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# The Dray Magic at The Sandwich Spot Menlo College
- URL: https://onesandwich.com/atherton-the-sandwich-spot-menlo-college-the-dray-magic/
- Published: 2026-10-03T05:13:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-07T10:33:06.000Z
- Description: Hot pastrami, bacon, chipotle aioli, choice of cheese, mayo, mustard, secret sauce, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, peppers on choice of bread. Sandwich Score 78, excellent. At The Sandwich Spot Menlo College, Atherton.
- Author: Andrew Lekashman
- Tags: USA, California, #shop-sandwich, #auto-imported

A sandwich at [The Sandwich Spot Menlo College](https://onesandwich.com/atherton-the-sandwich-spot-menlo-college/), a sandwich shop in Atherton, California.

Bread (generic)Pepper (bell/hot)OnionPickle (cucumber)TomatoLettuceMustardMayonnaiseCheese (generic)BaconPastramiBread (generic)

**78**

Sandwich Score  
out of 100 · excellent

Excellent, with one move worth +12.

Uncharted, six of six roles on the board.

**Holding the summit:** a focused, restrained build

Balance

100

Harmony

99

Contrast

100

Structure

89

Focus

68

Composition

80

Quality

100

Envelope

97

More salt than 90% of the catalog.

Each bar is one pillar of the score, 0 to 100\. The tick marks what a sandwich at the summit needs; an amber bar is the one holding this sandwich back.

**choice of bread**, toasted: hot pastrami; bacon; chipotle aioli; choice of cheese; mayo; mustard; secret sauce; lettuce; tomato; pickles; onions; peppers.

## Balance

salt2.3 · 90thacid1.7 · 90thfat2.1 · 47thsweet0.3 · 43rdumami1.7 · 62ndheat0.5 · 87thbitter0.2 · 69th

__Flavor axes__
| Axis   | Value | Catalog percentile |
| ------ | ----- | ------------------ |
| salt   | 2.3   | 90th               |
| acid   | 1.7   | 90th               |
| fat    | 2.1   | 47th               |
| sweet  | 0.3   | 43rd               |
| umami  | 1.7   | 62nd               |
| heat   | 0.5   | 87th               |
| bitter | 0.2   | 69th               |

**100** Balance, out of 100

The seven flavor axes of the whole sandwich, each summed across its layers. The shaded ring is the catalog's middle 80%; the small number under each axis is where this sandwich falls in the catalog. A shape that sits inside the ring is in the range most sandwiches live in; a spike past it is where this one stands apart.

## What each layer brings

| Layer                                      | Role    | Flavor and texture                      | Points     |
| ------------------------------------------ | ------- | --------------------------------------- | ---------- |
| choice of bread                            | bread   | soft                                    | the frame  |
| hot pastramiscored as Pastrami             | protein | salt 4 umami 4 fat 3 soft silky tender  | **−4**     |
| bacon                                      | protein | fat 4 salt 3 umami 3 crispy chewy       | **+4**     |
| chipotle aioli                             |         |                                         | not scored |
| choice of cheesescored as Cheese (generic) | protein | fat 4 salt 3 umami 3 creamy soft gooey  | **−10**    |
| mayoscored as Mayonnaise                   | sauce   | fat 5 acid 2 creamy saucy               | **−2**     |
| mustard                                    | sauce   | acid 3 salt 2 heat 2 saucy smooth       | **0**      |
| secret sauce                               |         |                                         | not scored |
| lettuce                                    | texture | crunchy juicy fresh                     | **+9**     |
| tomato                                     | texture | acid 3 umami 3 sweet 2 juicy soft fresh | **+12**    |
| picklesscored as Pickle (cucumber)         | acid    | acid 5 salt 4 crunchy juicy pickled     | **−12**    |
| onionsscored as Onion                      | texture | sweet 2 crunchy juicy fresh             | **−2**     |
| peppersscored as Pepper (bell/hot)         | texture | heat 3 crunchy juicy                    | **−4**     |

Points: what the Sandwich Score would lose if that one layer were left out, everything else the same. A negative number means the sandwich scores higher without it. Flavor runs 0 to 5 on each axis.

## Pairings

- **Pastrami + Mustard**: deli law: sharp mustard against cured beef
- **Bacon + Lettuce**: cool crunch against hot smoke
- **Bacon + Tomato**: smoke against sweet acid, the blt core
- **Mayonnaise + Tomato**: summer tomato sandwich: acid on rich
- **Onion + Pepper (bell/hot)**: peppers and onions, the griddle pair

## How to raise it

- Between you and 90: a focused, restrained build (0.07 short).

[All the sandwiches at The Sandwich Spot Menlo College](https://onesandwich.com/atherton-the-sandwich-spot-menlo-college/) · [The menu this was read from](https://www.thesandwichspot.com/menlo-college-kiosk-menu?ref=onesandwich.com) · [Build your own in the Sandwich Builder](https://onesandwich.com/builder/)

Menu read 2026-09; items and prices change. The score is the site's opinion of the recipe as listed, not a review of the shop; tiers and house-made marks follow the menu's own wording.