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$10 Lunch: Sub-Marina #2

Yesterday afternoon, when I went to the counter at Sub-Marina #2 in Tierrasanta and asked the woman behind the counter what she likes, she said, “I’m boring. I usually have tuna.”

The way I saw it, “boring” would be the perfect background for that one special condiment I suddenly had a hankering for — the pepperoncini.

It was late in the afternoon, late enough that if I ate too much, my dinner would be ruined. So I asked Dena (my new friend behind the counter) if instead of a six-inch sandwich, she’d let me order the kids’ meal, which came with a three-incher. She said yes. And although tuna was not on the list of kids’ meal choices, she said no problem to that, too.

Dena

And so it was that I found myself sitting at one of the park-bench deli tables, listening to Michael Jackson’s "Rock With You" at 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon and enjoying one more $10 Lunch for less than $10.

Squaw bread, tuna mixed with mayo, pepperoncini, house Italian, and a bit of vinegar. Bag o’ classic Lay’s, and a small drink for $7.25.

Next time, when it’s not so late in the afternoon, I’ll get one of those giant pickles, too. At $2.50 each, my lunch still wouldn't go over $10.

Of note: Sub-Marina #2 is a family-owned business that's been in this Tierrasanta shopping mall for 32 years. Although the #2 suggests another Sub-Marina exists out there, such is not the case. The family had another deli in Los Angeles at one point, and Sub-Marina is, in a sense, the second incarnation of that first deli.

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Yesterday afternoon, when I went to the counter at Sub-Marina #2 in Tierrasanta and asked the woman behind the counter what she likes, she said, “I’m boring. I usually have tuna.”

The way I saw it, “boring” would be the perfect background for that one special condiment I suddenly had a hankering for — the pepperoncini.

It was late in the afternoon, late enough that if I ate too much, my dinner would be ruined. So I asked Dena (my new friend behind the counter) if instead of a six-inch sandwich, she’d let me order the kids’ meal, which came with a three-incher. She said yes. And although tuna was not on the list of kids’ meal choices, she said no problem to that, too.

Dena

And so it was that I found myself sitting at one of the park-bench deli tables, listening to Michael Jackson’s "Rock With You" at 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon and enjoying one more $10 Lunch for less than $10.

Squaw bread, tuna mixed with mayo, pepperoncini, house Italian, and a bit of vinegar. Bag o’ classic Lay’s, and a small drink for $7.25.

Next time, when it’s not so late in the afternoon, I’ll get one of those giant pickles, too. At $2.50 each, my lunch still wouldn't go over $10.

Of note: Sub-Marina #2 is a family-owned business that's been in this Tierrasanta shopping mall for 32 years. Although the #2 suggests another Sub-Marina exists out there, such is not the case. The family had another deli in Los Angeles at one point, and Sub-Marina is, in a sense, the second incarnation of that first deli.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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