STEPH DEROSA: SLOW BURN >>>

5th Avenue Sandwich Shop
Hot Oly sandwich
Price: $8.50
Burn: Three and a half out of four Molotov cocktails

I love it when the restaurants make it easy for me. Let’s be honest, I love all easy foods and easy people, especially when they’re hot. (Double entendre!) But seriously folks, Bandito Betty and I ran into Olympia’s fantastic 5th Avenue Sandwich Shop, where the servers were just as spicy as the sandwich I ate that day. The minute we walked in the door sarcasm was spewing from the mouths of every female sandwich maker and server alike. It. Was. Awesome.

After all the clever teasing was finished, I decided they were going to hook me up with jalapeños galore in an amazing sandwich appropriately named the “Hot Oly.” The Hot Oly gave me a naughty burn that led well into the next day, and one which I must admit was well worth the trip down to Oly-land.

Warm roast beef, white cheese, jalapeños, pepperoncinis, and sautéed onions piled high between two lightly toasted and fresh-made slices of bread. Our server, obviously aware of my quest for internal burning, suggested his homemade jalapeño bread instead of the regular white stuff. I took him up on his offer, and was thanking him profusely throughout the meal. I’ll even admit something â€" but make sure it doesn’t get around: I had to take off some of the jalapeños midway through the sandwich. They had gotten to me then, and they certainly had gotten to me later. Yikes. I loved every bite.

As an added bonus, I’m including a picture of our server, and resident bread maker, Tim. Here you see Tim standing next to a vast display of his “bread art,” which is lovingly made with his leftover bread dough. Eat your heart out, Renoir.

[5th Avenue Sandwich Shop, 117 Fifth Ave. S.E., Olympia, 360.705.3393]