Meatless Monday Lunch: Jackson Market (Culver City)

Date: Monday, July 1, 2013

Restaurant: Jackson Market

Address: 4065 Jackson Avenue, Culver City

Ordered: Caprese (add avocado)

Thoughts: It would be a misnomer to label Jackson Market a hidden gem. It's been there for a long time. Not to mention the fact that it's beloved by Culver City denizens - whether it be residents or area workers. Over a 1,000 Facebook Likes. Week day lunch time the place is packed. The same can be said for weekends. Hell, any place where the best mode of ordering is via online, in advance? Not a hidden gem. Yet, every time I enter, I feel like I'm being let in on a very local secret. And after I receive my sandwich and pay up front and take the short trot to the charming and tranquil back "patio?" Even more so. On this trip, like the every prior, I sat on that back patio (which is actually a backyard as the deli/market is a converted bungalow), thinking to myself: this place is awesome. Sure, my Caprese (with added avocado) wasn't the greatest Caprese in the history of Caprese sandwiches. But, it's nothing to sneeze at either. Like everything at Jackson Market, it was fresh and the bread top notch. You don't go to JM though just for the sandwich. You go for the local, small-town feel. You go for the dizzying array of snacks and sodas and desserts on offer. You go for the serenity of the back patio. Above all, for a Meatless Monday, it all serves as an idyllic setting to trick yourself into thinking you're eating meat.

Did I Miss Meat?: Not this week.