Ricardo’s

I first came here as a student 12 (!) years ago, and a decade on I still dream of their Louisiana melt on rough days. It’s the best goddam sandwich in the world. (Closely followed by the pork and stuffing bap. No, that is not sandwich innuendo.)
I always stop by when I’m in town and they remember me and my order, which is lovely and remarkable and probably says dreadful things about my sandwich habits. When we chat they tell me about the tough times they’ve had fighting the local council, which wants to evict them in favour of luxury retailers that enjoy high margins.
In a world of corporate chains, Ricardos is what we all want — an independent business selling delicious morsels at reasonable prices. It would be a tragedy to see them go. Come, get yourself a doorstep sandwich (you won’t need to eat for three days) and support what is good and decent in life.

I like Ricardos. I’m a vegetarian and sometimes I find it hard to get a decent hearty sandwich. However, I am a huge fan of the cheese, coalslaw, pickle and salad baguette. It is delicious even though sometimes there is too much coalslaw. Even better, as a student I get a free (small) hot drink which is worth up to the princely sum of £1.70. However, I do have some complaints. The queue can be very long and more than usually boring to stand in. Furthermore, the lady who works there always engages in some very strange ‘banter’ with me which I don’t really get and it makes me feel a bit awkward and I don’t know what to say. This is my only reason for not going there every day as I can’t really deal with these social situations on a daily basis.