt Burger remodeled, introduced speed to the system, and expanded the menu. My family loves the zucchini fries, and yours could too. I’m pretty sure this is also the only spot in the Lompoc Valley where hungry folk can find a gyro, but if I’m wrong, please correct me.
• Bring your furry pal to Riverbench Winery near Santa Maria (pictured left)on June 29 at 1 p.m. for the Paws, Pizza, and Pinot lunch event and fundraiser. All proceeds from wood-fired pizza sales will be donated to The Big Fix Uganda, which supports the only veterinary hospital in Northern Uganda. The hospital provides free services to the impoverished region’s animal companions. Visit riverbench.com for more details.
• The fantastic Los Alamos bakery and restaurant Bob’s Well Bread hosts its monthly “Meet the Winery” tasting series on July 6 from 1 to 3 p.m. Refugio Ranch Vineyards will pour the wine, while Bob’s serves tasty food pairings.
• Learn to make cheese at home with Grandma Ingrid in Arroyo Grande (pictured above). This hands-on class costs $50 and includes plenty of snacks and supplies to take home and start making your own mozzarella cheese immediately. Search Grandma Ingrid on eventbrite.com for tickets and details.
It ain’t easy being cheesy, but contributing writer Nick Powell pulls it off. Send crackers and charcuterie to npowell@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 4, 2019.
