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$10 Lunch: Sub-Marina #2

Yesterday afternoon, when I went to the counter at Sub-Marina #2 in Tierrasanta and asked the woman behind the counter what she likes, she said, “I’m boring. I usually have tuna.”

The way I saw it, “boring” would be the perfect background for that one special condiment I suddenly had a hankering for — the pepperoncini.

It was late in the afternoon, late enough that if I ate too much, my dinner would be ruined. So I asked Dena (my new friend behind the counter) if instead of a six-inch sandwich, she’d let me order the kids’ meal, which came with a three-incher. She said yes. And although tuna was not on the list of kids’ meal choices, she said no problem to that, too.

Dena

And so it was that I found myself sitting at one of the park-bench deli tables, listening to Michael Jackson’s "Rock With You" at 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon and enjoying one more $10 Lunch for less than $10.

Squaw bread, tuna mixed with mayo, pepperoncini, house Italian, and a bit of vinegar. Bag o’ classic Lay’s, and a small drink for $7.25.

Next time, when it’s not so late in the afternoon, I’ll get one of those giant pickles, too. At $2.50 each, my lunch still wouldn't go over $10.

Of note: Sub-Marina #2 is a family-owned business that's been in this Tierrasanta shopping mall for 32 years. Although the #2 suggests another Sub-Marina exists out there, such is not the case. The family had another deli in Los Angeles at one point, and Sub-Marina is, in a sense, the second incarnation of that first deli.

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Yesterday afternoon, when I went to the counter at Sub-Marina #2 in Tierrasanta and asked the woman behind the counter what she likes, she said, “I’m boring. I usually have tuna.”

The way I saw it, “boring” would be the perfect background for that one special condiment I suddenly had a hankering for — the pepperoncini.

It was late in the afternoon, late enough that if I ate too much, my dinner would be ruined. So I asked Dena (my new friend behind the counter) if instead of a six-inch sandwich, she’d let me order the kids’ meal, which came with a three-incher. She said yes. And although tuna was not on the list of kids’ meal choices, she said no problem to that, too.

Dena

And so it was that I found myself sitting at one of the park-bench deli tables, listening to Michael Jackson’s "Rock With You" at 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon and enjoying one more $10 Lunch for less than $10.

Squaw bread, tuna mixed with mayo, pepperoncini, house Italian, and a bit of vinegar. Bag o’ classic Lay’s, and a small drink for $7.25.

Next time, when it’s not so late in the afternoon, I’ll get one of those giant pickles, too. At $2.50 each, my lunch still wouldn't go over $10.

Of note: Sub-Marina #2 is a family-owned business that's been in this Tierrasanta shopping mall for 32 years. Although the #2 suggests another Sub-Marina exists out there, such is not the case. The family had another deli in Los Angeles at one point, and Sub-Marina is, in a sense, the second incarnation of that first deli.

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