Steak and Hoagie Co.

Great Central Steak and Hoagie Co.

410 E. Thompson

Ventura CA 93001

The Great Central Steak and Hoagie Co has been around a long time, a throw back to the hamburger stands of the 40' s, sitting just off the 101 and far enough away from California St. that most tourists miss it.

I've eaten there once before, several years ago on a quest for a good pastrami, and found it to be wanting. There's always a few people milling about, but they always look a bit sketchy, and I just haven't felt the need to try there again.

But today, my son and I were running errands and we found ourselves in the area. Actually, the Great S and H Co was our third choice. We started at Tony's, but when we walked in the guy there said that if we just wanted single slices, he wouldn't have any ready for about 40 minutes. They're always nice at Tony's, and it rates it's own entry, so I'll get back to that. Tony himself died a few years back, so I'm not sure who owns the shop. I'll have to go in and check.

So we went over to the Sandbox. I've only had coffee at the Sandbox (6/28/13), so I figured a sandwich would be nice. A dirge like band of young people was playing in the courtyard, and there was a line. The two young guys at the counter took the order of the people in front of us, and then walked away. They didn't acknowledge that my son and I were standing there, waiting to give them money for food.

I hate that. At least look at me and say, "I'll be right with you." That's all. Don't ignore me.

My son noticed that they didn't serve root beer, and that was enough for us to be on our way. So we walked down Thompson, and ended up at Great Central Steak and Hoagie. And like always, there were a few sketchy people standing around. But I must look a bit sketchy myself, because a younger guy with a shaved head, tattoos and a skateboard struck up a conversation with us about running marathons. We chatted in the way that people do who don't really have anything to say but want to chat anyways, and he highly recommended the Philly Cheese Steak.

On the window, there was a giant sign talking about a special of a 5" sandwich, fries and a drink for $6.99, which sounded perfect. At the skater guys' suggestion, I went with a cheese steak, as did my son. The old Asian guy at the counter took our order in a business-like way, and we went over to sit down at one of the small, tagged up tables.

Our order came up pretty quick. It was much more than I expected, a reasonably sized Philly Cheese with onions and peppers, a 12 oz. Pepsi (my son got his root beer) and a full bag of french fries. The sandwich was good, but the fries were excellent, and my son and I quickly dove in.

At that point, a beach woman came up to order. Wearing a dress, no bra, and looking like she could be anywhere from 40 to 60, I was trying to decide if she was homeless while she was going back and forth on her order. She finally decided what she wanted, then looked over at what my son and I were eating.

"It's the Special. It's on the window," I said when she asked, which caused her to immediately go back to the window and reorder. The guy at the counter got a bit testy, but eventually everything worked out, and she came back over to talk to my son and I.

I learned about her father, about how he used to eat there often and sometimes she would come along too. She talked about the previous owner of the restaurant and how things had changed, but our order looked good and she hoped hers would be too.

I assured her that it was good, and that hers would be good as well. Her order came up, and she wished us well as she went to her car.

You gotta love a place where everyone is friendly. And, of course, that serves root beer.