Location: 2510 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA
Pluses
- Location: It's just off Telegraph, one of the central Avenues of All Things in the town of Berkeley. Right across the street from C.R.E.A.M., and next to a medicinal herb shop and a vintage record dealer. You can have a sandwich, a smoke, a single, and a sweet, with only a block of walking total.
- Quality: AW LAWD. I'm a naturally taciturn person, inclined to outward neutrality and statements of indifference like "yeah, it's okay." So, keep that in mind when I say this is actually the best sandwich shop I've ever experienced. Easily. Every ingredient is fresh, the vegetables are chopped and the meat sliced on the spot, and the bread is delivered freshly baked each day. I've watched them do it, and there's no shenanigans about it. Montague's: eat really really fresh.
- Variety: The number of choices you have is actually a big deal. There are four kinds of bread, six types of cheese, seven or eight meat options (if you count the vegetarian one) and three add-ons. There's math on that involving factorials, in terms of the number of different sandwiches you can create.
- Portion Size: It bears mentioning that these sandwiches are actually massive. The regular size is about 10-12 inches long and 6 inches thickness. My measurement of the sandwich was very precise and scientific ("it's like, two hands long and a hand tall, ish"). My hands are big.
- Quality-to-Cost Ratio: Did I mention all this business comes at a base cost of $6.50? The math on that is insanely in your favor as a customer. Even the Full Monty (seriously) deal, with avocado added, plus a drink and a bag of chips, is still under $9, and at Berkeley rates, that's effectively free.
- Ordering: This is a small plus, but it bears mentioning. The way you order is by checking off a form with the options you want, and handing it to the people, who then confirm it. As somebody with a low voice, who gets misheard about 100% of the time, this is wonderful. Even if you're very clear, it's cool to not have to rely on someone's memory.
- Artistry: Couldn't think of another word for it. The sandwich goes, from top to bottom: bread, mustard and mayonnaise, tomato, lettuce, onions and a little pickle, avocado (if you add it on), meat, a little mustard and mayonnaise, signature garlic spread, bottom bread. It's a beautiful thing to see.
- Atmosphere: It's clean. Employees are happy and remember your name after a few times (a nice touch for us saps). There's a Mario Kart mural painted on one whole wall. You can actually play Mario Kart 64 while you wait for your sandwich.
Minuses
- It's a specialty sandwich place, and there ain't nothin' else there. Sandwich, chips, soda fountain, mints? Check. Anything else? Nah, homie.
- Avocado is kinda spendy, $1.25 to add it on. Again, that only makes your whole tremendous sandwich $7.75.
Eh
- It is a gourmet sandwich place. What that means for some people is that it's "weird." Not the same sort of sandwich place as Subway, roughly speaking.
- It may actually be too much food for certain people. I'm 6'4" and have the metabolism of a nuclear submarine, so I wouldn't know. However, this is just an excuse to split your sandwich, and the subsequent ice cream trip, with somebody you care about.
TL;DR Overall rating: 9.3/10, upvoted, certified awesome. If you come to Berkeley for any length of time, I'm makin' you go here at some point.
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