My favorite foods veer into the adolescent arena: pizza, sandwiches and ice cream. Since moving to San Diego, I’ve secured two favorite pizzerias (Buona Forchetta in South Park for Neapolitan, Luigi’s in Golden Hill and North Park for New York-style) and a mom-and-pop ice cream parlor (Mariposa in Normal Heights), but oh, the elusive sandwich.
Much like the duality of pizza, I believe in two camps of sandwiches: gourmet and casual (subs are a whole other category; don’t get me started). The casual spot is TBD, but I have a new favorite spot for gourmet sandwiches: Con Pane Rustic Breads & Cafe.
The Liberty Station cafe, a favorite with locals, is famous for its pillowy-soft-on-the-inside, crunchy-and-crusty-on-the-outside breads. They have more than a dozen loafs to choose from—everything from kalamata olive to pane cioccolata (yes, it’s made with chocolate!), but that’s just the start of it. There are also fluffy pastries that look magical and a short menu of sandwiches. The turkey cobb is a popular one, but Eaman and I split the Almost Grilled Cheese, a dreamy combination of brie and crumbled gorgonzola. It’s slathered onto fresh slices of the rosemary olive oil bread, which give off wonderful, fragrant rosemary vibes. Word to the wise: Add Roma tomatoes for 50 cents. This is a serious sandwich, and the tomatoes will help cut through the strong fromage.
Why’d we split? Because we gorged on pastries and coffee obviously. The cinnamon roll is massive and gooey, but not cloyingly sweet à la Cinnabun, while the much lighter (relatively speaking) brioche chocolate twist was my favorite of the two. I liken it to a bread-ier chocolate croissant.
Expect a wait at this place. One Saturday morning I saw eight people waiting for Con Pane to open. For Saturday lunch we scrambled to find a table. It’s absolutely worth it for your carb cravings.
Take a look:
Oh my gosh, this sounds so good. I actually went to con pane once (late on a Saturday) and can’t remember what I got, but it wasn’t that sandwich. Definitely going to have to go back!
Our favorite sandwich place is Big Front Door (bfd), which is on Park Boulevard, right by the Sprouts just south of University Heights. They strike a good balance between gourmet and low key — really high quality ingredients, but a really laid back vibe overall. I haven’t had a bad sandwich there, but my current favorite is the deep v!
I was there Saturday, too! It must’ve been the hot spot during the storm.
And I’ve tried BFD and loved the laid-back vibe but thought it was a bit pricey for the portion size. I have a big appetite!
I work in Point Loma, so Con Pane calls my name way too often. ;) I absolutely love the Veggie Cobb! I need to try the Almost Grilled Cheese, though. That sounds amazing. Con Pane is definitely my favorite spot to grab a sandwich… although Gourmet Bagger has good sandwiches and THE BEST COOKIES.
Amazing proximity! And I must try the cookies next time.
this is a torture looking at these gorgeous eats and not being able to eat..also I am smitten with cafes that do chalk board menus.
I love chalkboard menus, too!
One of my favorite sandwich spots in SD (which, ironically, I’m going to feature in an upcoming post on fave SD sandwich spots)! Bummer that we missed each other by a day.
Can’t wait to see your sandwich post!
My coworker recently told me about this place and it is a favorite of mine! Their roast beef sandwiches are just the best thing out there. And I always have to get a chocolate chip cookie and a Mexican Mocha, so that’s why I get a half sandwich as well.
I don’t eat too much beef, but I’ll have to encourage my carnivore boyfriend to try the roast beef next time. There will be a next time very soon!
try haven pizzeria on adams ave, better than luigis
Totally loving your blog. Being a transplant from Oakland i’m always looking for good cheap food ! So if you are up to feasting on the best cheap tacos in SD, head over to my hood near Chula Vista and gorge on Tacos el Gordo ! Its plain, no-frills, eminently non-photographable and inhabited by us forgotten peoples … but … talk about titillating the senses !!