Image courtesy of LA Weekly
A night out with Andy and Lisa usually implies good food and drink. The prospect of another new Los Angeles hamburger had me excited. Then they threw me a curve ball e-mail stating, “Have we got a sandwich for you!” I thought maybe the couple knew of a burger I had not yet heard of, but as it turned out they were actually talking about a new sandwich shop near their home in West Hollywood.
But first — The Roger Room. Described to me as a mixology bar with a speakeasy vibe, I anticipated a fun environment but feared a menu constructed like that of Comme Ca, where I wasn’t sure if I was ordering a man’s drink or a woman’s drink. There are two kinds of bars where I feel comfortable ordering: craft beer bars and Seven Grand. Everything else makes me nervous about improperly ordering my booze. The last thing I need is to be out with friends and my drink shows up and it has a pink umbrella and a flamingo stirrer poking out of it. I would lose all credibility amongst my friends if I was caught drinking a woman’s drink.
The Roger Room, I was told, is only a fun place to hang out until a certain time of night. After maybe 10pm, it becomes very loud and fills up quickly with obnoxious Westsiders. We arrived shortly before nine. We stayed for one drink. By the time we left, I was beginning to understand that sentiment about the clientele. Before that happened though, I was very happy to sit there and drink. It’s designed like an old speakeasy. There’s no sign outside. You walk in and the space is very-dimly lit, almost too dark. The menu is brief yet filled with variety. One side consists of drinks made with vodka, gin, tequila, rum, whiskey and absinthe. The opposite side lists beer, wine and liquor. I ordered a Thug: Maker’s Mark, lemon juice, Bärnjager honey liquor, and habanero bitters. It was fantastic, very fresh with great bite. I could have ordered five more, but when we noticed the volume in the room had been raised exponentially by newly-arriving customers, we decided to leave.
Almost parallel to The Roger Room across the street is Soda Pops. Okay, maybe there’s a strip club separating the two, but they’re nearly perfectly across La Cienega from each other! We walked into the infant (six months old) sandwich shop, and my eyes immediately gravitated to the fridge stocked with different…what are they called, craft sodas? Homemade sodas? Mom-n-pop sodas? This place has a fine selection. Then I joined Andy and Lisa in conversation with the establishment’s owner Dave. My gaze shifted to the menu and I immediately decided on the chicken pesto sandwich. I didn’t need to hear what kind of bread it was served on (it was toasted ciabatta), or that every sandwich on the menu is made with a bread appropriate for its ingredients, I just wanted it. The other chef (I feel awful that I’ve forgotten his name, because he repeated mine at least half a dozen times last night) spoke to Andy about adding some fixings to his order (Steak Bomb), and once Andy was convinced to include them all in his sandwich, we officially placed or order and sat down.
Lisa had the Italian wedding soup that was served with these perfect little chicken meatballs in it, and a side of toast. Andy had that insanely flavorful Steak Bomb. I went with the chicken pesto, even though the B.E.L.T.A (bacon, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, avocado) sounded amazing, and I’ve been searching for an East Coast-style meatball sub for three years now. I’m not worried, I’ve got plenty of time to go back to Soda Pops and try everything on the menu. My sandwich was great. The chicken was moist and the toasted ciabatta was a perfect compliment. Each sandwich comes with a side of homemade potato chips. Last night’s options were salt and pepper or honey mustard (or was it honey dijon…). The options change daily, and I’m hoping that the next time I visit I can try the bacon cheddar chips. I washed my sandwich and chips down with a delicious cherry cola.
I only wish that Soda Pops was a small franchise with a location closer to Echo Park. I would eat there more than regularly. I’ll make the drive over to the west side for sure, but I’m hoping Dave’s plans for expansion include an east side eatery in the near future.
