Happiness is Stumbling Upon a Great Sandwich

When we left the office for lunch today, we were quite hungry but couldn't think where to go. Nothing sounded very appetizing. We looked up and down First Avenue, thought for a moment about Second and Third Avenues, and found ourselves walking down the hill to Pike Place just as we usually do. We admit it: We love Pike Place Market. We love the vibe there--the vendors, the buskers, the food smells, the fish smells, the saltwater breeze rolling up from Puget Sound. We even love the tourists.

As we made our way north on Pike Place, we made yet another when-in-doubt move by ducking into Pike Place Grocery and Deli where we knew, if nothing else, we could at least enjoy one of our old standbys from their deli. Yelpers agree, the sandwiches here are incredible. We usually opt for the Pike Place Special or the Rachel's All-American (both are fantastic), but today we spotted a sign declaring the special of the day as a Prime Rib Sandwich (cue drooling). We placed our order, gave our name, and paid at the register. When we told the guy up front what we'd ordered, he shook his head and said, "Man, everyone is ordering that. There's not going to be any left for me." He seemed genuinely upset by this.

Seated on a bench at Victor Steinbrueck Park, we opened the box and found something beautiful inside. We allowed ourselves a moment of quiet appreciation before sinking our teeth into this dreamboat of a sandwich.

Roast prime rib, caramelized onions, grilled peppers, creamy horseradish sauce on superbly chewy Ciabatta bread. Yum. The meat was perfect--tender, juicy, slightly pink. The onions, sweet and flavorful. The peppers were a little softer than we usually like and the horseradish sauce could use a little more kick, but overall, this sandwich made lunch exciting again.