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# The Explosion at Diablo Foods
- URL: https://onesandwich.com/lafayette-diablo-foods-the-explosion/
- Published: 2026-10-13T14:33:25.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-13T14:33:25.000Z
- Description: Roast beef, pepper jack, lettuce, tomato, onion, pepperoncini, jalapeños, biyn mustard, horseradish sauce, oil and vinegar on sourdough roll. Sandwich Score 76, excellent. At Diablo Foods, Lafayette.
- Author: Andrew Lekashman
- Tags: USA, California, #shop-sandwich, #auto-imported

A sandwich at [Diablo Foods](https://onesandwich.com/lafayette-diablo-foods/), a corner store in Lafayette, California.

SourdoughItalian Vinaigrette…HorseradishJalapeñoPepperonciniOnionTomatoLettuceMonterey JackBeefSourdough

**76**

Sandwich Score  
out of 100 · excellent

Excellent, with one move worth +9.

A roast beef with layers outside the form; six of six roles.

**Holding the summit:** a finished composition

Balance

95

Harmony

89

Contrast

100

Structure

97

Focus

92

Composition

68

Quality

100

Envelope

90

More heat 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.

**sourdough roll**, served cold: roast beef; pepper jack; lettuce; tomato; onion; pepperoncini; jalapeños; biyn mustard; horseradish sauce; oil and vinegar.

## Balance

salt1.2 · 62ndacid1.8 · 90thfat1.6 · 30thsweet0.2 · 26thumami1.0 · 28thheat0.9 · 90thbitter0.4 · 86th

__Flavor axes__
| Axis   | Value | Catalog percentile |
| ------ | ----- | ------------------ |
| salt   | 1.2   | 62nd               |
| acid   | 1.8   | 90th               |
| fat    | 1.6   | 30th               |
| sweet  | 0.2   | 26th               |
| umami  | 1.0   | 28th               |
| heat   | 0.9   | 90th               |
| bitter | 0.4   | 86th               |

**95** 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     |
| ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------- | --------------------------------------- | ---------- |
| sourdough rollscored as Sourdough                            | bread   | soft chewy crusty                       | the frame  |
| roast beefscored as Beef                                     | protein | fat 3 umami 3 juicy chewy tender        | **+13**    |
| pepper jackscored as Monterey Jack                           | protein | fat 3 salt 2 umami 2 soft creamy melty  | **−5**     |
| lettuce                                                      | texture | crunchy juicy fresh                     | **+11**    |
| tomato                                                       | texture | acid 3 umami 3 sweet 2 juicy soft fresh | **+11**    |
| onion                                                        | texture | sweet 2 crunchy juicy fresh             | **+7**     |
| pepperoncini                                                 | acid    | acid 4 salt 2 pickled crunchy wet       | **−8**     |
| jalapeñosscored as Jalapeño                                  | texture | heat 4 crunchy fresh raw                | **−8**     |
| biyn mustard                                                 |         |                                         | not scored |
| horseradish saucescored as Horseradish                       | sauce   | heat 4 acid 2 creamy saucy              | **+3**     |
| oil and vinegarscored as Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar) | sauce   | acid 4 fat 4 salt 2 saucy wet           | **+8**     |

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

- **Beef + Onion**: onions sweeten seared beef, philly style
- **Beef + Horseradish**: hot horseradish cuts rich roast beef
- **Lettuce + Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar)**: dressed greens, the sub shop way
- **Tomato + Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar)**: vinaigrette on tomato, salad logic
- **Onion + Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar)**: raw onion in vinegar, the quick pickle

## How to raise it

- Between you and 90: a finished composition (0.12 short).

[All the sandwiches at Diablo Foods](https://onesandwich.com/lafayette-diablo-foods/) · [The menu this was read from](https://diablofoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Sandwich-Order-Form-2021-RED-X.pdf?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.