Mendocino Farms, Pasadena, CA USA

Winter escapism from Boston – we booked our 10-day trip to Pasadena months prior to departing, evaluating every Airbnb for the perfect stay. 2 adults, 2 kids, and one mother-in-law to help watch the little guys as my wife and I worked during the weekdays.

I gotta admit, I wasn’t too excited we were spending so much money just to work from another location… but shame on me, I should listen to my wife: our stay in Pasadena was lovely. Food, food, friends, family, and more incredible food, I know I lived here for 5 years, but I just couldn’t believe how good all of the food we were having was.

Japanese steak, sushi, Taiwanese dumplings, Vietnamese spring rolls, Korean bbq, Californian homegrown, tea… we were eating and drinking our way through the Inland Empire during this trip, and we all loved it.

Pasadena is soooo lovely. I truly feel it needs a marketing campaign centered around differentiating itself from Los Angeles. Walkable, culinary forward, mountains towering nearby; it was nice to recall all of our fond memories, together, as we lived and worked here during our 10 days.

And on one of those 10 days, I was craving a club sandwich, one that would rival all of this overly delicious food we were consuming… one that would nicely embody fresh homegrown Californian produce.

I chose wisely, aided by the help of online reviews: Mendocino Farms, which proudly produced The Farm Club Sandwich. It arrived via DoorDash in under 30 minutes, and I opened the wrapping with curious excitement, holding a baby in one hand trying to write emails with my voice-to-text while encouraging my other son to consume his chickpea pasta… multitasking is a core skill all parents need to embrace!

Clearly handcrafted in a sandwich show environment, Mendocino Farm’s Farm Club Sandwich is the exact taste of California I was looking for, and that any local and tourist alike would crave. The produce felt like it had just been picked, crisp freshness exuding from each bite. While the presentation was nothing to write home about, leading to slightly challenging holdability and a ratio that left the crusts of the bread untouched with ingredients, the core of this club sandwich delivered delicious on a solid level.

The smashed avocado and ripe tomato nicely counterbalanced the roasted turkey, with the herb aioli perfectly cleansing each bite down. Great ingredients make a great meal, and I just loved the addition of the tangy pickled red onions on the savory and hearty seeded whole wheat bread.

Once again, another fantastic meal in Pasadena. I would order from Mendocino Farms again in a heartbeat… and I will, next time I’m back in the ‘dena.