Za's took me back to the days of Radical Rye in Madison, WI. Yes, one is a pizza/toasted sandwich place and the other was a sandwich place, but the binding tie is that you can customize your order on a little sheet of paper. For someone who gets anxious at Starbucks trying to remember all the components that she has to say in the right order (lest she look like a dumbass), an uncomplicated, fill-in-the-bubbles order form is a god-send.
After wading through the many, MANY options for customizing my 'panini,' I handed in my order. While the girl behind the counter was not particularly pleasant, it was lunch time on Green St., so I guess I can't fault her too much. My sandwich came out pretty quickly, so no complaints there.
Now, the sandwich.....heaven. It's possible that I'm just really good at looking at ingredients and creating a delicious sandwich. I'm not above tooting my own horn there. But I think it's also possible that Za's just makes a mean toasted sandwich. Since they serve it open-faced, I can't really go along with their calling it a 'panini.' And it needs to be eaten with a knife and fork. But it was delicious.
In case you're curious (and I know you are), the tasty sandwich I had went like this: Veggie (no meat) panini with pesto mayo, mushrooms, red onions, artichokes, red peppers, spinach, and roma tomatoes, smothered with their gouda/mozzarella cheese. I'm going to call it the Heather's Vegetarian Fake-Healthy Heart Attack Express. That's going to catch on, just watch.
*P.S. A safety warning: I'm 95% sure my wallet was stolen out of my shoulder bag while upstairs at Za's. So....practice good sense, which I didn't, and don't leave your bag unattended while you get utensils and napkins.