The Damn Gina: chipotle chicken, bacon, avocado and melted cheese with Frank's red hot sauce and ranch dressing

As I drive along El Cajon Boulevard through North Park, a swirl of pink neon lets me know that it’s not just the same old deli making sandwiches within the ABC Market & Deli.

Rather, thanks in part to the deli, it’s not the same old market. Known till last year as the ABC Discount Store, the small convenience store got the upgrade a few months ago with the addition of a back-of-shop sandwich counter dubbed The Girls Deli.

Other than the pink signage, The Girls Deli isn’t strikingly different from your typical urban deli counter. It stacks sandwiches with familiar Boar’s Head brand meats and cheeses, on locally baked bread (Sade Rose Baking Co.). It’s easy to order hot or cold, classic sandwiches featuring the likes of turkey, bacon, and avocado, or hot pastrami (starting at $9.99).

This is all stuff I appreciate as a frequent sandwich consumer, and especially as someone who regularly finds himself on this stretch of the Boulevard, hungry, and running late for something.

Pink neon signs light the way to The Girls Deli.

But there is an added element of charm to this sandwich shop, and much of it has to do with the namesake girls. Two young women, Gina and Rula, are the best friends behind the shop, and one or both may often be found behind the counter, making sandwiches and conversation. And rapidly filling out a repeat customer base with a few of the specialty subs, side dishes led by a spicy macaroni salad, and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

A couple of those signature sandwiches stand out, an accomplishment working in such a standardized restaurant format. For example, I picked up The Cage (named after the smoke shop next door), a simple sounding hot sandwich featuring a stack of thinly sliced London broil roast beef, provolone, and onions, but finished with loads of those mild, roasted Ortega green chilis that taste so good out of a can.

This market on El Cajon Boulevard now has a sandwich counter.

I could have eaten three of those. The appeal of the Girls $10.99 signature sandwiches is the proprietors understand which of their deli meats stand out, like that London broil. Elsewhere, they take their take on a spicy Italian, called The Mob, around black forest ham and spicy pepperoni, as well as salami and mortadella. The so-called San Diego Psycho improves the turkey bacon club concept with cracked pepper turkey. And The New Yorker pairs pastrami with another cured then smoked meat you may have heard of: bacon. The Freak takes this pairing and adds heat with jalapeño and sriracha mayo.

There are a dozen others worth mentioning, but my favorite so far is called Damn Gina, named for one of the owners. This hot sandwich matches bacon and avocado with chipotle chicken, finished with a combination of Frank’s red hot sauce and ranch dressing. Think of it as a buffalo chicken sandwich for a So Cal audience — you won’t hear me complaining.

London broil roast beef with roasted green chilis

I won’t sit here and pretend I’m surprised The Girls Deli delivers better sandwiches than the typical guy-run deli. But I am surprised by the ABC Market: it’s not the beer or liquor store I’d expected. It’s actually a convenience grocer that does about everything under the sun that isn’t selling liquor. It’s an official U.S. Post Office supplier that’s part hardware store, bike shop, auto shop, party supply store, and pet shop. And if you happen to be looking for it, the place sells incense. You’ll forget about the little bit of everything you pick up there, but you’ll remember the sandwiches.