Two weeks ago, I took a mini vacation down to Southern California with my boyfriend. Just a quick little jaunt to get out of town and take a little break from real life for a minute. While we there, we stumbled upon The Carving Board in West Hollywood.
Located off of West Sunset, this sandwich shop is quirky and kind of unassuming, tucked away between two Russian delis and a ramen shop. In fact, you would drive right by it if you didn't know it was there. When you walk in, you can't help but feel like you're just at your favorite neighborhood sandwich shop...that is until you realize that this place is Zagat rated, and for good reason.
I think that the best part of this little culinary find is that it came about completely by accident. See, after driving all day, we were starving and boyfriend suggested that I check Yelp out for something close by that would be quick food. The second listing on Yelp was for the Carving Board and as I read the reviews and perused the online menu, reading snippets aloud, it was decided that we would have to try it out because anywhere that had those kind of reviews had to be worth the detour.
And it most certainly was. If I'm completely honest with you, I am not a sandwich lady. I mean, sure, if it's quick and I'm starving, I'll slap a sandwich together. But for the most part, that's rarely my first choice when I'm trying to chow down. This was one of the first times that a sandwich has completely exceeded my expectations, and after all of the Yelp reviews, they were pretty high.
It's definitely a funky, ecclectic vibe with copper sheeting on the walls, bright orange accents and this funky pipe lighting along one wall. But the food is amazing and the people are super friendly and seem to really like working there, which I always think is a plus. Who wants to eat somewhere where the staff look like they hate their lives and would rather be just about anywhere else?
I ordered the Crab Cake Grilled Cheese and holy cow, it was so good! The perfect ratio of real crab to cheese and garlic aioli sauce. It was just one of the best sandwiches I've ever tried in my life. And the chips were amazing as well. Boyfriend got The Bentley, their most popular cold sandwich, and was thoroughly impressed. I mean, how could you not be with a filet mignon sandwich, I ask you? I wasn't fast enough to get pictures of his sandwich, though. Guess he was hungrier than I thought.
Oh! While we were there, Off the Menu was there working on a feature for The Carving Board, too! In case you haven't heard of it yet, Off the Menu is an app that launched in August that features the "secret" and off menu offerings of popular restaurants. Check out this article for more information, and check out the app for The Carving Board's off menu items, too!
