In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting too much from this sandwich. Brand Grill is one of those seemingly-featureless places tucked into a seemingly-featureless corner shopping center that occur every few blocks throughout Los Angeles. When picking a place at random, I try to temper my expectations. Compounding things was that Brand Grill seemed to feature a kind of indeterminately-Mediterranean menu, mostly kebobs and cutlets.

Add all that to not-particularly-notable sausage and you might expect a mildly disappointing sandwich. I certainly did, but as luck would have it I was wrong. This was quite good, and the reason it was quite good is rather simple: cilantro. Establishments often ask if I want “everything” on a sandwich without specifying what that entails, and I usually say yes without asking. I want to see the sandwich on offer, not the sandwich I can talk an establishment into producing. At Brand Grill, apparently, the “everything” includes cilantro. I know that’s not to everyone’s taste, but even if you don’t care for that particular leaf I would like you to consider that herbs are tremendously underused on sandwiches. I’ve had some real winners that featured mint, and the subtle brightness fresh herbs can bring would raise a good number of sandwiches to a new level. It’s clear Brand Grill understands that, and I can only hope that more establishments take note.