Sandwich by the Beach

Location: Devil’s Teeth Baking Company

Sandwich: The Special Breakfast Sandwich  

If you’re spending your Sunday morning at the edge of the city at Ocean Beach, chances are you are trying to catch a few waves or beat the crowd to Devil’s Teeth Baking company. Located a few blocks from the ocean at 3876 Noriega Street, the shop is owned by Hilary Passman, the same force behind Sunset Reservoir Brewing Company. Devil’s Teeth is a small shop that’s hard to miss with a big line out the door during typical food eating hours. There is a parklet out front with communal seating, usually full of people chowing down or sipping on drinks waiting for their food. Once inside, you are welcomed by delicious bakery smells and a half a dozen frantic yet hip folks grabbing pastries, pulling espresso, dropping dough into a fryer, or taking your money. The place is known for their bounty of baked goods, like fresh loaves of bread, homemade pop tarts, $1 beignets, and their pinnacle of early morning bliss: the special breakfast sandwich.

This tasty monster comes with a homemade buttermilk biscuit, eggs, cheese, bacon (or tomato for the vegetable friends), avocado, and a delicious mayonnaise-aioli sauce that I tried to scoff at, but instead ended up licking shamefully off the tin foil wrapper. I romanticized the idea of taking this sandwich prize I waited in line for and strolling along ocean beach, savoring each bite while looking out into the seemingly infinite water. Instead, I demolished my sandwich in 4 bites, got the hiccups, and sneakily poured milk from their pitcher intended for coffee into my empty water bottle so I could wash the decadent meal down.

Luckily, I had planned for such a folly and had ordered 2 sandwiches. The other I took with me (portability is key in sandwiches, but the burrito-style foil wrapping of this bad boy is next level) down to the beach, and damn was it a beautiful day. There was a whole group of sanderlings dancing back and forth with the waves, sparkling with sunlight. People and doggos were on the move chasing tennis balls and biting at the small waves at the edge of the tide.  For a second while I was enjoying the beautiful coast, it seemed silly that I thought the breakfast sandwich from a tasty bake shop would be the thing that brought romance to the day when I had this whole beach to enjoy. The first bite of the second sandwich put that doubt to rest.