I don’t know what it is about toasting bread that makes it so delicious. The crispy texture, the savory scrumptiousness. Even Pop-Tarts, on occasion, can be rendered remotely edible after a pass through hot coils. So when you take an already respectable sandwich stuffed with fancy ingredients and throw it inside a grill press, it’s a surefire recipe for a melty mouth-orgy.
HOT OFF THE PRESS
I’m familiar with this Central Square spot for snarfing a grilled sandwich, but only in its previous incarnation as Pressed (keep reading below for its brethren). The newish eatery, in residence since last November, may seem like a peculiar reincarnation; luckily, the redefined space is art-adorned, tidily down-to-earth and community-minded. Owner Erin Hart’s café pipes WERS rather than Muzak, employs compostable cups and plates (with handwritten signs cheerily instructing how to sort your disposables) and plops bottles of that familiar rooster-emblazoned Sriracha hot chili sauce next to the salt and pepper shakers. This is a place where they’ll give you an extra pickle on request, going back to the kitchen and retrieving it, gently cradling it in hand on their way to your table.
Flipping through the day’s issue of the New York Post (from the mound of dailies near the door), I nibbled through the Baja Chicken ($6.25), a mixture of roasted skin-on chicken, salad greens, red onions and veggies daubed with lime crème fraîche and wrapped in a grilled wheat tortilla. Although it was lovely and fresh, it was almost too healthy-tasting; the delectable inclusion of fresh corn and creamy avocado were its saving graces. The diabolical counterpart to the angelic chicken lies in the North End ($6.95), a drippy, greasy, garlicky pile-up of sopresseta, mortadella, capicola, provolone, tomatoes and peppers. The focaccia takes to the grill wonderfully, oiled and crisped. If only I had a heart of steel, I would eat this all day.
[736 Mass. Ave., Central Sq., Cambridge. 617.234.4450. 39 1st Ave., Charlestown. 617.241.7999. hotoffthepresscafe.com]
CITY GIRL CAFÉ
Any place that boasts a “lasagna of the day” pretty much wins by default. With neon signage, hung potted greenery and an eclectic collection of zany-female-themed décor, City Girl Café is one of the most unpretentious yet brilliant eateries in the neighborhood. Every visit, I feel like I’m supping in a hypothetical aunt’s kitchen: chatting breezily with the apron-clad servers, eyeing the vintage-style espresso machine, saving room for cannoli. And in an impressively democratic move, all grilled sandwiches — 25 at last count — are priced at $6.99.
While your meal’s made to order, you can wrangle a seat at one of the marble-topped tables, stretch your legs and nurse a drink (oh, yeah, as if things couldn’t get better, this tiny spot also serves beer and wine). The sandwiches come delivered nestled in paper, flanked by potato chips, in individual wire stands. Smooth, green artichoke paté — an addictive mélange of artichoke hearts, parmesan, mayonnaise and love — goes wonderfully on a crusty baguette with baby spinach, red onions and fine salty cubes of feta cheese. For meatier fare, the combo of fontina and bacon is a gooey indulgence, tempered with sun-dried tomatoes and creamy aioli, with gobs of cheese overflowing from the edges. Nom nom nom.
[204 Hampshire St., Inman Sq., Cambridge. 617.864.2809. citygirlcafe.com]
PRESSED
They’re really pushing the hell out of their logo — an artichoke — at Pressed. The leafy, bulbous green vegetable duly reigns over the décor, from the wooly doormat to the coffee commuter mugs, from the tip jar on the counter to Poul Henningsen’s “Artichoke Lamp” dangling overhead. The Downtown Crossing location is take-out service only, but there’s a traffic island right outside upon which you can plunk yourself and your lunch.
What’s awesome is receiving your sandwich, neatly wrapped in brown paper and piping hot seconds after it emerges from the grill. The Duck Confit ($7.25) layers savory, shredded confit with imported blue cheese, spiced pear slices and baby spinach on a baguette. Though I’m far from arguing that duck is healthy, the amount of fat and skin studded among the tender dark meat was well-nigh gratuitous. Yet, with the sandwich’s thin and dense form, you’re sighingly satisfied after three bites. However, I was fully seduced by the Proscuitto and Fig ($6.50). Although it’s not a sweet sandwich per se, it’s the mellow sweetness weaving through the fig preserves, onion focaccia and proscuitto slivers that offsets the creamy richness of the chive-chèvre spread. Compressed into a flat snack, the ingredients’ flavors meld into a condensed intensity. What the sandwiches at Pressed are really trying to say is, dahling, you can never be too rich or too thin.
[85 Bedford St., Downtown Crossing, Boston. 617.357.5400; 2 Oliver St., Financial District, Boston. 617.482.9700; 225 Northern Ave., Seaport, Boston. 617.439.0000. pressedsandwiches.com]
