Beverly Hills Cheese Store

I suspect we all have a dish or two that will always catch our eye on a menu. For me, if crab cakes or quiche are offered, 9 times out of 10 I’ll order them, ever hopeful I will find the perfect rendition for which I’ve yearned so long. For Foodie Friends #1 and 3, the search is for the ultimate tuna sandwich. I get it. It’s a classic that, while simple, is too often over-processed and gooey or over-relished and dry. Recently, both tuna aficionados revealed their current favorites, so I felt compelled to check them out. While Aroma Cafe served up a hearty and juicy-but -not -watery standard take, and the iconic Apple Pan serviced their very pickle-y tuna nicely with a crispy cold iceberg wedge and toasted rye, The Beverly Hills Cheese Store took this sandwich to new heights.

Good lord, people, I’ve thought about this sandwich every day since I had it. The bread alone is a masterwork of balance between dough and crunch; a hearty, crackling shell with a soft underbelly. Inspired! But wait, there’s more. No dried out, water-packed chunks of tuna here. The tuna is olive oil-poached and silky. Artfully paired with manchego cheese, olives, julienned cucumber and a smidge of pickled pepper for zip, this sandwich is the stuff of dreams. And the others on the menu are equally top-notch judging from the zucchini, pesto and lemon tapenade I sampled.

Add to that the delight of being in a store run by its owners who so clearly love their work. They are excited to share a new favorite cheese or recommend the latest cracker made from potatoes and point out a plum paste that accompanies both perfectly.

A foodie haven if ever I saw one. But you don’t have to worship food like I do to fully appreciate that tuna sandwich. It’s sublime!

Logistical note: Take out only, so park behind in the Bedford lot and skedaddle on out to the park across Santa Monica Blvd. for a picnic!