La Grotta Del Formaggio
1791 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC V5N
Sandwich… Ah, one of the simplest form of food. Sure, although the name is recent, I am sure the idea of a piece of meat in between a slices of bread is not. Anyway, it is a food that is totally customizable – different options for bread, you can add butter, mayo, oil, balsamic vinegar a spread, then veggies, cheese and/or meat. Add a little, add a lot, that is up to you. However, that’s a double edge sword; given all the possibilities, at the same time, you are increasing the chances something could go wrong.
As for me, whenever I really crave for a sandwich, La Grotta del Formaggio is the first place that comes to my mind. And, this is a really odd statement, because La Grotta del Formaggio is not even a restaurant at all… It is a deli!
I did not dare to bring out my dSLR, instead I sneak this picture using my cell phone. See the green lights in the middle of the picture? Those are the panini grills. Yup, in my opinion, that is what makes the sandwich in this place pretty darn good.
On that note, here is how it works in La Grotta:
- Choose the size of the sandwich, which goes from small for around $5 to the full focaccia (around $10).
- Choose the type of bread, i.e., white or whole wheat.
- Choose the dressings, which includes basil pesto mayo, regular mayo, mustard, dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar and oil.
- Choose your veggies, which includes lettuce, tomato, peppers, artichoke, olives and banana peppers.
- Choose your cheese… Which cheese? Well, pretty much any cheese! After all, this is a deli!
- Choose your meat (or not). Again, it is a deli, almost anything is fair game! (Though for some cold cuts, you might have to pay some extra).
- Grilled or not… I think this is pretty obvious, eh?
Here is the sandwich I ordered – a half focaccia with provolone and Montreal smoked meat.
A close up of the sandwich, opened
So, how was this sandwich? Again, this is my favourite place so I might be overstating it by saying it was pretty darn good! One caveat, though, since it is cured meat and other salted veggies, you might end up having to drink lots of water in the end. Still, it is really worth it!
To close this entry, I have a question to readers out there… Where is the best sandwich place in your opinion? Now, I must be specific here: hot dogs and burgers are not an option! I mean, they still fall into the category of meat between slices of bread; however, they also belong to categories of their own. So, please, leave our comments below!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
MMM looks tasty!
I just can’t bring myself to eat deli stuff cuz of the listeria outbreak though. Did you worry about that?
The best place for a sandwich is my mommy’s kitchen
Listeria? What’s that? ^_^
The listeria outbreak was related to Maple Leaf products, not all deli meats. Besides, if you started to worry about every single thing when it comes to food, believe me, you will end up starving!
What a fantastic looking sandwich you got there! Definitely with focaccia, you gotta go grilled. I can’t say I have a favorite sandwich shop, need to do some more research. I need to make a stop one day soon on The Drive to get me one of these…
The sandwich looks great!
Paid a visit here recently with Gyromite (VancouverSlop). I ordered a sandwich on a foccacia bread as well and got it toasted!
I’ll be posting my review soon at:
http://ilovefoodblog.blogspot.com/
>>To close this entry, I have a question to readers out there… Where is the best sandwich place in your opinion?
For European sandwiches…La Grotta and Finch’s. However I am really partial to the Banh Mi at Tung Hing on Kingsway.
Completely agree with you on the sandwich choices…La Grotta and Finch’s are my two faves.
I love the pics you took of La Grotta. I’m starting up a blog on shopping local on Commercial Drive. Would I be able to use one or two of the above? I would credit the photos with a link to your site and/or your name. Whatever you prefer.
Kim, this is my favourite as well. Actually it’s Viv’s favourite. But now it is mine too. Can’t beat the value.
La Grotta is the best place to get sandwiches for sure!
I go every week and the girls there are awesome…especially the younger ones
The sandwiches are absolutely amazing. They give you so many toppings and for a dollar more REAL roast beef…OMG HEAVEN!
They have the BEST roast beef in the city, it has no preservatives and all natural so if you’re concerned about the salty meats this makes a great option.
I also love your picture. They really don’t mind if you take a picture. If you ask the younger girls they’ll pose for you holding bread or coffee pots. They’re really busy on the weekends so they try and rush so if you feel like you’re being rushed and pushed to order…you probably are. But no worries because once you order your sandwich you are free to wonder the store and their drink selection is astonishing as well. Lots of local drinks and imported ones from Italy. They even have non-alcoholic beer!
Don’t forget to check out their Olive Oil wall and when you order this fantastic sandwich, if you’re still confused after the line-up, they ask you EVERYTHING so just answer the girls’ questions and you’ll be fine!
My only con to this place is they close a bit early. 5:30pm everyday except Sunday – Sundays they close at 5:00pm. They close the doors and sandwich bar on the dot and it sucks for them trying to make a sandwich after that because they have to stay an extra 20 minutes to clean up for ONE sandwich. I didn’t know this until I went and pleaded for a sandwich and watched from outside as they had to redo everything for me. (So sweet) They sterilize everything every night so to take the time to re-do their meat slicer and the cutting board- turn on the grills and do whatever they need to do it’s quite a nuisance for them. So if you’re late don’t even try. Imagine if you were trying to get out of that place after a whole day of being there…yeah, it would suck.
I conclude this with BEST Sandwich PLACE EVER and don’t go there late and The whole foccacia is THE BEST GRILLED! NOM NOM NOM NOM
-Dennis Henriquez-
P.S. Hey La Grotta Girls, I told you I’d write a comment on here!
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