One thing Westwood doesn’t have a shortage of, aside from USC students hanging out at Diddy Riese, is sandwich shops. From the overpriced South Philly to the Roll Inn Sandwich Shop (which is also called Buck Fitty’s, depending on which side you take in this contentious debate), sandwiches can be had on just about every street in the city. Yet there’s one shop that wipes the floor with all of the others, and it’s probably one you’ve never heard of or even seen.
Sandbag’s, located on Westwood Boulevard near the Thank You Mart and Noodle Planet, is one of Westwood’s best-kept secrets. Though, really, the only people it’s a secret from are UCLA students. The restaurant has been awarded with high scores in the Zagat survey every year since 2002, and it has multiple locations in Brentwood, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.
So why isn’t it mentioned by students in the same rarefied air as Diddy Riese and Buck Fitty’s?
It’s certainly not due to the quality of the food, which is about ten thousand shades of impeccable. Sandbag’s specializes in both hot and cold sandwiches with old favorites such as the Pastrami sandwich, the Famous Cheesesteak (which comes slathered in Sandbag’s delicious tomato sauce) and the Meatball Sub. The Meatball Sub, in particular, is one of the best you’ll ever eat and will cause you to see the alternative across the street (at Subway) for what it is ““ a cheap, assembly-line imitation. It’s like comparing an Aston Martin to a Chevy Malibu … but with marinara sauce.
Sandbag’s also has plenty of tasty, interesting sandwiches to offer, such as the Albuquerque Turkey, a southwest-style turkey sub with barbecue sauce and peppers, and the mouth-watering Aztec Sensation, with chicken breast and green chili with provolone cheese on sourdough.
Best of all, the prices at Sandbag’s are fairly uniform ““ every sandwich is exactly $6.45. The shop also offers a plethora of sides, including pasta salad, coleslaw, Chinese sesame noodles and the always-popular Kettle chips. And this is without mentioning one of Sandbag’s trademarks ““ a free, homemade chocolate chip cookie is included with every order. And it’s so good, you’ll almost feel guilty not paying for it. Almost.
So then, why isn’t Sandbag’s more well-known among students? Probably for one simple reason, one that is the only complaint typically made about the restaurant: The hours stink.
Granted, they have gotten much better. As recently as this past fall, Sandbag’s hours were especially bad, with the store literally only open for lunch, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. So often, I would walk by the restaurant only to see it shuttered and closed, seemingly doing its best impression of Skew’s on Broxton (which is a whole other story). Closing time has since been bumped up to 6 p.m., but moving it up another few hours to 8 or 9 would be even better. It would give students a chance to check it out when they’re out in Westwood, away from class and looking for an escape from on-campus eateries.
Then again, the restaurant does offer delivery of orders $15 and up from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, as well as online ordering.
Sandbag’s is one of the best dining choices in Westwood. Sure, it could be open more, but when your one complaint about a restaurant is that you want more of it, is that even truly bad?
““ Mark Humphrey
E-mail Humphrey at mhumphrey@media.ucla.edu.