True story. When I was a kid...maybe 12 years old...I was down at my dad's boat in Channel Islands and needed lunch bad. I mean I was ravenous hungry. So, I walked down to the only place around to grab my usual...an open-faced grilled hot dog on a sub roll. It was called Latitude 34 and they always had the goods for me, be it a hot dog or a standard sub sandwich. I was a bit of a regular. Well, on this day (for whatever reason) they were out of just about everything. The owner was the only guy working and he said the only thing left was Pastrami. When I heard this I did an about-face and was willing to starve rather than eat something that far out there. I had a limited palate and I never veered off it, no way. The owner kinda laughed at me when I said 'no thanks', I think he could tell I was really disappointed. He then says "I tell you what, I'll make you a Pastrami sandwich that I guarantee you will love...if you don't, you don't have to pay for it." I couldn't believe it, how stupid can this guy be? I was absolutely sure I'd have to choke it down but at least it'd be free and I needed to get something in my stomach. I'll never forget, it was just me and him on a cold windy day at the harbor. I took the 'free' sandwich outside, sat on the deck and much to my surprise...it was magically good. I was blown away at how tasty this stuff was...and the mustard on the steamed roll...unbelievable!! I was in heaven and have been ever since when it comes to Pastrami, I'm nutty for the stuff. I think to this day I'm more willing to try new foods as a result of that experience.
Yesterday we had lunch with Judy, Dave and Moira at 'The Hat' in Simi (which specializes in Pastrami). These guys have the magic for sure. The portions are ridiculously big (see Judy's pic with the chili fries and onion rings) but boy oh boy is it good.
1 comment:
The HAT is king when it comes to chili cheese fries as well. I made the mistake the first time of ordering a burger AND chili cheese fries. Big no-no, spent about an hour on the can. BUT, order the CCF as your entree and dig in until you hit the orange fries (you'll know what I mean). I'm a weirdo that globs on the ketchup and mustard, but I recommend it that way for sure.
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