Sandwiches

The Hot Spot Café & Pizzeria, from all appearances, is just that — a hot spot. The Glendale Police Department is a few steps away out the back door; City Hall is a stone’s throw away, and the courthouse is diagonally across the street. Next door, day workers ply their trade in front of Dunn-Edwards Paints. “Everything in here is great,” offered a day worker as he chowed down on a lunch of fried eggs, bacon, hash browns and white toast. It looked good. The eggs were cooked exactly the way I like them — fried and up. A police detective came in the back door and sat down at a table behind me. He’s a regular.

F olks who work in the cluster of office buildings in the 400 block of North Brand Boulevard have something new to cheer about. Just outside their front door lies the Beyond the Stars Cafe, a small but mighty sandwich, salad and coffee spot with quality that is a notch above the ordinary. Perhaps you've seen the historic Beyond the Stars Palace. This supper-club-type theater can be rented for large social and business events. They also have the occasional public performance.

class Tony Kienitz and Andy Olson know how to add some spice to a salad, and they'll share their secrets on Saturday. Kienitz and Olson will lead a two-hour class at Descanso Gardens on using unusual salad and sandwich ingredients, such as sunflower leaves, sesame leaves, shiso leaves, leeks and other summer vegetables. They'll also explore oils, vinaigrette and other dressings. Kienitz is the owner of Vegetare, an edible landscape design company.

Crossing the threshold at Casa Cordoba in Montrose is like crossing eight time zones. You land smack dab in southern Spain. A bubbling fountain in a Spanish courtyard lures you in. Strains of classical guitar draw you deeper inside where custom-built tiled tables and Moorish lanterns stand among Picasso, Miro and Dali prints. Another room holds pretty earthenware imported from villages in Andalusia, traceable on a large, beautifully lit map under glass. Owners Jeannie and Chris Bone took their time decorating the cafe, an homage to their beloved vacation spot of Cordoba, and they did a splendid job. The food matches the decor - unique yet well-suited to the Southern California lifestyle.

Re: “ Two pieces of bread put together with flair ,” Dining Out, Feb. 17. Billy's is the very best for sandwiches. Their Reuben sandwich is so good; all of their sandwiches are. Maurine Blakely Glendale

It's official. The future has finally arrived. Just like in "The Jetsons" cartoon, you can now push buttons on a computer and the meal of your choice slides out on a tray. OK, maybe not immediately and certainly not for free, but at the new Specialty's Café and Bakery on Brand Boulevard in Glendale, that's pretty much how it works. Questionable spelling aside, Specialty's is totally plugged in to the modern, techno-friendly way of doing things. In the middle of the restaurant, there is a bank of iPads at which you place your order.

SCHOOL LUNCH MENU GLENDALE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Today: Chicken nuggets or Italian cheese quesadilla or Hogi Yogi assorted sandwiches or chef salad or assorted yogurt, includes animal crackers and salad bar with juice and milk. Tuesday: Hot dog or chicken patty on a bun or ham and cheese on a French roll or chef salad, or flavored yogurt, includes ice-cream cups and salad bar with juice and milk. Wednesday: Nacho cheese and chips or corn dog or Hogi Yogi assorted sandwiches or chef salad or flavored yogurt, includes salad bar with juice and milk.

A happy hubbub percolates throughout Frank's Famous Kitchen and Bakery. To regulars, the place is known as Frank's, or Frank's Famous. In fact, that's their website — franksfamous.com. Friends greet friends, give menu recommendations and ask about families while at the counter, orders are cheerfully taken and called out, and a hum of conversation keeps the comfy dining area lively. At lunch, Frank's is a beehive. If you can't find something that piques your palate at Frank's, you really aren't hungry.

Annie Bettelli BURBANK -- I'm always curious when a restaurant touts itself as having "the best" of a specific dish. The green and white awning outside of Ben's Delicatessen's in Burbank claims to serve the "world's finest corned beef," and being one that appreciates this tastiest of deli meats either between rye bread or with boiled cabbage, I had find out if this was true. While the word finest is subjective at best, Ben's corned beef is very lean and not greasy whatsoever, like many corned beef sandwiches I've tried.

Robert Downey Jr. stared at me all through my lunch. I was eating at Studio Café Magazzino, a tiny, home-spun café across from the massive Warner Bros. complex, enjoying the homemade soup and sandwiches, when I noticed that Sherlock Holmes himself was looking right through the window, his gigantic eyes boring out from a poster covering a beige stucco building corner. The view inside the café was less distracting. A distressed, white picket fence covers part of the counter and potted ivy spills over an old metal icebox and sink in one corner.

Re: “ Two pieces of bread put together with flair ,” Dining Out, Feb. 17. Billy's is the very best for sandwiches. Their Reuben sandwich is so good; all of their sandwiches are. Maurine Blakely Glendale

Crossing the threshold at Casa Cordoba in Montrose is like crossing eight time zones. You land smack dab in southern Spain. A bubbling fountain in a Spanish courtyard lures you in. Strains of classical guitar draw you deeper inside where custom-built tiled tables and Moorish lanterns stand among Picasso, Miro and Dali prints. Another room holds pretty earthenware imported from villages in Andalusia, traceable on a large, beautifully lit map under glass. Owners Jeannie and Chris Bone took their time decorating the cafe, an homage to their beloved vacation spot of Cordoba, and they did a splendid job. The food matches the decor - unique yet well-suited to the Southern California lifestyle.

I was surprised that the News-Press could not find any sandwiches worthy of mention in the entire city of Glendale (“Two pieces of bread put together with flair,” Feb.17). Personally, I am not going to go to Burbank or Pasadena to get a sandwich, as the author encourages us to do, when we have so many great options here in the Jewel City. Two of my favorite sandwiches are the spicy combo sub at Mario's Italian Market & Deli (740 E. Broadway), which features a generous helping of spicy ham, spicy salami and spicy sopressetta on a delicious crusty roll, and the turkey deli classic from Billy's (216 N. Orange St.)

A 25-year-old man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to punching a gas station clerk after he allegedly stole sandwiches. Dana Hall was charged with one felony count of second-degree robbery in connection with the Jan. 4 incident at the Shell gas station in the 600 block of North Pacific Avenue, authorities said. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge kept the bail amount for Hall at $50,000, said Shiara Dávila-Morales, spokeswoman for the county district attorney's office. The robbery occurred at about 9:13 p.m. when Hall reportedly walked into the gas station and began stuffing sandwiches into his pants, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

I've been to the Rose Parade every year for as long as I can remember. Tradition has it that we all to go my in-law's home afterwards for our favorite meal of the year, including Honey's famous potato salad. But I can't invite all 700,000 or so spectators to the house, so here are some great eateries on and around the parade route, some Pasadena mainstays and some newly opened hotspots. A number of restaurants close down the day of the parade but many are worth checking out in the days before and after the big event.

Robert Downey Jr. stared at me all through my lunch. I was eating at Studio Café Magazzino, a tiny, home-spun café across from the massive Warner Bros. complex, enjoying the homemade soup and sandwiches, when I noticed that Sherlock Holmes himself was looking right through the window, his gigantic eyes boring out from a poster covering a beige stucco building corner. The view inside the café was less distracting. A distressed, white picket fence covers part of the counter and potted ivy spills over an old metal icebox and sink in one corner.

The Hot Spot Café & Pizzeria, from all appearances, is just that — a hot spot. The Glendale Police Department is a few steps away out the back door; City Hall is a stone’s throw away, and the courthouse is diagonally across the street. Next door, day workers ply their trade in front of Dunn-Edwards Paints. “Everything in here is great,” offered a day worker as he chowed down on a lunch of fried eggs, bacon, hash browns and white toast. It looked good. The eggs were cooked exactly the way I like them — fried and up. A police detective came in the back door and sat down at a table behind me. He’s a regular.

It's official. The future has finally arrived. Just like in "The Jetsons" cartoon, you can now push buttons on a computer and the meal of your choice slides out on a tray. OK, maybe not immediately and certainly not for free, but at the new Specialty's Café and Bakery on Brand Boulevard in Glendale, that's pretty much how it works. Questionable spelling aside, Specialty's is totally plugged in to the modern, techno-friendly way of doing things. In the middle of the restaurant, there is a bank of iPads at which you place your order.

Vegetable lovers rejoice! There’s a hidden gem of a cafe in Glendale that is armed with veggies and is not afraid to use them. The Basement Cafe is nothing fancy, but they serve good, home-cooked food with a lot of flavor at a reasonable price. Hunkered down in the basement of the architecturally iconic Hollywood Production Center on Brand, the aptly named eating establishment boasts few signs, so you have to go looking for it. It appears to have originally been designed as the commissary for the office building and still functions as such but is also open to the public.

F olks who work in the cluster of office buildings in the 400 block of North Brand Boulevard have something new to cheer about. Just outside their front door lies the Beyond the Stars Cafe, a small but mighty sandwich, salad and coffee spot with quality that is a notch above the ordinary. Perhaps you've seen the historic Beyond the Stars Palace. This supper-club-type theater can be rented for large social and business events. They also have the occasional public performance.