While Ike’s Love & Sandwiches is a chain with multiple locations all over everywhere, it has somehow retained the feeling of a mom + pop indie establishment, and for that reason we don’t feel too bad about giving it coverage here. There’s a clear and high level of pride that goes into the sandwiches and other food-stuffs on sale, from the quality of the ingredients to the combination of items magic-ed together on each sandwich.
“I opened Ike’s in San Francisco in 2007 to share my love of bringing people together over amazing food,” the eponymous Ike says on his online bio. “Love comes before sandwiches at Ike’s and we are in the love, respect, and appreciation business. Grab a sandwich and fulfill your dreams today!”
“Love comes before sandwiches” isn’t a controversial statement, though it’s a difficult sell for a sandwich eatery. “Grab a sandwich and fulfill your dreams,” meanwhile, is a very big thing to proclaim. The sandwiches are really, really good. Some might say that they’re dreamy. But can a sandwich fulfill all of your dreams? Probably not.
That said, we enjoyed our giant roll in two separate sittings, and were left wanting more still. We chose the Phantom Pee Wee, which is essentially a regular Pee Wee, on Phantom bread. That probably raises two questions: what is a regular Pee Wee, and what is Phantom bread?
They say, “An eerie twist on the brand’s signature Dutch Crunch bread, the new Phantom Dutch bread features the same satisfying crunch you know and love, but it now comes in a vibrant purple hue.”
Meanwhile, a Pee Wee is described on the menu as, “vegan turkey, purple slaw, French dressing, and Swiss cheese. All sandwiches are served hot with dirty sauce.”
Now we’re really disappearing down a rabbit hole, because we need to know what dirty sauce is. Basically, it’s a spicy garlic mayonnaise and it’s absolutely delicious.
Frankly, the dirty sauce ties the entire sandwich together. That phantom Dutch bread is soft with the slightest crunch, and that’s full of flavor by itself. The vegan turkey manages to trick the brain into thinking it’s turkey when combined with the slaw and dressing. But again, it’s the dirty sauce that takes the sandwich up to the top tier. Even for a vegan deli sandwich, this is the sort of lunch that you could easily enjoy for a main meal.
It’s easy to see why Ike has had so much success with his sandwiches. There’s love in there, and dreams too. But most of all, it’s all about the quality.
Ike’s Love & Sandwiches is located at 3895 Overland Ave., Culver City 90232. Call 310-204-7090 or visit ikessandwich.com.