Today I finally went to Vatran's - now Joaquin Deli - for the first time since its change of ownership. I was happy to notice that it hadn't changed at all, it looks the same, it's selling the same items, even the people behind the counter are the same. The one change, other than the name, is its expanded menu of cold sandwiches. Their classic roasted tri-tip, pulled pork and sausages sandwiches are still there, don't worry, but now they have things like club sandwiches, grilled chicken, salmon, tuna and chicken salad, and even a classic roast beef. Most of these are served on ciabatta bread and they go for $6.50 including potato salad, coleslaw or chips.
As the title of this entree implies, I went for the roasted pork shoulder sandwich. It was incredible! The pork was supple, buttery and delicious and it reminded me of first grade jamón serrano. It came with blue cheese aioli, spinach and caramelized onions, all of which complemented it rather that competed with it. The quantity of meat to bread was also quite generous.
I'm planning to go back to Joaquin later this week and buy some of that pork shoulder to have around.