Wednesday, December 31, 2008

A Different Blog's Best Sandwiches of 2008


Yumsugar did their top sandwiches of the year and there are some good looking sandwiches on that list, like the Honey-Basil Grilled Cheese seen here.

I would do our Top 10 sandwiches, but I could not say with certainty that we have 10 total posts.

Happy New Year!

Friday, December 5, 2008

You guys, things are changing you can't stop them


The Portland Mercury blog has tipped me off to some important new sandwich language; specifically: calling a sandwich a "sando". Now, listen. I know how you guys are. And for once, I don't want to get into a long thing about the shifting nature of language vs. the righteous strength of linguistic prescriptivism. All I'm saying is, I think calling a sandwich a sando is a pretty good idea.

Here's their post post about sandos, including a photo of some spaghetti sandos.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Sandwich Assault

Breaking News Headline: Man nabbed after hitting girlfriend with sandwich

Not cool, unidentified man from Port St. Lucia, Fla. Sandwiches are for eating. And for taking pictures of and posting blogs about. That's it. (And for making ranking lists of, but that's it.)
"Police said the 19-year-old man became angry and hit the woman in the arm and face with a sandwich, knocking her glasses off."
Well, if she was wearing glasses it was sort of her fault for being a nerd.
"Police haven't said what type of sandwich was involved."
Oh, COME ON.

Link, ht: Franklin

Monday, November 3, 2008

Freedom Sandwich

I managed to give the border patrol the slip and get back in the USA, so to celebrate I had a sandwich from Larchmont Wine & Cheese. It's the #3: Soppressata, Manchego cheese, mixed greens, sun-dried tomato spread, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. This is the best sandwich.  

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Victory Sandwich #1

This is the first in a series of Sandwich Blog recession sandwiches, renamed "Victory Sandwiches" to keep your spirits up.

This also happens to be one of my favorite sandwiches: Peanut Butter & Banana. I added a little cinnamon and put it all on toasted wheat and let it heat up in the broiler. I used my grocery store's generic brand peanut butter ($1.50); the banana was 17¢ and I only used half of it so I still have 8.5¢ worth of banana to invest in high interest mortgages or whatever. Call me, Wall Street. We'll talk.

(As you can see, I also ate some apples with more peanut butter, because whatever, I'll throw my money around into all kinds of produce to use as vehicles for peanut butter, I don't even care.)

Friday, October 24, 2008

Sandwich Economy


Will Sandwich Blog be able to weather the faltering economy? Our advertising revenue has been reduced to zero dollars! (From a quarterly high of zero dollars.)

Nechita has it easy up in Canada. He can continue eating his solid gold sandwiches dipped in diamond au jus, but what about the rest of us? Are sandwiches really a recession-proof industry? What about all the money I have invested in various spreads and toppings? What is the bottom line here?!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Sandwich News of the World

Iran made the world's longest sandwich, but then a bunch of hungry Iranians panicked and ate it before it could be measured for the Guinness Book of Records. It was 5000 feet long, and made with 1500 lbs of chicken and ostrich meat.

Does anyone know if Blogger has a way to insert the sad trumpet sound into a post?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

First Sandwich!

Hey guys, first I want to say that I've been a fan of sandwiches for a long time, so to be asked to contribute to the Sandwich Blog is pretty exciting for me.   Now, normally I'm pretty good about eating many kinds of delicious sandwiches.   I used to live in Los Angeles, which in my opinion is pretty strong in the whole area of delicious sandwiches. However, due to a recent disagreement between myself and U.S. Customs, I'm going to be spending a fair amount of time in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Unfortunately,  having many delicious sandwiches available isn't really one Saint John's strengths (but there is a lot of great poutine), so I don't know how well this is going to go.

With that warning out of the way, here's a sandwich I ate:


It's the Toasted Chicken Club from Tim Horton's: whole wheat bun, chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato, some weird honey mustard dressing, pretty straightforward, except that it was really awful. The chicken and bacon tasted really microwavey, almost like they were microwaved and not toasted at all.  Also, everything about this sandwich seemed oddly small, like they shrunk down a normal sandwich by 25%. The bread was fine, I guess.

Well, there you go, a terrible sandwich I ate.  I'm really sorry, I'll try to do better.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Sandwich Anomaly?

Today a coworker and friend of the sandblog (FoSB) brought his first contribution to the Sandwich Exchange Program, which is a great team-building activity for all workplaces populated by sandwich enthusiasts. Remarkably, the sandwiches we've exchanged have been of the vegetarian variety (the inaugural sandwich was a whimsical childhood favorite, tomato and mayonnaise on multigrain).

Based solely on Strach's penchant for delicious "salad sandwiches" you may think that all vegetarian sandwiches are made with health in mind. Well, today I enjoyed the benignly titled "Asparagus Sandwich," which is less about asparagus than it is about cream cheese (stuffed with it), butter (dipped in it), and Parmesan cheese (fried in it somehow). It was delicious and soul-crushing. So, gentle readers, if you like feeling like you're suffering from a mild yet sustained heart attack but you don't indulge in meats, this is the sandwich for you.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Sandwich Injuries

First of all, my apologies for the long absence from the Sandwich Blog. As most loyal readers know, I kick off every fall (generally considered "sandwich season") with an intense sandwich immersion workshop. You may remember that nearly all sandwich immersion programs demand at least a two-month commitment, but I was summarily ejected from the program this year under unpleasant circumstances beyond my control and which I find far too painful to discuss.

Which brings us to today's theme: sandwich calamity. Nobody likes to talk about the dark side of sandwich construction and consumption, but as with sandwiches, life, and love: sometimes things go horribly, shamefully, and frankly bizarrely wrong. Take for instance, this grill pan burn I acquired while making one of my favorite sandwiches, a grilled halloumi, broccoli rabe, and roasted tomato number on French country loaf:


You might say to yourself, "that grill pan burn is nothing," or "I've seen worse," or, "I'll show YOU a grill pan burn, Molly. Perhaps you remember when I lost my left arm in a deep fryer during a tandem Croque Monsieur demonstration. Or have you already forgotten you son of a bitch." Well, jesus CHRIST, soldier, don't you deserve a goddamn sandwich medal of honor. I'm just trying to get by here.

Anyway, readers, feel free to contribute your own harrowing tales of sandwich calamity, but be sure to include the type of sandwich you risked life and limb for.

As always, the tip line is open.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Another Salad Sandwich

So I was hanging at the salad bar at the grocery store (awesome) and I got a salad that went a little something like this: mixed greens, spinach, some bean mix thing, tuna, broccoli, asparagus (what?), and probably some other stuff that I can't even remember.

Then I took it home, put some feta and Italian dressing on it, and put all that on toasted French bread with avocados, tomatoes, and eggplant hummus.

BONUS TIP: This is a good gateway sandwich for when you are trying to get a salad lady you know to transition into a sandwich-positive lifestyle.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Curried Lentil Spinach Sandwich

Danger invented this sandwich, but chose to eat it instead of blog about it. I recreated it for myself, because as usual I'm cleaning up after that guy's messes.

Took leftover curried black lentil and spinach dish (hattip: the very talented chef, NRV), added tomatoes, eggplant hummus, a little feta, and put it on toasted sourdough.

Oh, did I just blow your mind? Sorry about that.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Inside Scoop!

A few months ago, I blogged about Larchmont Wine & Cheese and their delicious, if unpredictable, sandwich line-up. Well, a former LW&C employee left a note in the comments setting me straight:
The Imp of the Perverse said...

I worked at Larchmont Wine & Cheese.

The owner's wife preps the tuna herself in the morning and can't do it every day. As for the bread, they have to order it fresh in the morning. Naturally, sometimes they run out.

Fair enough! I certainly meant no disrespect to anyone or anyone's wife, and I thank LW&C for their continued excellence in sandwicherie.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

BLT Season!

Many loyal sandwichblog readers may be surprised at my continuing fondness for 'wichcraft despite high prices and my escalating feud with a certain brooding sandwichman who works the lunch shift, but it's things like these that bring me back:

BLT season! Yes, 'wichcraft only serves BLTs during the local tomato season, and let me tell you, they don't disappoint. Tomatoes are thickly sliced and well seasoned and the bacon is of that prissy frou frou organic variety that I love so dearly. Humanely raised Berkshire pigs, you don't deserve to live because I deserve to eat you. Also I got this guy on multigrain because I'm a fucking health nut.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Softshell Crab Sandwich

This little fella comes with 1) deep-fried softshell crab and 2) pieces of white bread. Then a small side of tartar sauce. Nothing else. Look at how his little critter legs flail out over the side of the bread!




Fries on the side, natch.

Monday, August 4, 2008

This is the kind of dedication I'm talking about, you guys

From the news:

Man calls 911 over incorrect sandwich
Reginald Peterson called the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office in hopes that police could have his sandwich made to his satisfaction.
This gentleman has been wronged and he demands satisfaction!

ht: Molly

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Finally, A Sandwich

Look alive, sandwich nerds, we have an honest to goodness sandwich on our hands.


Tomatoes, spinach, eggplant hummus, and avocado on toasted ciabatta. DEAL WITH IT.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Two Days, Two New Sandwiches

Yesterday I had a chili mackerel mantou sandwich that was recently profiled in a newspaper of distinction. I have to say, this sandwich was indeed tasty but not nearly as crusty, steamy, or squirty as that article made it out to be. It was good, but I don't think I would want to eat it every day.

However, today I had a sandwich that I could definitely eat over and over again: the grilled cheddar with red onions, spicy chipotle sauce, cilantro, and tomato slices on sourdough that I had for lunch from Amy's Bread. This was essentially a nacho sandwich, and close sandwich blog readers and even mild personal acquaintances should know that this is something I'd go absolutely bonkers for.

Overall, it's been a good week in sandwiches.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Verdict

I've had some time to think about it, and I'm going to say that this sandwich...


was delicious.

New Sandwich

Today I made a sandwich consisting of jamon serrano, roasted tomatoes, a Basque raw sheeps' milk cheese whose official name escapes me, and arugula on ciabatta. I wrapped it up and brought it to work, so no word just yet on how it turned out. Tune in later for the results!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Salad Sandwich

I know what you're thinking: "Salad? On a sandwich?! Well, I guess I can die because now I've seen everything."

This was the La Brea Bakery baguette Danger gave me, and if you know anything about La Brea Bakery baguettes, it's that they cost $7 and go bad in like an hour. So I had to use it fast, but I didn't have any sandwich fixings.

So imagine this: You make a salad. Romaine, spinach, "spring mix", feta, roasted red onions, and broccoli. Then you put that ON A BAGUETTE, which you've toasted in the broiler with a little olive oil.

This is what the Earl of Sandwich's bitch wife probably ate all the time.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Just for Fun



I'm in love?

No Time to F Around

Guys, I've eaten a lot of sandwiches since the last time we spoke. Here's a list of some of them:

  • Roast turkey with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and chipotle mayo on 5 grain (Pretty good.)
  • Roast turkey with bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and chipotle mayo on 7 grain (Pretty good +.)
  • Grilled mozzarella, tomato and pesto on country white. (This is basically an olive oil and cheese sandwich. Slam dunk.)
  • Ham, Swiss, and wild mushrooms pressed panini. (Boom. Good.)
  • Cheddar, red onion, tomato, and sprouts on 7 grain. (Like all veggie sandwiches of this ilk, this guy is called "The Malibu." Score, but minus five points cause I forgot I hate sprouts.)
  • Sauteed broccoli rabe, mozzarella, and sundried tomatoes on some sort of giant loaf of sesame bread. (This was fine.)
  • Cracked pepper turkey, fontina, pesto, and sundried tomatoes. (On a scale of one to ten, this one gets a touchdown.)
  • Tuna, lettuce and tomato on 7 grain. (The tuna had capers and carrots in it. Check plus.)
  • Italian tuna with olives, roasted red peppers, and lettuce on a baguette. (This is made with whole chunks of tuna packed in olive oil. Italian tuna, I am fucking giving you five stars.)
I've lost track of the rest.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Danger Sandwich

The other day Danger invited me over to eat some of the "free" baguette he got from La Brea Bakery. (Yes, I'm thinking what you're thinking -- he stole it.)

He made this sandwich for me, with spinach, cherry tomatoes, and sundried tomato spread. When I saw him make it, I thought the sundried tomato spread was strawberry jelly. This seemed gross to me, but Danger is a refined gentleman, and I assumed this is how they do things at the fancy sandwich clubs he frequents. Not wanting to seem provincial, I was was all in for that crazy jelly and spinach sandwich, but was pleased to discover it was actually a good thing, and not a gross thing. Danger later lamented forgetting to put apple slices on the sandwich, but we've been over this.

This sandwich gesture ensures that Danger and I will remain, for at least one more day, at a cautious stalemate.

Monday, March 10, 2008

"Paillard"

I ordered this sandwich, an Eggplant Paillard, from a restaurant called Victors Square, which apparently in the 90s was frequented by one half of hot Hollywood couple, Bradifer. HER NAME IS JENNIFER ANISTON MAYBE YOU'VE HEARD OF HER.

Anyway, "paillard" refers to a piece of meat pounded flat. The waiter quickly explained that this was not meat and no actual pounding took place in the case of this sandwich. Whatever, bro, nice paillard. As you can see it has green eggplant, red onions, avocado, and tomato, and was served on two big slices of white bread. There's no way Jenniston would have eaten that much white bread. SHE CAN'T EAT THAT MANY CARBS SHE HAS A HIT TELEVISION SHOW TO STAR IN YOU GUYS.

Also, apparently in French, "paillard" means "lewd" or "bawdy". I'll tell you what's lewd or bawdy! It's the way that praying mantis, Anjelolie loves eating BABIES PAILLARD *!



*unconfirmed.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Larchmont Wine & Cheese Sandwich

This is the tuna salad sandwich from neighborhood favorite, Larchmont Wine & Cheese shop. It comes with tuna, mixed greens, balsamic, tomato, and emmenthal cheese. (Seen here minus cheese.)

The awesome and retarded thing about the Larchmont Wine & Cheese tuna sandwich is that, of the 7 available sandwiches on the menu, they don't number this one because it is only available occasionally. You have to call ahead to check. I have not been able to conceive of any reason the ingredients in this sandwich would not be available to a sandwich shop every day of the week.

I also heard a story about someone going to Larchmont Wine & Cheese, and the people there said they couldn't make any sandwiches that day because they were out of bread. I like you, Larchmont Wine & Cheese, but sometimes you are an asshole.

This is a pretty good sandwich.

*UPDATE

Friday, February 22, 2008

Farewell Sandwich

I have some pictures of sandwiches and stories that belong to them, but I can't find the cord that plugs in my pictures-machine to my blogs-machine, so I had to use this picture from the internet. It's apparently called "Ladyboy Sandwich: Susan and her new friends." Susan, what are you doing? Susan, you've got to put a stop to this! You don't even really look happy!

(There are boobs in this picture.)

Today was my last day at work and we had a big lunch from some Cuban place, and everyone got those Cuban sandwiches with ham, but they got me a veggie sandwich because some people in this town actually care.

The sandwich had tomatoes and portabellos and peppers and zucchini and some kind of sauce. It was good, but it was kind of soggy, but I still ate all of it and also a bunch of soggy french fries and then I felt really really sick. Even just thinking about it again, I sort of want to throw up and die. Because a sandwich is like a hand gun: it can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I guess I've always known that.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Something to Think About


Is a burrito a sandwich? According to a Massachusetts court in 2006, the answer is no. Cambridge chef Chris Schlesinger testified in an affidavit: "I know of no chef or culinary historian who would call a burrito a sandwich. Indeed, the notion would be absurd to any credible chef or culinary historian."

So there you have it. If you would like to read a judge explain in ten pages what I just told you, check out White City Shopping Ctr., LP v. PR Rests., LLC (21 Mass. L. Rep. 565). This question was also the basis of my grade for first year contracts, so yeah, I'm learning a lot.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Sunday Morning Bagel

This morning's bagel sandwich was a triumph. I was feeling pretty decadent, so today I decided to pick up a bagel sandwich from Barney Greengrass, the Sturgeon King.


Barney Greengrass is always a madhouse on weekend mornings, and today was no different. Screaming people everywhere. Come on, guys. It's just brunch. But whatever. Luckily for me, there was no line at the deli counter so I got my nova, onion, and tomato with scallion cream cheese on an everything bagel pretty quickly. A short walk home and some careful redistribution of ingredients later (I like my cream cheese to be on both sides of the sandwich, which almost no deli ever does (what the f, delis, everyone likes their cream cheese on both sides), and I only like a thin layer of nova, so I saved some for later. Also I put a touch of salt on the tomato before putting it all back together, because I always forget not to order tomatoes in the winter when they're totally mealy and flavorless.) and I ate like a king. And I felt like one too, cause much to my surprise, this sandwich cost nearly 15 bones. You got me, Greengrass. You really got me.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Esquire Ranks Best Sandwiches In America


List includes:

LA:
Canter's - Monte Cristo
Las Nueva - Torta de Milanesa

NYC:
'Ino - Sweet Coppa with Hot Peppers and Rucola
Bouchon Bakery - Tuna Nicoise
Katz's - Pastrami on Rye
Momofuku Ssam - Three-Terrine Banh Mi
Sal, Kris, and Charlie Deli (Queens) - The Bomb

AND the Reggie Deluxe from the Farmers' Market in Portland, OR.

The list also includes the Chicken Sandwich from Chick-Fil-A, and the McRib from McDonalds. I don't know, Esquire.

For the complete list, go here.

Breakfast Sandwiches

Today I am mixing things up a bit and having a breakfast sandwich for lunch, specifically the onion frittata sandwich with roasted tomatoes and cheddar on ciabatta from 'wichcraft. It is very good. I should point out that the structural integrity of this 'wichcraft sandwich compared to the last one I had is remarkably better, even considering the impressive heft (this sandwich is pretty big). Also, the onion frittata element is pleasantly reminiscent of the onion frittata served for brunch by HUDS, only better, and without mushrooms. 'wichcraft, you've won me over again. How do you guys feel about breakfast sandwiches being served all day long? I think it is the mark of a civilized society.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Veggie Joe

This is the Veggie Joe from Swingers. Let me start by admitting that this photo makes it look gross. I KNOW. But it's really delicious. It's maybe the only sandwich where I will intentionally go to a place so I can order it. It's veggie chili and soyrizo and some other bullshit. Normally, I'm not crazy about weird meat substitutes, but this is somehow crazy delicious. Even non-vegetarians have ordered this on my recommendations and really liked it.

This particular time, I fucked up and forgot to ask for it without cheddar, which doesn't add all that much. So if you're at Swingers and you want to go out on a limb and try some vegetarian sloppy joes that kind of look like barf in this picture, I recommend this.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Breaking Sandwich Disaster

Moments ago, a marinated eggplant, watercress, and chickpea puree sandwich on ciabatta disintegrated in my hands, causing a huge mess. This sandwich was developed by 'wichcraft interns, which I should have taken as a sign to avoid it. Instead, I gave the kids a chance. Big mistake.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Mini Grilled Caprese Sandwiches

Here's something you could eat if you felt like it.

Monday, February 4, 2008

BLTA

Soy bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado on toasted wheat. Really really good. Some haters have spoken out against the A in the BLTA. These are the kind of people who hate taking deliciousness to the next level.

Like, when Emeril is like, "Bam! Kick it up a notch!" They're all like, "Oh no, Emeril! You're kicking it up too many notches!" And Emeril's like "Fuck it, I'll kick that shit up all day long." And then something happens and Emeril blows everybody's minds. But still no one wants to buy Essence of Emeril because thats a gross name for something to put on food.

I forgot what I was talking about.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Sea Urchin Sandwich

I'm not usually too crazy with my sandwich preferences, but I had high hopes for this sandwich tonight:


I'm sad to say-- as adorable as it looks, this sandwich made of sea urchin, delicious bread and some other things sort of tasted like used sponges and horseradish. Better luck next time?

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

After School Special

I made the classic after school special combo: cheese sandwich and tomato soup. Didn't make the tomato soup, that's Campbell's tomato basil you see in that mug. The sandwich has mozzarella, parmesan, feta, and then I added some basil to that, too. That's called making your foods complement each other. Someday I'll teach you how to be that awesome.

Also, doesn't this seem like a lot of food to feed a kid after school? That kid just ate lunch, and dinner is just around the corner. Although, to be fair, my after school special growing up was a huge bowl of mint chip ice cream while watching Batman: The Animated Series.

Advantage: Strach.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Best Post of This Blog So Far



Yo. v.DANGER spitting at you here. You wanna talk sandwiches? LET'S TALK SANDWICHES. An associate of mine put together the pictured sandwich a few moments ago using only items that were in my kitchen. Here's the key info:

Ingredients: La Brea Bakery olive loaf bread, Whole Foods cilantro and pumpkin seed pesto, Whole Foods red pepper hummus (the King Cobra of hummuses), red onions, cherry tomatoes, basil, spinach, and slices of granny smith apple.

Verdict: Delicious.

Practice safe sandwiching.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Totally Delicious Sandwich

Tonight I made a sandwich of pan-fried halloumi, chopped and sauteed broccoli rabe with garlic, and roasted cherry tomatoes on a warm baguette. You heard that correctly: I fried cheese before putting it on a sandwich. It was fantastic.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Big Bear

We stopped at Kujo's BLT Restaurant in Big Bear.

Sandwiches ordered: BLT, BLT Burger, Turkey Bacon Sandwich, Veggie Sandwich. Satisfaction varied. The main thing I remembered was that our waiter spoke in an indistinguishable accent and when one order was changed very slightly at the last minute, he got frustrated and forgot all our orders.

One member of the party got sick afterward, but it's unclear whether we can blame Kujo or not.

Also in Big Bear, me and a friend made a bunch of sandwiches with all the leftover food in the house. One of these was a prosciutto and apple sandwich, which may sound interesting, but I have a feeling that like all sandwiches containing apple slices, the diner will conclude, "Yeah, this would have been way better without the apple."