I was in the La Jolla area yesterday scoping out the annual cake show that the San Diego Cake Club puts on every year. I was hungry and my lunch date bailed on me so I was on my own for food. I decided to just wing it and head on over to La Jolla Village Square to see what was up. I spotted this placed called “Croutons” in the location where Pasta Bravo used to be. It sounded healthy-like so I thought I would check it out.

It’s a casual dining place. Sort of a cross between fast food and casual dining, really. You order up front and they bring the food out to you. There’s not much to the menu. They have a variety of signature and specialty salads, ranging from Cobb and Chopped salads to Pear & Blue Cheese and Mediterranean (think Greek) salads. They also have Panini’s and something called “Flatini’s” which I’m not sure what that is, but I imagine its a grilled wrap from the name.

I tried a Chicken Pesto sandwich – chicken breast, mozzarella, basil pesto mayonnaise. It was really good. The bread was really crisp and crunchy and the flavors were good. It tasted fresh, warm, and gooey. For $6.75 that’s all you get – the sandwich. There are no side dishes or anything. You can opt for a combo which is half a panini/flatini, half a salad or soup. The only “sides” on the menu are warm ciabatta or flatbread or chips. I will also say that I had this blackberry green tea that was really excellent as well. I would have liked to see some kind of side – even just chips – included with my sandwich but I guess you can’t always have it all. Though for the taste and price, I would still come back and spring for another sandwich. I’ve had other panini’s at other locations where it wasn’t really crisp all the way around or just sort of crisped up in one spot – but this sandwich had some attention to detail pasted onto it, which made it really good.

There are 2 other locations in Southern California, one in Carlsbad and one in Sorrento Valley. The Sorrento Valley location makes me happy since I can actually go there for lunch during the work week… and I foresee additional panini sandwiches in my future.

Croutons
8707 Villa La Jolla Dr.
La Jolla, CA 92037
858-909-0960