It looks like two slices of bread and some lettuce on a plate. Maybe you could have lifted a slice of bread and shared the "perfectly executed cornmeal crust on the fish" which, in this photo, is 100% invisible.
Fries are definitely a disappointment...it doesn't matter if you can watch them cut the fresh spuds. They just lack any character or flavor. The burger, on the other hand...yep, it's a fast food burger, and the best. In Silicon Valley we have "The Burger Pit" if you really want the "ground steak on a French roll" experience. There's also the ridiculously overpriced "Kirk's Steakburgers"...the burgers are a poor second to Burger Pit and their restaurants, regardless of the location, are consistently filthy. So when I really am Jonesing for a burger...when that carnivore monkey is on my back...I go to Burger Pit. When I want it fast, a little less expensive, and tasty, I go to In-N-Out.
Looks like an interesting sandwich...the local Zanotto's market (San Jose, CA) has a mighty "build your own sandwich" feature at their deli. I normally order a similar sandwich (cold, not hot): black forest ham, salami, mortadella and provolone, with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pepperoncini on ciabatta bread, with oil & vinegar dressing. Prosciutto is available at the deli but not as part of the "build your sandwich" service, although I'm sure it could be added for an extra charge in place of the black forest ham. This is close in flavor to the classic "Italian Submarine Sandwiches" I remember growing up in Massachusetts. They really don't know how to make these in California at all. You have to find a "build your own" deli, like Zanotto's, or buy the ingredients and make it at home.
Sorry, no sale for a paper-thin Palo Alto sandwich. Looks like it includes "fresh, quality ingredients, and local whenever possible" and a serious mark-up for the fact that it's sold in Palo Alto. I especially like the top half of that sandwich in the photo, where you can see a huge gap between the bread and light shining through from the other side.
We have a new thing called "supermarkets." You can go there and buy bread, avocado, bacon, lettuce and tomato and make a killer sandwich of your own for less money.
My guess is that on any given day of the week the proprietors of Sprouts Cafe laugh all the way to the bank.
From Sunset Magazine's 1982 cookbook "Easy Basics for Good Cooking." This really is a classic, and I used to make it often. It works for people who love crab, and people who are sitting on the fence about seafood in general.
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Sakura, I understand how you might view it as wasteful...I also use a Kitchen Aid to grind my own meat. When I weigh it against the "pink slime" and other surprises I find in standard supermarket ground beef, I'm OK with it in the long run. If I need a pound and a half of ground beef for a recipe, I always buy two pounds of chuck ("boneless stew beef"). Eventually I might look into a more professional meat grinder, but for now, the Kitchen Aid is what I use.