White walls with painted human silhouettes and limited seating make All About the Bread, the new mid-city sandwich joint, seem at first rather cold and severe, like a spectre Italian deli. The shop, which soft-opened a couple weeks ago between M Cafe and the recently opened T-Salon, has yet to set an official opening date and there are still plenty of kinks to be worked out: very few tables and a parking “situation” unaided by the less-than-reliable (if free) valet. But the sandwiches themselves need no adjustment.

The short menu offers only a handful of traditional Italian deli sandwiches on homemade bread, which is baked with remarkable frequency during the day. The meatball, hot pastrami, caprese and tuna sandwiches are prepared simply, with the works available upon request. But the Godfather, filled with spicy capiccola, mortadella, ham, prosciutto di parma and provalone all sliced fresh from the deli case, is the main draw here and it is an impressively serious contender of a sandwich. Maybe, when it officially opens, All About the Bread could, perhaps, be a kind of Bay Cities for the east side. Maybe.

All About the Bread: 7111 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. (No phone number or website yet.)

Deli Case; Credit: E. Courtland

Deli Case; Credit: E. Courtland

Deli Case; Credit: E. Courtland

Deli Case; Credit: E. Courtland

Meatball sandwich, with provolone and parmesan. (The Godfather doesn't photograph well.); Credit: E. Courtland

Meatball sandwich, with provolone and parmesan. (The Godfather doesn't photograph well.); Credit: E. Courtland

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