February 17, 2023 – The signs describing the sandwiches appear on the same laminated squares of paper they did decades ago: Poor Boy, Italian Job, Jaws—with beef, ham, turkey, pastrami, salami, bologna and American and Swiss cheeses.
The place itself is maybe 300 square feet. The tiny kitchen sits behind the deli case layered with photos of big fishing catches made on Monterey Bay. Straightforward sodas, chips and racks of eggs await alongside the predictable line of eager customers.
Behind the deli case avid fishermen Randy Lal and his son Randy Jr.—and occasionally his wife Savita—tell fishing stories and call out for customers they often know by name to announce their orders.
Those orders come out quick, even when the family crew’s down to one man like they were recently because Jr. was welcoming a daughter into the world.
Hidden on an obscure street, Randy’s is cash only, pour-you-own coffee, limited hours (6:30am-2pm weekdays), no website, no ATM, no promises it won’t close once everything sells out—all vintage, honest and unpolished.
And it happens to pump out some of the best no-frills and totally filling sandwiches in the area, for around $8 or $9.
I rarely sink into ruts at my favorite eateries, but here my go-tos have become so reliable, so satisfying, so Randy’s, I rarely stray. Maybe I’m ordering nostalgia.
In the mornings, it’s the substantial sausage breakfast sandwich, on Randy’s go-to pillowy sesame roll, with an appropriate amount of mayo, two sausage patties, medium-hard scrambled eggs, maybe a bonus scrap of ham, with a half a sandwich being plenty of payload for me.
Midday it’s the Godfather, with mortadella, salami, cotto salami, ham, provolone, tomato, capers and lettuce splashed with balsamic vinegar and oil.
Between the squooshy bread, tender thin-sliced meats, just enough tomato and lettuce and the touch of sweet from the balsamic, the sum of the parts is great, and the whole is greater.
One year, a colleague and I tested every sandwich spot we could find in Seaside and Monterey, around 16 total, and The Godfather scored highly on our rankings. And the only shop that beat it on our ballots is no longer open.
If you’re looking for somewhere to sit, that’ll have to be outside on the big wooden bench with the fish carved in it or at the picnic table across the street.
If you’re looking beyond my go-tos, there are plenty of options, including daily specials like Monday’s bangin’ chicken breast sandwich (adding bacon is wise), Tuesday’s chicken curry, Philly cheesesteak on Wednesdays, spaghetti on Thursdays and Friday’s calamari sandwich.
As I’ve mentioned previously, there are many definitions of a Found Treasure. Still, Randy’s feels like a textbook example if there ever was one.
Randy’s Sandwiches • 1193 10th St, Monterey • 831.375.9161
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, Edible Monterey Bay's managing editor, appears on "Friday Found Treasures" via KRML 94.7 every week, a little after 12pm noon. Reach him via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
