Daily Grill, Irvine, CA USA

Ordered at Daily Grill in Irvine, California.

I hadn’t seen Tom in months, so when he suggested a lunch spot that include a club sandwich, I knew it would produce a fantastic moment to reconnect.

With this in mind, I decided to make the trip down to Irvine to visit him. It’s been months since we’ve seen each other, and I knew I had a baby on the way, so it was either now or… not never, but probably a long time from now. I was also really excited for the fact that he recently got engaged.

I trusted Tom with his lunchtime suggested: The Daily Grill. Tom knows me, and my love for the club.

The menu posted a special lunch offering, half club sandwich half soup. So we both instantly took them up on this offer. Tom and I caught up, shared a lot of laughs, and waited for our club sandwiches and tomato soups to arrive.

When the meals were placed on our table, I had to laugh – we were essentially splitting the same sandwich, however I found it odd that his half was larger than my half. Soup to the left, sandwich to the right, and fries in the center, it was go time.

I really enjoyed the soup. A bit creamy, and clearly unhealthy, that aspect actually made it more delicious (as it tends to do), so it was hard to complain. French fries were also fairly solid, nicely done, but also nothing special. The soup wasn’t special either, it was just the right addition to this meal.

The club sandwich was solid, albeit again, nothing special. I have to admit, I really enjoyed each bite I had, and kind a wish I had a got a half sandwich with the soup, but rather the whole sandwich. While it was overall delicious, it lacked pizzaz and magic. With its lack of creativity and straightforward approach, it could only go as high as a B in anyone’s book. Even though it was good and I enjoyed it, I didn’t really get anything out of it.

Still, I was content, both with the meal and the conversation, and the 90 minute drive back to Pasadena flew by.

Location