La Brea Bakery

Hmmm, not sure what’s the difference between the Organic California Salad I had versus the one Philip G. had. He hated his (see his review from 5÷21÷2013) while I thought mine was A-​OK especially considering this IS airport food. Maybe it’s luck of the salad making draw?
Maybe La Brea Bakery lacks consistency? I guess I should consider myself lucky.

They won’t make a fresh sandi. If you want one with no cheese. The lady was too busy watching all the customers flock to Baja grill. No wonder.

Had an evening flight and wanted to grab a quick dinner in the southwest gate area. I got the ham and cheese panini. Yes, it was like $ 10, but they used Gruyère cheese, which was really good. Decent for airport food.

Dude. If I am paying $ 11:58 for a sandwich with two slices of turkey. The least you can do is to spread that damn advacado.

If you crave a pitiful salad that makes you feel like you’ve eaten an overpriced bowl of vomit, then the Organic California Salad is the choice for you. The goat cheese on this dish of doom actually tasted like food was coming back up from my stomach rather than down it. The balsamic vinaigrette lacked the ‘grette’ part and was nearly all vinegar. Lamenting about the $ 10 wasted, I almost wish I had gone to McDonald’s instead.
I also feel somewhat sad for the senior citizen at the cash register. After he cut my travelling companion’s sandwich in half through the plastic wrap, he made no effort to re-​wrap the two halves. Then he proceeded to hand the two halves and the salad with a bag over the register and the sandwich halves nearly slid away on to the floor. Uh, how about putting the purchase ‘in’ the bag.
Yes, airport dining is deplorable but this has to be one of if not the worst experience I’ve had to date.

1 (not even fresh) orange juice and a chocolate croissant for $ 10.50?! All I have to say is shame on you!

This is gonna sound crazy… but the panini’s here are AMAZING! Yes… in the LAX airport.

La Brea bakery is located between Pinkberry and Starbucks near Gate 3 at LAX. They offer a good selection of soups in sourdough bowls, hot and cold sandwiches, salads, fruit parfaits, and drinks. I came here with low expectations (overpriced, pre-​packaged airport food has consistently failed to impress me in the past), but I was pleasantly surprised with the Southwest Chicken panini (~$ 11) that I ordered for breakfast at 8 AM on a Thursday morning. The hot grilled sandwich consisted of tender, grilled chicken breast, roasted red bell pepper, and cheddar cheese on two slices of whole grain white bread. In terms of flavor, I would give 3.5 stars for the moist, mouthwatering, thick piece of poultry. Another 0.5 stars goes toward their quick and efficient service.
I requested provolone instead of cheddar cheese, as well as tomatoes on the side (I love tomatoes and can’t imagine a sandwich without them), but the cashier declined. He explained that all of the sandwiches are pre-​made, and they can’t add/​sub ingredients to make a custom sandwich. No surprise. This is airport food, after all. If you aren’t looking to drop more than a Hamilton on a chicken sandwich at LAX, then I’d suggest you check out the McDonald’s across from this bakery.