Spork and Knife

Those who work downtown know the drill. In order to score lunch without waiting in line for 10 minutes you have two choices. Make a bee-line for the door at 11:45 to try and beat the noon crowd or toss back a snack and power through to the 1:30pm lunch hour.

Venture out any time in-between and you will be waiting with half of DC for your mediocre turkey sandwich.

The secret to lunch time bliss is the hidden deli that everyone walks past, wonders about, sees a lack of people and passes-up for one of the predictable chain restaurants around the corner. (You know you’ve done this hundreds of times.)

Thanks to a long line at potbelly (I know, I know - but their salads are actually decent and not a bad price! I’m a fan of the chicken salad salad myself.) I wandered around the corner on G Street thinking I would head to an old stand-by, Old Ebbitt Express. Just before I got to Ebbitt’s door I glanced at a little shop I’d walked past hundreds of times.

Hanging on their wall was a sign I hadn’t seen before, advertising that they brewed Counter Culture Coffee. Any place that has the sense to sell good quality coffee, is ok in my book. The sign advertising their use of Boar’s Head meat was the final clencher.

I walked inside the counter only shop and took stock of my options. The creative names of sandwiches caught my eye:

(4 out of the 9 selections)

White House: Ovengold roast turkey breast, Swiss cheese, housemade pesto, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and melted Swiss cheese on focaccia.

New York Avenue: Londonport roast beef w/ herbs, spices and just a touch of honey, Vermont cheddar, lettuce, tomato, sliced red onion, roasted peppers, and horseradish mayo on whole-wheat.

Washingtonian: Smoked turkey, roasted peppers, sliced red onion, housemade dijon mustard, and havatti cheese on multigrain.

Sophie’s Favorite: Ovengold roast turkey breast, traditional cranberry sauce, lettuce, tomato and mayo on cibatta.

Bolla also had a very large assortment of tea, with a list the entire length of a menu board. Other items included “dirty” chips and as I mentioned earlier, counter culture coffee, as well as an assortment of pastries.

The friendly but quiet staff quickly made my “Washingtonian” to order and within 5 minutes I was out the door with my very heavy sandwich in tow.

After digging into my lunch-time-find, the verdict was in…I’d found a diamond in the rough. The multigrain bread was soft and fresh with just a hint of crunch from being thrown on the grill/sandwich press, there must have been at least a quarter pound of turkey on my sandwich, the cheese was flavorful and the veggies still crunchy. To top it off they threw in a pickle and a little cup of fruit. I’m not saying this was THE best sandwich I’d ever had, but it was a pleasant surprise.

To check Bolla Sandwich out, head down G St. NW in between 14th and 15th Street.  Don’t blink or you’ll miss it. Oh and here’s hoping only a few of you take my advice, otherwise I’ll have to find a new “secret spot” to avoid the lunch time lines.

Bolla Sandwich

655 15th Street NW

Washington, DC 20005