Press 195

The last “sort of” monthly meeting with my BFF found us at Press 195… the story goes, I was anxious to show off my new car to her, so she parked her car in my spot and off we went to have sushi on Bell Boulevard (a place HB recommended to me)… except that spot was closed! so we went to Press 195 next door, where BFF had been a few times in the past.  We were celebrating Ms. Resident of the Month two months running 😉

Frites were on the menu, and frites were ordered.  This is the ‘small’ size, with ketchup and garlic aioli for dipping.  OMG, these were super crisp and delicious.  I’m a Pommes Frites kinda gal – loyal since 99, baby! – and love Box Frites, which is, alas, only open during baseball season (um, cuz it’s at the stadium) – look, I love frites.  I know a good frites when I eat it.  And these, friend, were good.  Crisp, hot (but I managed to not burn myself, phew!), properly salted and just delicious… I was ecstatic as we munched the frites and caught up on each others’ lives. 

I read the description of this pressed sandwich – #13 – and had to have it, despite it not being tomato season.  Being BFF of course means we get to try twice as much stuff!  Share and share alike, y’know?  Also, ‘famous pure maple syrup basil pesto’ – YES PLEASE?!  And yes, do you really need to ask?  Of course with prosciutto! 

Oh.my.stars.  SO DAMN GOOD.  The meaty/saltiness of the prosciutto with the sweetness of the maple syrup basil pesto (and why am I not MAKING this myself at home? Why have I never thought of that?), that umami of the tomato, and the chewy tenderness of the mozzarella, all balanced against this crisp toasted ciabatta roll?  I’ll say it again: OH MY STARS THAT WAS GOOD.  I would order this sandwich again and again.  If it were legal, I would marry it.  I would marry it, and then be arrested for spousal-homocide.  And I would do it all over and over and over again, until they figured out they needed to stop me from being near this sandwich because it will never end… *drools slightly

BFF mentioned having had this sandwich – #38 – the last time she’d been here and enjoying it greatly, so we also ordered this one. 

Okay, I had trouble eating this one after that a-may-zing sandwich, but mostly cuz it’d cooled slightly, so the avocado squished out, but the sweet onion jam along with the abundance of steak also worked really well.  I commented that I wished I’d eaten the prosciutto one last, for a slightly sweet finish, while BFF laughed and told me she felt the exact opposite… that she wished she’d eaten the prosciutto one first for the same reason in reverse, so she’d have a slightly savory finish!  Guess it’s a matter of personal preference… 

(And that lil bowl of cucumber salad was refreshing and delightful as well, a nice bit of green crunch… hehe)

While we were there, I’d noticed this on the menu too – a $10 lunch special that sounded totally worth it.  I started school shortly after our lunch, and ran over during one of my 3 hour breaks to check it out. 

My strawberry lemonade was yummy, and totally worth the calories over a diet soda.  Fresh bits of strawberry floated around inside as well. 

Despite my love affair with #13, I tried to branch out and ordered #31. 

I had to get frites, too, even though, well, I really wanted to try something else, too.  They were so good though!  This time, they were slightly less crisp, but I forgave them easily.  Look how big that 1/2 panini is! 

This was another excellent choice.  A fairly classic combo, to be fair, but the turkey wasn’t dry, and everything was super juicy and tasty.  I couldn’t even finish my sandwich and wound up taking half of my half (nice touch cutting the half in half, btw) and a lot of fries back to school and eating it before French class as dinner.  Total WIN!  – $10, folks.  Not a bad deal at all, and the place wasn’t much busy while I was there.  I was close enough to school too… and it was quiet enough that I probably could have studied while I ate, too. 

Of course, part of the reason I couldn’t eat that much of my lunch special was my piggy self decided to order a bowl of their special soup of the day – southwestern beef stew, which was slightly spicy, beefy, and delicious.  I was really into this and totally dogged my entire bowl; it was kind of cold that day, so it really hit the spot and warmed me up down to my bones.  Love the little bread pieces on the side as well- broken up into the bowl were absolutely delicious.  YUM.

Yvo says: So far, everything I’ve eaten at Press 195 has been varying levels of “good” to “awesome” – I foresee myself going back very often over the school semester, as it is close by, parking is a breeze, and it really isn’t all that expensive.  Good stuff.  That lunch deal is an awesome deal, too… nommy.  I plan on eating my way through the entire menu, hehe. 
recommended