For vegetarians, and others

   It's hard to find a good veggie sandwich. But I love this one. It's a vegan Soyrizo sandwich from Mendocino Farms downtown -- it's one of those office-worker lunch spots tucked away in a building on Grand Avenue. The housemade soy chorizo and roasted yam patty is warm and a little spicy and really delicious. You can get the sandwich as a panino, pressed between sliced ciabatta. And there's a "mushroom risotto stack" that's great too -- risotto with sautéed wild winter mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, smoked Gouda and arugula on toasted ciabatta. They're both on the seasonal sandwich menu, which also includes a pressed sandwich with prosciutto, roasted chicken, Gioia mozzarella and crushed honey-roasted almonds, and a shrimp "not so" po' boy with sautéed shrimp marinated in Meyer lemon zest with Meyer lemon relish aioli, cucumber tomato and shredded romaine. The sandwiches were created by new chef Judy Han, formerly of Literati II in West L.A. They go great with the housemade pickles too.

Mendocino Farms, 300 S. Grand Ave. (next to Skew's & Tesoro), (213) 620-1114.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo by Betty Hallock

Comments

[Nina]

Recovering from anemia, looking for more iron rich type vegetarian things. We're using stovetop and micro only during an extended kitchen renovation. The sandwich above sounds fabulous, but iron boosting suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!