The Sauce had never heard the word “PressEat,” but it was lunchtime and it has “Eat” in it—good enough to lure me in to see what this new restaurant describing itself as a “pressed grill subs & burgers factory” was all about.

Just five days after their soft opening, new PressEat was busy and ready to please. Management explains that putting a sandwich (or a dessert croissant) on a grill doesn’t make it into what many restaurants call a panini. These pressed sandwiches, they say, are a classic diner burger or sub on a bun made especially toasty-tasty by getting a good hot squeeze. Instead of the bun being a room-temperature afterthought, bread becomes part of the action when it’s warm, flat and just a little crispy on the outside.

Of course, a PressEat sandwich is not quite like that hoagie you’d pick up at a lunch counter in Jersey. PressEat prides itself on non-GMO bread ingredients, high-quality meats and the like. For this reason, subs and burgers range from $9 to $12, not including sides and special ingredients—add fries and a soda-machine drink, and it’s pretty easy to spend $20 for lunch at a place where you order at the counter.

But they tell us they don’t want to compromise on quality to bring prices down, and The Sauce has to say that they make a mighty fine burger that lives up to expectations. Maybe we’re dazzled by all those little grill lines.

PressEat is a work in progress—they’re trying to add a little atmosphere with retro rock ‘n’ roll, maybe a little Motown, instead of the current head-banging music that sounds a lot like the inside of Sherman Oaks Fashion Square. There’s indoor-outdoor seating, and they’re eager to hear what you think. Definitely worth dropping by to try your lunch or dinner freshly pressed.

14518 Ventura Blvd., 818-849-5835