South SF, 17 Mile Dr, and Darby Dan's

I don't know how the rest of you feel about this, but my wife and I really love trying to dig up good places to eat. More often than not price isn't really as important as the experience. We had two spots to pick from for lunch that are close to San Francisco Airport. We narrowed it down to Darby Dan's and Little Lucca. I don't remember the reason we decided on Darby Dan's, but we did.

Darby Dan's Sandwich Co.
733 Airport Blvd
South San Francisco, CA 94080
(650) 876-0122
No Known Website

We get the rental car and head a couple of miles to Darby Dan's Sandwich Company for a bite to eat before we head to Santa Cruz. Now I remember why we picked it. I didn't want to drive out of the way to go to Little Lucca's. This was literally minutes from the airport.

Has anyone ever had "Dutch Crunch" bread before? Up to this point I hadn't. With the exception of the heavily sesame seeded bun at Primo's in Philadelphia, this is an epic sandwich bread. I think the best way I can describe it is a white type bread with a rice flour topping that crackles apart (kind of like old paint or varnish crackling). It gives you the crunchiness of say a french bread but the crackling exposes some of the softer bread underneath. At the end of it all, you end up with a crunchy yet less chewy sandwich.

The Crab/Shrimp Sandwich is served on Friday and Saturday only. Mrs. Dine O Mite opted for that, while I decided on the Darby Dan. My sandwich, The Darby Dan, was your typical italian hoagie type of sandwich (ham, mortadella, Italian Salami, and provolone). Not entirely exciting from outward appearances. However, the Dutch Crunch bread combined with the jalapeno relish, and garlic mayo launched this sandwich into the stratosphere. I've never had the bread or the relish in my life, but the two combined with garlic mayo was freakin' awesome.

Darby Dan's is the real deal. If you want a unique and awesome sandwich experience, stop by to or from San Francisco airport. You'll be glad you did. Next time I will have to try Little Lucca's just for comparison's sake. 

17 Mile Drive

We decided to check into the Jabberwock Inn (the bed and breakfast we were staying at). Really nice place perched on a steep hill in Monterey. I would recommend staying there. Clean, affordable, lots of amenities, and just an all around nice setting, as well as a view of Monterey Bay. After that we decided to do the majority of 17 Mile Drive. A winding road that laces around the perimeter of Carmel Bay through Pacific Grove, Carmel, and Pebble Beach. It's a neat ride but now that I've done it I don't think I need to do it again. There are some cool views, but I found the architecture in Carmel much more interesting than the coastal views from 17 Mile Drive.