Paul B.
Yelp
Before arriving at Compadres in Atascadero, I had an unyielding craving for a sandwich. Alas! The lunchtime north-county hot spot, Harsh Harbor, was closed for dinner! After realizing this, my wife [personal tour-guide to the A-Town food scene] made an impromptu suggestion: We can have a Torta at Compadres across the way!
At first, I was a bit sluggish to accept the torta as an equivalent to my craving. Sure, it's contents are sandwiched between two thick pieces of bread, but that's about where the juxtaposition ended in my mind. My affinity for sandwiches usually requires a heavy-hand of vineagar - sauerkraut, mustard, pepperoncini, pickle, etc...
I never would have thought grilled steak with cheese, tomato, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and bread would work for me - but boy did it ever! The fatty, juicy combination of meat, cheese, crema and vegan cocaine (avocado) made for an amazing party in my mouth. And the main sell for my tastebuds came from an unlikely source, the carb envelope itself!
Crispy and nom-tastic, the bread used for this Torta was especially memorable due to the fact that their was clearly a layer of charr-grilled cheese on the outside.
While the Torta @ Compadres may not have satisfied my vinegar lust, it was successful in broadening my perspective on what constitutes a "real" sandwich. Now if we can only find a way to engineer some pickled food in there somehow...Eureka! The salsa bar!