LA is Not, However, a Panini Town

For lunch on Thursday we ate at the Northrop Grumman cafeteria. They had a lot of options, and I decided to go for the Ham and Swiss Panini.

So when it was my turn, I stepped up to the sandwich counter and said "I'll have the ham and swiss panini please." "Okay" said the worker, who grabbed a hoagie bun, sliced it in half and asked "Do you want mayo?" I said "I'm sorry, I wanted the panini." She replied "This is the panini. It's not a panini in the typical sense." I said "Oh... Do you have light mayo?"

So as I walked away with what was clearly a cold, ham & swiss sub on a hoagie bun, I was left wondering in what sense this was a panini. And if you already have a sandwich counter (and menu), why would you make a special column for "Specialty Sandwiches" and bill it as a panini when it was identical to their ham & swiss sub? Probably so they could charge more. I mean hey- it worked on me, right?

A quick Wiki check (that's a wiki Wiki check in Hawaii) tells me that a Panini is plural for Panino, which just means "sandwich" or "bread roll" in Italian. At least dictionary.com backs me up that it's usually toasted. See? You learn something new every day.

Not a panini in the typical sense. Whatever.