Food Review: Isaac Toast
By Daniel Boden
Jan. 11, 2010 10:08 p.m.
Move on over McDonald’s, there’s a new Egg McMuffin in town.
Isaac Toast, a popular toasted sandwich vendor that puts egg in just about every sandwich it prepares, recently opened up its first American location last month in Westwood Village. With about 2,000 franchises in South Korea, the vendor offers feel-good food at inexpensive prices.
The staff at Isaac Toast is friendly, cheerful, and very service-oriented. The cashier who takes my order also delivers my food, occasionally asks if I need anything, and busses my table when I finish my meal ““ services that are generally atypical of fast food restaurants.
The menu at Isaac Toast is simple: eight sandwiches, three salads, and a small selection of juices, coffee and other drinks. The menu’s real boon comes in its prices; the original Isaac Toast registers at a mere $2.55 and the most expensive item comes in under $6. The small Korean eatery can boast of its affordability to its college clientele.
I ordered the Isaac Special Toast, which includes the trappings of the basic toasted sandwich: ham, egg, the secret recipe, Isaac Sauce, and the simple addition of cabbage. The ham and egg combo is as American as its McDonald’s counterpart, but the sweet Isaac Sauce mingled with the finely shredded cabbage creates a pleasantly crunchy Asian sensation between two slices of wheat toast. Savory and sweet combine to create unexpected flavors; some bites intimate a soupcon of cinnamon sugar and others reveal the sandwich’s salty heartiness.
The Spicy Chicken Breast Sandwich is my favorite dish of the day. The spicy variation of the Isaac Sauce lightly bathes the delicately diced chicken breast and slew of vegetables, and is immediately reminiscent of kimchi. The egg and cheese are surprisingly unobtrusive; instead, they contribute to the sandwich’s dynamic texture of juicy chicken, crisp vegetables, and soft egg, all of which are melded together between two slices of bread and broiled until golden-bodied nude.
Isaac Toast touts the slogan “Tasty, Toasty, & Healthy.” In attempts to diversify its menu and offer other healthy fair, the restaurant offers a small line of salads and juices as well.
The side salad is nothing more than a blend of lettuces, similar to bags of salads one can buy at Ralph’s. Faced with a limited selection of salad dressings, I chose the Caesar. While the lettuce tastes fresh, it is bland without the Caesar dressing, which is unfortunately too thick and bites almost as hard as a helping of horseradish.
The orange juice was the only juice available at the time ““ “It’s winter,” the cashier explained to me. It is fruity and slightly creamy in both flavor and texture, almost like a thawed Orange Julius. It is delicious, although some may be turned off by the rich, heavy punches of pulp that strike the tongue and throat as the juice exits the straw. My only concern is that Isaac Toast markets the drink as “Fresh Fruit Juice,” yet I see no fruit in the storefront ““ and it does taste oddly like a melted Creamsicle.
Isaac Toast is a great addition to Westwood Village, especially because of its affordability. The service is top-notch, but seating is limited; it is not group-friendly (there is a maximum dine-in capacity of six), and it is nevertheless fast food. The store closes most days at 7:30 p.m. which makes it difficult to have a late dinner or catch a post-movie snack. Isaac Toast has lots of potential and is worth every penny, but it will have to make more efforts to merit the attention of high volumes of UCLA students.
E-mail Boden at [email protected].
