Fatted Calf Does Sandwiches Right | San Francisco

By now you've probably had your fill of roasted beasts.

But Fatted Calf gives you another reason to pay a visit to the butcher shop: Expertly crafted sandwiches (all $9.50), the kind that elevate the entire genre, are available all day, every day, at their retail shops in Hayes Valley and Napa.

While some joints try to razzle-dazzle you by putting almost anything between two slices of bread, at Fatted Calf they stick to the tried-and-true, returning classics to the limelight.

Using plush buns and bread from Della Fattoria bakery as their base, the selection changes daily, but always includes a humble meatloaf sandwich (made with gently spiced house-made pork meatloaf, pickled red onions, lettuce and grainy mustard aioli).

Other standouts include a porchetta version perfumed with fennel and rosemary and crowned with slow-cooked onions, and a luscious, two-handed pulled-pork sandwich, piled high with coleslaw and dripping with barbecue sauce made from bourbon and Blue Bottle coffee.

Back to the grind doesn't seem so bad with workaday meals like these.

320 Fell St., 415-400-5614; and 644 C First St., Napa, 707-256-3684; or fattedcalf.com