Tops!

My car took me to Tops recently in Pasadena and I just had to post my discoveries. There is a growing debate amongst my family between The Hat or Tops and after this experience, I am siding with the Tops contingent. Let me explain why.

Kobe beef dip sandwich. If you like french dip sandwiches, what happens when you substitute the beef with kobe beef? You get a sandwich with kobe beef! That’s what. No vegetables, no fancy condiments, just straight forward bread, kobe, and dipping sauce. The portion was a pretty decent size. Not huge, but there wasn’t any rabbit food to waste stomach space so it was pretty dense. The aus jus was nice and went well with the tender slow cooked beef (10 hours). If you feel like meat, this is a pretty safe bet to satisfy that hunger. I would have finished but my body was weary after having some of the other dishes on the menu to follow…

Both Tops and The Hat are known for their pastrami sandwiches and I’ll be honest, for me, they are neck and neck in that area. This sandwich was quite larger than the kobe beef dip. They do put cole slaw in the sandwich which is a good addition and helps make it more manageable. The sheer amount of meat would otherwise be pretty hard to consume bite after bite without something to balance all that salt. I’d say try them both yourself and see what you think. I like pastrami, but the next item on the menu is what I’m dreaming about if I’m lucky.

Chili cheese fries!!! Yes you read correctly. Please inspect this picture I posted very closely and feel the warmth that radiates from your screen as you gaze upon pure incredible food perfection. It wasn’t the pastrami that was so utterly amazing and better at Tops that makes me want to go back over and over again, but it was this, the chili cheese fries. They pile on the chili so each bite has the perfect amount of chili reserved for your enjoyment. The two cheese blend of jack and cheddar was melted just right. The fries had just the right crisp and didn’t lose its fluffy potato texture that results in either too much time in the fryer or too thin of a cut. The amount was also ginormous. I would not change one thing with these. If you want to experience a party in your mouth I suggest you find out when Tops opens or closes and make sure you go there the next time you get a chance. You will not be disappointed.

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