Quick Intel: I've lived by UCI, the University of California at Irvine, for over a decade, and the best lunch you can get there is at Le Diplomat Bakery Cafe, in the University Center across from the university.
The Vietnamese-American family that owns it bakes their own bread daily and uses fresh ingredients. They have traditional American sandwiches as well as a lot of international sandwiches like Vietnamese Cold Cuts and Greek Gyros. I recommend the gyros and their old-fashioned BLT, jazzed up with very good avocado.
The place is usually jammed with students at lunch, so on your first visit, grab a business card at the counter, decide what you'd like on your next visit, and call ahead next time so that your yummy sandwich will be waiting for you when you arrive.
The food's cheaper than fast food and a lot healthier for you.
Also, if you don't know the area already, there's a pleasant outdoor dining area just outside, with trees, tables under umbrellas, and a nice fountain.
Side note: According to the local grapevine, a few years ago, the Lee's Sandwiches chain got a lease in the same shopping center, right next to the pedestrian overpass to the university, and pressured management to push out their competition. So Le Diplomat Cafe was turned down when it tried to renew its lease, even though it's been there for over a decade. Students signed petitions and customers protested, and finally the shopping center's management relented and let Le Diplomat stay.
