Jeff and I spent a beautiful afternoon walking from Alamo Square to Lower Haight to Church and Market, and I introduced him to a neighborhood gem and one of me and my coworkers' go-to cheap and filling lunch destinations.

is your typical mom and pop sandwich shop run by mother and daughter duo, Mae and Judy. They have limited lunch time hours (11:30 to 4:00) and are only open Tuesday through Friday, but when they are, there's a steady stream of customers.

There are very strict ordering instructions (bread first!) but with prices so low and such fresh ingredients, everyone is willing to wait their turn and follow directions in order to walk away with a sandwich made to order and bursting with flavor. I ordered half an avocado sandwich on California Style whole wheat with cheddar cheese...for $2.90.

This is a "half" sandwich. A whole sandwich has another piece of bread in the middle and twice the filling. Judy's mom Mae rings you up on a cash register bigger and older than she is and gives you an almond cookie and a crinkled grin.

She used an entire avocado!