Hot Off the Press

I usually get the Editorial panini and it is HUGE.
i’ve recently been trying their pesto pasta and it is usually pretty good for the price, but I’ve had it once when they put way too much cheese and it empowered the pesto sauce. Otherwise, since it’s right next to my building at work, I’ll probably keep coming back for convenience.
Oh, call and order ahead as they kind of take a while to make your stuff.

I’m in the middle of eating a salad that I got from this place.
Today was my first time coming to this spot. I was wondering around aimlessly in downtown so I thought, «why not?»
I ordered the Bunker Hill Salad, which has walnuts, feta cheese, tomatoes, and chicken with the balsamic vinaigrette dressing and it is really good. I got there at around 11:45am and there was no wait.
I paid $ 8.23 for a salad plus a bag of chips. I can’t say that it’s a great deal but the salad is fresh and it’s really good. I didn’t have to wait long for it either. They have some tables inside and outside and it wasn’t crowded.
Would I return? Maybe if the price was lower but still a pretty good find.

I popped in the other day, being new in the neighborhood, just to get something in my belly before heading over to Gold’s to workout. The cashier was friendly and cheerful, actually noticed that I was ‘new’ and gave me a friendly welcome to the city. The sandwich was very good, a lowfat turkey with pesto sauce on whole wheat that didn’t taste lowfat at all, very satisfying.
They only lost a star because there’s almost no seating… other than that, it’s a great little deli-​style sandwich shop that’s only a block from what’s now home…

I think they do a good job here. Unlike another poster, I actually thought the penne pesto, with chicken, was pretty delicious. I’ve never had a bad lunch here.

Okay I ordered the Pasta Pesto Penne, the ingredients are as follows: Basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese, with a touch of cream.
Can I tell ya, this was the worse pasta experience I’ve had there!!! The amount of parmesan cheese was in such surplus that when people entered the kitchen at work, they’d say, «Oh wee, it smells like someone has a tone of parmesan cheese on their food.» Yeah, OD on the cheese by their cook that day. .. I couldn’t eat it; and was didn’t want to insult the cook by returning same; so I nibbled on a lil bit of it; and tossed the rest away…
To their defense, I’ve ordered this dish before, and it was decent; maybe a lil too much butter; but it was edible.
Looking at everyone else’s review of this place, next time I think I’ll order a sandwich. .. Afterall, they do pimp their sandwiches, big time!
No OO for me. .. such is life. ..

Good selection of Salads and Sandwiches (Decent Quality)
Service is usually quick
Prices are fair
Little amount of seating room

this place has great soups. the pressed sandwiches are good too but the side salad is underwhelming; they might as well not have it. it’s a great place to dip in for a quick bite while waiting for the bus.

My lunch buddy and I hit up Hot Off the Press last Wednesday hoping to find Downtown LA’s best pannini.
+1 friendly service
+1 great deal (special of the day was $ 5.99 for the paninni plus side and drink– normally it’s $ 7.50 without a drink).
+1 nice crunch when biting into the sandwich
I ordered the chicken and eggplant paninni with pesto. It was just okay. I would have preferred a bit more pesto on the wheat bread I chose. But it was gigantic and I had leftovers for dinner.
The Greek side salad I chose was not well-​dressed but there were a ton of veggies (even if they didn’t taste quite at their peak)
I also ordered the chicken barley soup and it was chock full of veggies I liked but hardly any chicken (I counted three tiny fingernail sized pieces) and the barley was too overcooked.
Overall, we’d go back but probably not anytime soon.

I have eaten here twice and look forward to my third visit. On the first visit, I had a pressed sandwich with the standard side salad. That sandwich was The Headliner (turkey, roasted red peppers, provolone, tomatoes, and pesto). The focaccia was not overly thick and dry, as it is in so many sandwich shops — it was just the right thickness and made for a nice panini feel. The sandwich was of modest proportions, but plenty big. The side salad was simple and fresh, with a good vinaigrette.
Today, for my second visit, a friend and I met there. I had the soup & salad combo as promoted by the manager (?). The chicken barley soup was very good, though low on chunks of chicken. The broth was pleasantly rich and the barley was nicely al dente and chewy. I had a side of bread (whole wheat focaccia) and sopped up broth, then drank the remaining broth. My salad was good — a larger version of the side salad I had before.
My friend had the Chinese chicken salad and thoroughly enjoyed it. I had one bit and found the flavors quite nice — a honey ginger dressing. The salads feature nice crisp greens. Our salads were just slightly overdressed, but the dressing was good and it didn’t slow us down.
This place has just 4 tiny tables inside and about 4 – 5 outside tables. The exterior seating is not the greatest due to the constant stream of buses, their stench, and the occasional crowds for the bus. The restaurant can get busy at lunch hour.