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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.