West Coast Review: Starbelly’s

I never thought I’d be reviewing a BLT. The proliferation of the sandwich and the endless variety of add-ons, (I recently heard of a BLAST: Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Shrimp and Tomato), would make writing about them a herculean task. But this one. THIS one. It was perfect.

Starbelly’s BLT is built around some of the best tasting bacon I’ve had in months. It is very thick cut, chewy and extremely flavorful with a slight pepper kick; three fat slabs of delicious. The bread is a squishy, lightly toasted ciabatta roll, about eight inches long and smothered in basil aioli. The tomatoes were, (as are all the restaurant’s produce), farm fresh and perfectly ripe. I especially appreciated the pile of wild baby arugula, dressed lightly in oil, that echoed the pepper in the bacon.

Now it may seem that I am not the lightest of eaters, but I am. I love food, but can only handle small portions and generally end up taking quite a bit home when I dine out, as inelegant as that is seen to be. I ate the whole thing. It was bigger than my head.

(honorable mention goes to the Old Bay remoulade served with the fries)

Review by Kajsa Sexton. Photo by Suzanne Ray.