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Business & Tech

Bites Nearby: Mendocino Farms Sandwiches & Marketplace

With farm fresh ingredients and delicious baked breads, the sandwiches here are elevated to a whole new level.

Head to the Marina Del Rey location of  Mendocino Farms Sandwiches and Marketplace at lunchtime and you'll see throngs of people lining up to eat. These people know where to find good food.

Owner Mario Del Pero is celebrating the 1-year anniversary of the Marina Del Rey Store. He also runs two additional “farms” in downtown Los Angeles.  The original location opened in December 2005 at the California Plaza and was followed by a second store at the Citibank Building on Flower Street,  in November 2009.

Del Pero said he set out to build a restaurant offering fine dining in a quick, casual environment by creating artisanal sandwiches made with fresh, seasonal ingredients and putting a modern twist on classics by taking upscale entrees and reconstructing them into sandwiches. 

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 A perfect example is the French onion soup melt, with smoked gouda fondue, cave-aged gruyere and caramelized onions on a panini grilled pretzel roll. You can add carved steak for an extra $1.50.

“One of our missions  is to take some of these higher-end ingredients and put them into sandwiches so they become more approachable to the public and get people excited about food,"Del Pero said. "Some people may have never tried duck confit and have it for the first time in one of our sandwiches. It’s very gratifying.”

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Customers line up, order their food, pay for it and then find a place to sit down and eat. A few sandwiches are seasonal and change every few months, but the majority of the items on their main menu are always available.

The most popular sandwich on the main menu is the Kurobuta pork belly banh mi, a traditional Vietnamese sandwich with braised, carmelized Kurobuta pork belly, house made pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro, cucumbers, jalapenos and chili aioli on a grilled ciabatta. My friend tried this sandwich and said it was delicious with a  much more complex flavor than traditional banh mi sandwiches. The pork belly is braised slowly in a sweetened soy-ginger-garlic broth. After it’s chilled overnight, it's then pan fried, creating a crispy exterior while retaining a tenderness inside.

Vegetarians will enjoy an Indian-inspired wrap sandwich called my vegan trip through India, with a house made Indian spiced chickpea and spinach patty with tamarind chutney, vegan cucumber mint raita, all rolled up and grilled in a honey-wheat tortilla. However, this sandwich is on the Spring menu and will only be available for a few more weeks.

Mendocino Farms' summer menu rolls out on June 6 and features a TBL, similar to a BLT but with the emphasis on tomatoes. In this case it's heirloom tomatoes with  with applewood bacon, lettuce and a creamy herb spread.

Even though soups and salads are available at Mendocino Farms, it’s all about the sandwich here, and they're done very well.

Mendocino Farms, 4724 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, 310-822-2300.

Hours:  Mon. – Sun. 11 a.m. – 9p.m.

Liz Laing also contributes a weekly food column  on the "Best of LA" for CBS LA. 

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