Lucie Wetzel’s model lunch fare

Posted by mija on Jun 3, 2006 in News | 0 comments

The expression “salad days” entered the English language when Shakespeare had Cleopatra say the words. Recalling her carefree past, the Queen suggests that youthful exuberance may have led to a regrettable liaison with a guy named Caesar.
Somewhere between Shakespeare’s waxing poetic about regret and the less regretful waxing found in “Desperate Housewives,” the term “salad days” has curiously changed from its original meaning. The expression now commonly refers to an idealistic time of great success in one’s life or business. The two interpretations may seem contradictory, but sometimes contradictions can work quite well together. An example of that can be found in a tiny, nondescript sandwich shop buried on a stretch of Second Street between Broadway and Hill. The space is nestled between a Los Angeles Parking Violations Bureau and an immigration services office. Though the block appears a bit rough due to construction across the street, once you slip into Salad Days Sandwich & Salad Market you’ll find the color and character that may soon be reflected in the whole area.
Salad Days is small but the space is fully utilized: high ceilings add airiness, colorful checkered floor tiles expand the square footage by way of optical illusion, and lively work by local artists accents the walls. A similar vibrant color scheme is found in the menu items, where bright greens, oranges and reds dominate a fresh sampling of organic produce, warm bread and fresh cold cuts. Walking into Salad Days is like entering an arts and crafts project that feeds you.
The person responsible for the project is Lucie Wetzel, 26, a former fashion model who recently gave up the pages of Cosmo and Vogue to design her own spread of unique lunch creations. The inspiration for the sandwiches, Wetzel says, came from the baguettes served by Paris street vendors.

It was an opportune time for inspiration. Wetzel’s ability to fuse delicious and healthy ingredients into convenient, wrapped sandwiches has put Salad Days, along with several other emerging Downtown eateries, on the cusp of the recent demand to supply fast, wholesome meals to droves of over-worked, traffic-stressed, image-conscious Angelenos.
Although her space fits with a trend, Wetzel knows how to create a style all her own. The fare at Salad Days distinguishes itself with a variety of homemade mayonnaises, mustards and chutneys, a tactical use of fine cheeses and a creative application of hardboiled egg whites. The process begins each morning with a trip to Grand Central Market, where Wetzel selects fresh ingredients. Before opening for lunch, she has prepared, wrapped and labeled countless sandwiches and stacked them in the refrigerated display unit. Places like Salad Days are commonly referred to as “grab-and-go,” and a consistent flow of badge-bearing L.A. Times employees do just that. Other taskmasters flock from nearby office buildings and jurors, on a break from civic duty, appreciate the easy and healthy alternative. During my first visit, which lasted less than an hour, the pile of sandwiches in the refrigerated unit disappeared in a hurry. As Wetzel worked behind the counter to replenish the stock, she also took custom orders. Throughout the process she greeted regulars by name and engaged newbies in comfortable conversation. Though she was juggling several orders by herself, not once did I sense an impatient customer.
So why do so many people come to this little place? Consider that each fattened 8-inch soft-yet-firm artisan baguette is a filling and utterly delicious steal for $5.99. Four of the nine sandwiches on the menu are variations on the turkey theme, the most popular being the turkey pesto, which contains a hefty dose of artichoke hearts pressed into a thick pesto cream with Swiss cheese and thinly sliced turkey.
The most ambitious of the turkey variations is the mango gorgonzola sandwich: folds of thin meat are squeezed between a generous spread of homemade mango chutney and a delicious layer of powerful gorgonzola. The potency of the cheese is followed by the tickle of sweet honeyed chutney. The result is a strangely delectable mix of flavor and texture.
In future visits, I personally will find it difficult to order anything but the raspberry gorgonzola chicken salad sandwich, which combines all of my lunch idiosyncrasies into one portable baguette. The homemade raspberry mayonnaise binds a perfect blend of shredded chicken, almonds and heaps of that wonderful gorgonzola. The salads are hefty, and a new entree salad is featured weekly. The standard house salad includes mixed organic greens, sun-dried tomatoes, hearts of palm, broccoli, gorgonzola and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette, though you can have your salad any way you like it (all are $5.99). The soups on rotation include a rich and complex gazpacho, a curried carrot blend and a thick black bean chili ($1.99/cup; $3.99/bowl). I also strongly recommend the freshly squeezed, sweet lemonade, which is available most days, but goes quickly as temperatures rise.
If, like Shakespeare’s Cleopatra, we are to believe that the youthful exuberance of our “salad days” may lead to future regret, or, alternatively, that our “salad days” are a time of success yet to come, then Wetzel may provide for an interpretation that takes the best of each of these contradictions.