Apparently there’s this whole panini obsession sweeping the land, hot on the heels of the cupcakes and Pinkberry fads. Everything’s all panini this and panini that, and I totally get it, panini are delicious! Who doesn’t like a toasty grilled, action packed sandwich? The downside for us herbivores is that panini are usually made with meat and cheese. Bummer.
To our rescue comes Press Panini in Studio City, on the same cute stretch of Tijunga Village as Aroma Cafe that I told you about the other day. Press Panini is a walk-up window service joint with tables out front and back. They’ve got an extensive menu filled with many amazing sandwich options, including a vegetarian section.
On this first visit I had tried the Grilled Tofu: grilled tofu, grilled onions, portabella, lettuce, tomato and olive with a raspberry vinaigrette. I requested that they leave off the onions and include roasted bell peppers instead.
It was awesome… just look… you can almost taste it, right? Yeah, this panini had it going on. Everything is made to order and grilled fresh. While it’s not a vegetarian place, they are fully vegetarian and vegan aware. Last I was there the owners girlfriend worked there, and she is a vegan, so they totally get it. They even use a separate grill for the vegetarian panini so you don’t have to worry about your tofu being grilled in meat juice.
Back to the panini, the bread was perfectly crispy (tell them if you don’t want it grilled with margarine), everything inside delicious and grilled nice & hot, with the raspberry vinaigrette tying everything together with a pretty and slightly sweet pink bow. Yum.
My next Press Panini adventure involved the Teriyaki Tofu: grilled tofu, grilled onions, portabella and avocado with teriyaki sauce. Again I got no onions, and again I loved it. The teriyaki sauce was just right, very flavorful but not too salty or overpowering. The nicely melted avocado was not only delicious but also added back in some of the cheesiness that you might be feeling deprived of. Sure, avocado tastes nothing like cheese, but the fattiness of it kind of tricks your palate a little bit. Again I must declare: Yum.
Can you handle more? They’ve also a big selection of salads, some already vegan such as the Grilled Vegetable Salad along with others the come with chicken, which they’ll substitute tofu in for you.
They also serve homemade soups and there’s usually always one available that’s vegan, the Lentil and Bean Soup. Now I’m not a big soup person so I’m not an expert on the topic, however, this was perhaps the best lentil soup I’ve ever had. Really, it was so good… thick and hearty and filling, a meal in and of itself.
You can see I’m digging on Press Panini and I think you will to. There’s parking in the back and you can expect a little wait because it’s all grilled to order, and well worth your time. All the panini are $9 and they’ve also got daily kid sized specials for $5. There’s a bit of whining on Yelp about the price, but the panini are large, delicious and will fill you up. I think it’s worth what you pay for, but then again, I don’t think $9 is too much for an awesome sandwich on a trendy street that no one should expect to be cheap in the first place. I’ll say it again: Yum.
This is also a great option for going out to eat with people who aren’t open to dining at exclusively vegetarian places (aka, my dad). There are plenty of options to make all present very happy.
you had me at the separate grill! that sounds great. i absolutely love the panini at m cafe, and i would love to get a different take on the sandwich, as that’s the only place i’ve tried it. i’m definitely gonna check this place out…….! :D
quarrygirl: I’m so happy to see you are the first to comment! I was afraid of maybe scaring you off with the bell peppers :) I in turn have not yet tried the panini at M Cafe, so of course now you’ve made me want it!
you scared me off a bit with the bell peppers…but since you were swapping them for onions, i imagined my perfect panini with the opposite combination!
i recommend the panino tuscano, sans onions, from m cafe. it’s great. (and even the carmelized onions were a bit much for me!)
AAALLLLLL delicious!
The thing I don’t like about tofu in paninis is that they can be rather wet if not done right. How was this tofu?
I’m completely swept up in Panini Fever! Great post! +1 on MCafe’s breakfast Panini
Nate: The tofu they use is firm and meaty (I’m guessing it’s previously baked before they grill it in the panini) … no wet or mushiness whatsoever.
Mmmmm…almost makes me wish I still lived in LA!! :-) That grilled tofu does look especially delicious.
Sounds good to me!
those are some sexy packed sandwiches! the idea of raspberry vinaigrette is totally wowing me, too. :p~~~
Great, another new place to try when I’m in the Valley.
You are so awesome!!!
BTW, we’ve been to Hugo’s about 10 times since we’ve discovered it.
The soy tacos are so FREAKING good. I dream about them.
oh, wow. I pass this place every day and never would have guessed that they would have tofu! I will have to check it out. Thanks!
It took 15 minutes, I took it home and was till COLD inside..called to politely inform them and got hung up twice. I returned and the older employee blamed it on technical issues with the phone..did not apologize. I requested a refund and left. OVER-PRICED,POOR SERVICE, Coyote Pizza, Vitello’s and Aroma have better service and more reasonable prices. Almost $3 for a fountain drink, $2 for a bag od chips. The biggest RIP-OFF in the Valley without a doubt. or you can pay $9 for a cold panini, they don’t even use the bread in their pictures, it’s high-carb generic supermarket rolls.
Eric Meyerhoff: Bummer to hear about your bad experience. I think it’s quite an exaggeration to call them the worst rip-off in the Valley, but to each their own. As mentioned in my review, there is usually a wait because they make the sandwiches to order. I have no idea how a freshly pressed panini manages to go cold so quickly, but what do I know?
As for the pictures here, these are my own photographs of the food I ate which they served to me, not pictures supplied by the restaurant. If that bread isn’t good enough than I guess I don’t know good bread! I have no idea where their bread comes from but it was very fresh and tasty each time I’ve gone. I don’t expect them to have their own bakery there in that small space, obviously the bread needs to come from somewhere, be it a market or other bakery. When choosing to eat a fattening panini sandwich, I think it’s somewhat odd to be complaining about the bread being high-carb. If you want a low-carb meal, it’s probably best to just avoid fast food panini joints all together.
The service has always been spot on and very friendly, so again I have no idea why you had such a bad time with them. Seems like everything just happened to go wrong for you that day with these guys :( Every place has bad days once and a while and it sounds like unfortunately you visited Press Panini on one of theirs. I’ve got no vested interests in convincing you to go back, but I do find it rather harsh to call this place a complete rip-off based on one visit that unfortunately didn’t go so well. I’m sure nowhere gets it perfect 100% of the time. I’ve been there numerous times now however and have always left satisfied and quite pleased with my meal.
Just picked up an ‘Olive All Over’ panino today – still smoking hot after I drove home with it (5 mins).
I love love LOVE this place!! I adore toasted sandwiches and there are so many different ones to choose from. My other faves are Classic Caprese and Teriyaki Tofu (or chicken).
I make a great Lentil soup, so I seldom order it when dining out, but I was surprised by how outstanding their Lentil and White Bean soup tastes.
I happen to know the bread rolls are baked specially to their order because you have to have a roll that will take all those flavours without getting soggy.
Now if they ever offer a wholewheat roll, I’d be dining there practically every day!
MaxMillion: I agree, whole wheat would rock!
Hello all you wonderful food bloggers! This is Andreas from Press Panini. Thank you all so much for your kind and wonderful comments. I have become a regular on this lovely site, and have gone to almost every suggested place. I would love if you (anyone) has a wheat bread they like to suggest it to me. I have yet to find one that produces the texture I am looking for, but completely open to suggestions.
Anyway, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate this site! Keep up the wonderful work! thanks! Andreas