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Meals Under $8: Salads and Sandwiches at Pal's Take Away

By Tamara Palmer in Cheap Eats, Palmer

Wednesday, Apr. 29 2009 @ 3:30PM

Just opened last week inside a Mission District liquor store, Pal's Take Away features salads and sandwiches made with fresh, local ingredients on a menu that changes once or twice weekly. On opening day, I picked up two sandwiches and had a hard time eating just half of each and saving the rest for later.

All the specials are posted on their Web site, but Pal's provides a "detailed menu analysis" at the counter, in case you are curious about the origins of each individual component. Behold, the magnificent description of the addictive pork shoulder and arugula sandwich ($8) pictured above:

"The pork is grown by Jude Becker outdoors in a completely natural, free-range environment. It is a Berkshire-Cheshire cross. The arugula comes from Annabelle by way of Star Route in Marin. It is a cultivated strain of wild Italian arugula and has a lovely earthy, spicy flavor. The canola mayo is infused with some Riverdog fennel fronds and Knoll spring garlic and my neighbor's Meyer lemon. The sesame Kaiser roll is from Acme in Berkeley."

Likewise, this asparagus sandwich ($6.75) is described in slightly fewer words, but hardly less interesting detail: "Riverdog ranch asparagus tossed in Meyer lemon and Reggiano and placed with Riverdog soft-cooked really run-free ranch eggs along with Full Belly greens on Acme's whole wheat bread."

So far, Pal's salads have been composed of grains, beans, or veggies (rather than traditional lettuce-based items), like a simple yet yummy potato salad with chives and sugar snap peas.

Sandwiches are currently priced from $4.75-8, and salads are $3.75. Pal's Take Away is located inside the decidedly unorganic Tony's Market (2751 24th St. at Hampshire) and operates Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Tags: Mission