Steampunk Takeaway
April 8, 2010 5:45 AM   Subscribe

The Best Sandwich Ever How to make your own Edwardian belly-buster
posted by mippy (127 comments total) 53 users marked this as a favorite
 
jesus h.
posted by turgid dahlia at 5:49 AM on April 8, 2010


The best sandwich ever isn't even in stores yet.
posted by gman at 5:51 AM on April 8, 2010


That shooter's sandwich appears to be something I could delightedly consume every single day for the rest of my life.

Until I died of colon cancer, obvsly. NEVERTHELESS.
posted by elizardbits at 5:51 AM on April 8, 2010 [4 favorites]


Fact: in the UK test products for KFC are usually sold in Scotland or Tyne Tees first. Not sure if the Double Down will make it, but on a recent trip to Edinburgh I could have ordered a battered double burger.
posted by mippy at 5:56 AM on April 8, 2010


By the third paragraph it's suggesting adding lettuce and tomato to what would otherwise be a perfectly good bacon sandwich.
posted by vbfg at 5:56 AM on April 8, 2010 [5 favorites]


No, no; the author is correct. There is a bacon sandwich and there is a BLT. They are similar but different.
posted by yhbc at 5:59 AM on April 8, 2010


It's a thing of beauty.
posted by molecicco at 6:02 AM on April 8, 2010


My favorite sandwich is one that I try to recreate from time to time--I think nostalgia for time & place have something to do with it. The recipe is unimportant and won't get the tastebuds of most excited. It is a simple sort of a caprese sandwich with fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, thin slices of parmesan, and farm fresh butter on thick crusted bread.
posted by beelzbubba at 6:02 AM on April 8, 2010 [8 favorites]


I'd eat that.
posted by orange swan at 6:03 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


I am going to make this sandwich. No shit. I am going to make it THIS WEEKEND.
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:05 AM on April 8, 2010 [4 favorites]


Could use a bit of cheese, frankly.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:08 AM on April 8, 2010 [8 favorites]


Is there some reason taking a hot beef sandwich and leaving it "in a reasonably cool place (don't refrigerate) for at least six hours or preferably overnight" would not be horribly wrong from a food safety perspective?
posted by cardboard at 6:09 AM on April 8, 2010 [4 favorites]


Those fearing scurvy might add some chopped parsley too.

I don't even eat meat and I want that sandwich.
posted by headnsouth at 6:10 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


Why did they let the cat vomit on the plate next to the sandwich? That's just careless photography, IMO.
posted by indubitable at 6:12 AM on April 8, 2010 [16 favorites]


That looks really good. Perhaps a bit hard to bite through, though.
posted by DU at 6:13 AM on April 8, 2010


I recall an episode of "Two Fat Ladies" where Jennifer made a "shooter's sandwich" which was basically a whole steak and some other things pressed into a loaf of bread.

That KFC Double-Down thing isn't so much a sandwich as a slap in the face of common sense.
posted by briank at 6:15 AM on April 8, 2010 [5 favorites]


Is there some reason taking a hot beef sandwich and leaving it "in a reasonably cool place (don't refrigerate) for at least six hours or preferably overnight" would not be horribly wrong from a food safety perspective?

As long as you make the sandwich in a country without horribly restrictive lawsuit-fearing government guidelines, yeah, it should be safe to eat.
posted by vacapinta at 6:17 AM on April 8, 2010 [16 favorites]


That KFC Double-Down thing isn't so much a sandwich as a slap in the face of common sense.

The ...now lamentably gone Round The Clock here in NYC was open and any and all customer whims. One late night, that whim was "a burger, but with toasted waffles instead of buns" That, my friends, was a wonderful evening.
posted by The Whelk at 6:19 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


"Could use a bit of cheese, frankly." sigh, Americans.
posted by NiteMayr at 6:20 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


I'm surprised no one has yet suggested the addition of mounds of bacon. Seriously MetaFilter, you're slipping.
posted by Go Banana at 6:22 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


That's gotta be a messy sandwich to eat. Unless you've got steak knives for front teeth, the first bite is going to pull out the whole steak and spill mushrooms all down your shirt. Which beats eating them, in my opinion, but still seems less than ideal.
posted by echo target at 6:23 AM on April 8, 2010 [4 favorites]


Like most men I love a sandwich.

Yes, because we ladies prefer cupcakes and yogurt. I'd totally eat this, except for the mushrooms (ew) but I can't see how this could be the "best" compared to a really good muffuletta or Cuban. (Ham? And pork? Yes, please.) It sounds very one-note, flavor-wise.
posted by JoanArkham at 6:23 AM on April 8, 2010 [13 favorites]


Though I'm a proud Englishman I still think the 'Elvis' reigns supreme on the sandwich front (even the beating the classic cheese and Branston)

If you want posh I'd recommend mushrooms fried in red wine on toasted brown.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:25 AM on April 8, 2010




I have had serious arguments about how much can go into a sandwich before it stops being a sandwich and just becomes a pile of foodstuffs. I ague that it's not a sandwich if you can;t bite into it without things flying all over the place - which is why I always hollow out the buns or rolls I'm using so the filling rests inside it better. plus, then you have breadcrumbs.


I have not thought too much about this.
posted by The Whelk at 6:26 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


OK, now I'm hungry.
posted by Ron Thanagar at 6:27 AM on April 8, 2010


I'll take one of every sandwich thusfar mentioned, please.
posted by sciurus at 6:28 AM on April 8, 2010


"in a reasonably cool place (don't refrigerate) for at least six hours or preferably overnight"...that'll send shivers through most of the AskMe crowd.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:32 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]



Why did they let the cat vomit on the plate next to the sandwich?


Yep, that was my take too.
posted by fuse theorem at 6:34 AM on April 8, 2010


I usually hate sandwiches, but man, this looks good.
posted by LN at 6:39 AM on April 8, 2010


No that's piccalilli cat vomit
posted by communicator at 6:44 AM on April 8, 2010


Perhaps the best sandwich (if you can even call it that) I've ever had, is the monte cristo at Prune in NYC. Anyone who lives close enough to go there should get thee to their brunch ASAP. So worth the wait! So good! So sublime!
posted by haveanicesummer at 6:46 AM on April 8, 2010


It took 599 words before the author even began talking about the shooter's sandwich. It's like if Pitchfork started a food blog...
posted by Ian A.T. at 6:48 AM on April 8, 2010 [9 favorites]


That KFC Double-Down thing isn't so much a sandwich as a slap in the face of common sense.

It actually strikes me a a slightly repurposed Chicken Cordon Bleu (breaded chicken, cheese, ham) with an American twist--and no one ever protested a Cordon Bleu. I don't understand all the outrage.
posted by sourwookie at 6:54 AM on April 8, 2010


Unless you've got steak knives for front teeth, the first bite is going to pull out the whole steak and spill mushrooms all down your shirt.

That's why Ribeye and not something like Flank Steak or Bottom Round was specified.
posted by sourwookie at 6:55 AM on April 8, 2010


FTA:

The French by contrast, notoriously fail to understand the sandwich at all.

Au contraire! A very similar sandwich is famously right in Escoffier's Guide Culinaire from the same period.

I would expect apologies are in order, sir!

/adjusts monocle
posted by gimonca at 6:58 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


Why did they let the cat vomit on the plate next to the sandwich?

That's proper piccalilli you pleb. i.e. not the ground down industrial crap that tends to pass for piccalilli.
posted by i_cola at 6:58 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


Perhaps the reader would find this link more in order.
posted by gimonca at 6:59 AM on April 8, 2010


Ugh, my stomach did a couple of turns once I hit the part about adding bone marrow. That's the thing I hate about about gourmet cooking -- at some point, the recipe is always going to insist on adding frog kidneys and chicken lungs for that extra panache.
posted by crapmatic at 7:07 AM on April 8, 2010 [6 favorites]


Perfect sandwich? Piffle, I sez. Any Mefite who had the good fortune to be in or around Kalamazoo from 1967 until just a couple years ago would have been a fool not to get themselves to the Galley, just off the campus of WMU. Over 30 varieties of sandwiches to choose from, using top quality meats and cheeses, on white or wheat french loaf. The perfect sandwich? That would have been the #29, the roast beef and corned beef with provolone, lettuce, pickles and onion on the wheat, drizzled with vinegar, oil, and italian seasoning, wrapped in butcher paper. It's been years since I had one, and now they are gone, but good god damn, I can recall every single wonderful bite, the fantastic odor, and the beauty of the sandwich glimpsed through the butcher's paper after the oil had turned the paper translucent.

That, my good friends, is the perfect sandwich.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:14 AM on April 8, 2010 [6 favorites]


Sounds a lot better than that Greasy Honky Pie from the other day.
posted by Daddy-O at 7:14 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


Ugh, my stomach did a couple of turns once I hit the part about adding bone marrow. That's the thing I hate about about gourmet cooking -

Heresy! Bone marrow is delicious!

In Mexico, bone marrow tacos are tasty, traditional street food. Its not gourmet - its just something you're not familiar with.
posted by vacapinta at 7:17 AM on April 8, 2010 [11 favorites]


That looked really good to me. I doubt it's the best sandwich in the whole wide world (I'd lean towards Cuban or Vietnamese on that front), but I sure wouldn't turn one down if offered.
posted by Forktine at 7:19 AM on April 8, 2010


In Mexico, bone marrow tacos are tasty, traditional street food. Its not gourmet - its just something you're not familiar with.

ZOMG WHERE WHICH PART OF MEXICO TELL ME ABOUT THIS PLACE I AM GOING THERE AND NEVER COMING BACK OH BOY OH BOY

ahem

Yeah, crapmatic, you're missing out.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:29 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


It almost doesn't matter what gets put into it -- mashing a sandwich is the omega weapon to create deliciousness.
posted by contessa at 7:30 AM on April 8, 2010


Once you know that the bread must be toasted packet white, the bacon smoked, the lettuce Iceberg, the tomato beefsteak and the mayo Hellmann's then even the most hopeless tyro can't go wrong.

I kind of stopped reading right here. He specified a rather generic characteristic of the bacon, and every other ingredient was bland, agri-business, or both. Beefsteak tomatoes are bred for size, color, bulk, and resilience, not for taste. Iceberg lettuce is flavorless crunchy bulk. Hellmann's is a generic boring mayo with no kick at all. White bread? Really?

Seriously, this is the honkiest of white-bread sandwiches.
posted by explosion at 7:30 AM on April 8, 2010 [10 favorites]


Bone marrow is like delicious meat butter. Lunchtime mission: find a delicious sandwich, eat.
posted by ghharr at 7:31 AM on April 8, 2010 [3 favorites]


I like a bunch of cherry tomatoes in my BLTs, the sweetness of sets the salt of the bacon nicely.
posted by The Whelk at 7:35 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


Smashing it for 6 hours... never would have thought of that. Thank you!
posted by LakesideOrion at 7:37 AM on April 8, 2010


I'm going to go with the traditional MM-BELTCH sandwhich -- bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato & cheese, on toasted white bread. The MM is for lots of mayonnaise.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 7:41 AM on April 8, 2010 [3 favorites]


Vancouver peeps, meet you at La Grotta Del Fromaggio for a grilled turkey, basil mayo, jalapeno cheese and a touch of balsamic.
posted by weezy at 7:42 AM on April 8, 2010


As long as we're doin' this:

Chapel Hill, NC. Sandwhich (I know I know). Order the OBLT.

It's a BLT, and sure it has local produce and local meat and fresh bread and all that. But it also has avocado and jalapenos. I could pretty much eat it every day for the rest of my life.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:46 AM on April 8, 2010


Being a woman, I apparently don't love sandwiches.
posted by Malice at 7:48 AM on April 8, 2010 [6 favorites]


Ok here we go.
La ViƱa, Hato Rey in San Juan, PR. Order the Choripan - chorizo, beef, pastrami and many more as well as cheese then toasted. My mouth is watering as i type this. Wash it down with a Malta India.
posted by lizarrd at 7:51 AM on April 8, 2010


Seriously, this is the honkiest of white-bread sandwiches.

I certainly won't turn my nose up at a proper BLT, but there's something to be said for the white-bread version. Toasted Wonder bread really works, sometimes.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:52 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


I miss being a teenager, and being able to enjoy toasted cheese, bacon, ham, fried egg, and potato salad sandwiches at 4am after a night of drinking stupidly heavy ale with no noticeable ill-effects.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 8:03 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


Monte Cristo Sandwiches! Rueban Sandwiches! Vietnamese Sandwiches! Oh joy! These take turns being my favorites.

The smashed samwich is not new to me, I make the "Greatest sandwich of All" AKA Brick sandwich on special occasions:

One Ciabatta loaf
One soft cheese spread such as Alloutte
One bottle of olive and/or red pepper bruschetta
Assortment of Italian Deli meats and cheeses such as Hard salami, roast beef, pancetta, provolone
Peppercinis
Fresh Basil Leaves


Slice the loaf lengthwise, scoop out most of the interior and discard (for another recipe) the crumbs. On one half of the loaf spread the soft cheese thickly, on the opposing half spread the olive bruschetta. Layer the meats and cheese, peppercinis, and basil. Close up the sandwich, wrap in parchment paper, and place in refrigerator over night, weighed down with heavy skillet loaded with a couple of bricks. Slice like cake slices (thin enough to get into mouth.)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:04 AM on April 8, 2010 [6 favorites]


It's a BLT, and sure it has local produce and local meat and fresh bread and all that. But it also has avocado and jalapenos. I could pretty much eat it every day for the rest of my life.

I can't decide if a daily drug habit or a daily Sandwhich habit would cost you more, showbiz_liz :-)
posted by pinky at 8:05 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


thought the pic was revolting--i'm not sure what it looks like, but i wasn't thinking 'steak & 'shrooms' when i saw it--but the description sounded pretty darn good, but now i'm all hung up on that damn double down.
posted by msconduct at 8:05 AM on April 8, 2010


That sammich needs some french fries and cole slaw in there to be complete.
posted by octothorpe at 8:07 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


As to the white bread thing, it's pretty much all there is in Japan, unless you search out something else. I have, though, found the ultimate preparation for whitebread. Grill it over charcoal. Whatever you grill this summer, make sure to toss a couple slices of whatever whitebread strikes your fancy. Grill it until just golden on each side. You won't even need butter, and it will be the best toast you've ever had. There's a delicious crunchy texture on the outside, and the inside, though warmed by the fire will still be fluffy and soft. Every time I have friends over for a barbecue, while they're eating the what I've made for them, I usually grill myself a couple pieces of toast. Just a nice, quiet moment to savor a fantastic texture.

Now, say, if you were to grill a nice, juicy pork loin, or a decent rib roast, slice it thinly, and use grilled toast as the sandwich, that might be heaven. I believe I know what I'll be making for the first barbecue of spring.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:12 AM on April 8, 2010


In my experience, the Best Sandwich Ever is the one you spend the entire morning meticulously planning while you're supposed to be working.

It's a far better sandwich than the one you spend all afternoon regretting.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 8:19 AM on April 8, 2010 [6 favorites]


My simple, late night snack: toasted sourdough bread, mushed bananas, peanut butter, and honey. If I'm feeling saucy, I'll melt some cheddar cheese in there.
posted by ColdChef at 8:27 AM on April 8, 2010


For all mefites who reside in the Pacific Northwest, the perfect sandwich can be found in the small town of Canby, Oregon. Enter Fishers Meats and realize that all meat served here was grown locally and butchered in this store. Next order "your" sandwich. Mine is some combination of several meats and cheeses, occasionally ALL meats and most cheeses served on sourdough. After the sandwich craftsman somehow manages to fit a pound or two or three of meat in between two slices of bread and adds such delights as Horseradish Cheese take your artwork across the street to Wait Park and eat THE PERFECT SANDWICH in this picturesque gazebo.

p.s. always, always, always plan to nap after the perfect sandwich AND while you are at Fishers Meats buy some pepper jerky. I have yet to find better jerky anywhere.
posted by Glibpaxman at 8:33 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


The Best Guardian Article EVER!

Seriously, this is as much an ode to one's true love as it is a recipe. The same way Shakespeare waxed poetic about his mistress, this author talks about sandwiches.

And now I know where I'm going for lunch- the Vietnamese bakery up the street from me. I'm so lucky to live near Little Saigon.
posted by happyroach at 8:34 AM on April 8, 2010


Two chicken breasts, cooked with delicious herbs and spices, four rashers of bacon, copious amounts of grated cheese and a loaf of tiger bread. Feeds one (i.e. me). Set aside 8-12 hours for yourself to eat it without causing indigestion. Awesome.

As any moran with a brain will tell you - the four main food groups are Chicken, Bacon, Cheese and Bread.

Maybe beer.
posted by longbaugh at 8:38 AM on April 8, 2010


I had this sandwich last weekend and I CANNOT STOP thinking about it. All regrets about moving from New York to Seattle were wiped away.

As we were tucking in, my dining companion mentioned that her husband was currently unable to eat sandwiches, seeing as he is Jewish and it was Passover. Never have I felt more pity for another human being.
posted by doift at 8:41 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


I'd never heard of tiger bread before, but it sounds (and looks) delicious.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:42 AM on April 8, 2010


My favourite has always been the Not very Cuban Sandwich (self-link), but this has distinct promise.

I might have to give it a try, but with some roast lamb and maybe a little stilton instead of the ribeye...

Just don't tell my doctor, eh?
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 8:43 AM on April 8, 2010


I don't really have a favorite sandwich. I actually love all sandwiches. I'm a sandwich fiend, which really sucks, because I'm severely intolerant to wheat. I miss wheat so much. Rice bread just isn't as good as delicious sourdough, or even plain old white.

If any god ever existed, s/he'd be eating sandwiches, and nothing else.
posted by Malice at 8:43 AM on April 8, 2010


We've had this trend going on here recently at the vacapinta household where we use the leftovers from dinner to make a gourmet sandwich for the next day. So, a sirloin steak for dinner becomes a sirloin strip sandwich the next day, with a few veggies, pepper and fresh oregano (maybe goat cheese too) inside a roll of freshly baked bread. Yum!
posted by vacapinta at 8:44 AM on April 8, 2010


Since the term "perfect sandwich" has been mentioned, it is going to be very difficult for me not to get a godmother from bay cities for lunch today.
posted by flaterik at 8:49 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


We Could Make Sandwiches (SLYT, margarinally NSFW)
posted by isopraxis at 8:52 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]



"in a reasonably cool place (don't refrigerate) for at least six hours or preferably overnight"...that'll send shivers through most of the AskMe crowd.


Dear AskMe: I left my shooter's sandwich in a reasonably cool place for at least six hours... is it safe to eat?


Sorry everyone, but the best sandwich ever is not for sale. In the nineties I was touring with a small band and we had a gig in Halifax. An acquaintance of one of the members was also going from Ontario to Nova Scotia around the same time (end of the school year) and asked if he could cadge a lift.

We brought him with us and delivered him to his family home, a dairy farm in the Annapolis Valley. When we arrived, his mother offered us sandwiches: thick slabs of bread still warm from the oven, with freshly-churned butter and homemade cheese. Once you eat one of these while looking at the shadows of the clouds meandering across the valley floor, you will understand how one could use sublime and cheese sandwich in the same sentence.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:56 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


Baguette, brie, pear, and apricot jam. That is all.
posted by Kirk Grim at 8:59 AM on April 8, 2010 [4 favorites]


A sandwich a guy mentioned making for his newly opened cafe on the electrical audio forum, thinking about naming "the Albini" after Steve:

-hot sopressata (YES)
-fresh mozzarella (we're gonna make this in-house, it'll rule)
-roasted red peppers
-sun dried tomatoes (pureed and spread on one side) (me, personally? DO NOT WANT)
-olive oil, balsamic, black pepper (on the other side)
-leafy greens, basil or arugula was mentioned...

served on grilled Tuscan white bread. Steve approved of it (btw, the fact Steve likes food and cooking and genuinely has good taste WRT to food makes him more likable to me).

Now, on to flogging a few dead horses!
-Being Korean, I think bone marrow is the shiz
-Women love sandwiches, duh
-Those egg-white toasted bread-lettuce-tomato-sometimes bacon or other meat sammiches are glorious, yes
-Sometimes pedestrian ingredients are called for, of course. Backdrop or texture (iceberg and crappy tomatoes were mentioned, and actually on a BLT those can be divine for the way they refresh and let the bacon do all the heavy lifting flavor-wise...sometimes you don't want your ingredients to compete, too many fancypants sandwich makers forget this...whoever supported the normally unlikely toasted Wonder bread is spot on) or that certain trashy je ne sais quoi that sandwiches allow for and occasionally revel in, that makes them such a great meal in the first place (seriously, people who only use hoity toity ingredients for all sandwiches they eat, even those 4am drunk ones, are not my people, and I say this as someone who's #2 fave sandwich involves gravlax). Similar to how you wouldn't always crave french fries made paper thin gourmand-style with say, special purple taters. Sandwiches are so often about guilty cravings; it's why I love them. And if you're going to use mayonnaise that isn't homemade you'd be hard-pressed to do better than Hellman's frankly.
-Pressing sandwiches is indeed often key
-I understand everyone's love for pork and ham-based sandwiches (I feel like Cubans and Banh Mis, oops spelling, have exploded lately), but my favorite sandwich is still the local Memphis Young Avenue Deli's reuben-on-steroids the Yankee Club. Guess it only makes sense I would like it, being um, a transplanted Yank. Also, filipino or Latin American goat tortas are divine.

and unrelated to anything yet, as far as I can tell, but true:
-Honey is an underrated sandwich ingredient. Just the thinnest wispiest layer, added to super hot toasted bread so the honey practically crystallizes in the nooks and crannies. UM. Apples too.

So. Sandwiches!!
posted by ifjuly at 9:04 AM on April 8, 2010 [3 favorites]


Hellmann's is a generic boring mayo with no kick at all.

Go back to Russia, commie.
posted by Aquaman at 9:19 AM on April 8, 2010 [7 favorites]


The French by contrast, notoriously fail to understand the sandwich at all.

So true! My french homestay family would always ask me, "What did you have for lunch?" and I'd be like "a sandwich" and they'd say "a sandwich" at the same time and then chortle and say "You Americans always eat sandwiches!" D:

I eventually decided no one can sandwich-shame me without my permission.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 9:20 AM on April 8, 2010 [5 favorites]


What the Hell is going on with that stuff on the plate? I know it's something vegetabloid, but dang, it looks nasty.
posted by kinnakeet at 9:20 AM on April 8, 2010


Yeah, crapmatic, you're missing out.

No, no - it's fine. Let crapmatic continue to dislike marrow. More for us!

And I am totally making this shooter's sandwich as soon as possible.
posted by rtha at 9:23 AM on April 8, 2010


The French by contrast, notoriously fail to understand the sandwich at all.

So true! My french homestay family would always ask me, "What did you have for lunch?" and I'd be like "a sandwich" and they'd say "a sandwich" at the same time and then chortle and say "You Americans always eat sandwiches!" D:


The French understand what a sandwich is. They just refuse to credit it to the English. Earl of Sandwich indeed!
posted by vacapinta at 9:25 AM on April 8, 2010


Don't pity the Jews for their lack of sandwiches, because during passover they are eating Matzah Brei every morning. (Do yourself a favor and go buy some cheap matzah while it's around.
posted by cyphill at 9:31 AM on April 8, 2010


80+ comments and no one pointed this out yet?

The French by contrast, notoriously fail to understand the sandwich at all. In spite of producing some of the world's most excellent bread, a request for 'un sandwich' will produce a single slice of cheese or ham in a piece of dry baguette

Bullshit! Apparently this guy's never heard of a croque monsieur, one of the world's most popular sandwiches and 100% French.
posted by DecemberBoy at 9:32 AM on April 8, 2010


The sandwiches at Katz's or the Carnegie Deli in New York, contain over a pound of assorted charcuterie and constitute an active rebuttal of years of oppression and deprivation.

Never thought of it that way!
posted by pretzel at 10:03 AM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


Also, after seeing this show on the Travel Channel, I'm looking forward to visiting Chicago in the future. I may have found my favorite.
posted by pretzel at 10:09 AM on April 8, 2010


Ugh, my stomach did a couple of turns once I hit the part about adding bone marrow

I just got up the nerve to eat bone marrow recently. This weekend I used it in risotto milanese which, turns out, is awesome. I'm eating the leftovers for lunch today.

Marrow is like if you combined butter with meat.

I got it by scooping it out of one of my dog's bones with a melon baller.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 10:10 AM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


Ahhh bee-elll-teees.
Round these parts, that means bacon from the Webster City packing house, heirloom tomatos and fresh romaine from Joe and Lonna's Onion Creek Farm here in Ames, bread from the South Union Bakery in Des Moines, and mayo that I whipped up about five minutes ago.
Now that makes my mouth water.
posted by drhydro at 10:12 AM on April 8, 2010


OH MY GOD. I need to make one of those sandwiches immediately.
posted by Jinkeez at 10:30 AM on April 8, 2010


Finocchiona, a little oil, fresh mozz on really good bread from Salumi is probably the best sandwich I've ever had.
posted by HumanComplex at 10:34 AM on April 8, 2010


Well, that sounds tasty but I would say sealing meat, mushrooms and onions in an air-tight low-acid environment for 6 hours at room temperature sounds like a recipe for botulism.
posted by gonna get a dog at 10:39 AM on April 8, 2010


It's really bad to read this post at 12:30ish and realize you haven't eaten lunch yet. Or maybe really good, I'm not sure which.
posted by immlass at 10:44 AM on April 8, 2010


sounds like a recipe for botulism

There are dozens of great recipes for listeria and salmonella, but it seemed like nobody was really doing anything innovative with botulism until now.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:47 AM on April 8, 2010 [3 favorites]


I got it by scooping it out of one of my dog's bones with a melon baller.

Poor doggy.
posted by Forktine at 10:49 AM on April 8, 2010 [5 favorites]


Apparently this guy's never heard of a croque monsieur, one of the world's most popular sandwiches and 100% French.

I believe that's what's known as the exception that proves the rule.
posted by Aquaman at 10:59 AM on April 8, 2010


the mayo Hellmann's

Not west of the Rockies, it ain't. TEH ENTIER INETERNETS IS NOT MAID UP OF EAST-COST US-IANS!!!1!1!

Otherwise, point taken: Miracle Whip, WTF?
posted by Ogre Lawless at 11:05 AM on April 8, 2010


Garlic bread, thinly sliced rare prime rib, onions and mushrooms fried in either garlic butter or red wine, and the fromage of your choice - warmed in the oven. THE BEST.
posted by arcticwoman at 11:13 AM on April 8, 2010


What the Hell is going on with that stuff on the plate? I know it's something vegetabloid, but dang, it looks nasty.

Looks to me like some kind of curried cauliflower. The idea of a sandwich with a side of curry is making me so hungry right now. In my mind, curry is one of the few foods that can rival sandwiches in terms of drool-worthiness, and I'm a guy that likes sandwiches. A lot.
posted by Kirk Grim at 11:23 AM on April 8, 2010


Poor doggy.

kudos!
posted by A Terrible Llama at 11:29 AM on April 8, 2010


What the Hell is going on with that stuff on the plate? I know it's something vegetabloid, but dang, it looks nasty.


As others have said up-thread, it's piccalilli. It's a bit of an acquired taste.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 11:31 AM on April 8, 2010


I came across this thread while eating a Subway sandwich for lunch and now I'm a little sadder about my afternoon.
posted by painquale at 11:36 AM on April 8, 2010


It actually strikes me a a slightly repurposed Chicken Cordon Bleu (breaded chicken, cheese, ham) with an American twist--and no one ever protested a Cordon Bleu. I don't understand all the outrage.

A cordon bleu typically has one chicken breast rather than 2, less than a teaspoon of salt rather than your entire recommended daily intake, ham rather than bacon, no deep frying, and nothing called "the colonel's secret sauce". This Double Down is straight out of the Idiocracy universe. But I want it.
posted by Kirk Grim at 11:42 AM on April 8, 2010


This Double Down is straight out of the Idiocracy universe. But I want it.

I do as well, and I'm fascinated that we've evolved as a species to where there's such a thing as stunt food. I blame widespread usage of "nom."
posted by A Terrible Llama at 12:04 PM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]




That sammich needs some french fries and cole slaw in there to be complete.

And ain't THIS a beaut??

Ah to be in Pittsburgh, now that spring is there.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:17 PM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


well it sounds really good but dear lord it certainly LOOKS like something from an Edwardian era time capsule
posted by Juicy Avenger at 12:42 PM on April 8, 2010


goddamn that godmother was good
posted by flaterik at 12:48 PM on April 8, 2010


I honor many sandwiches in this thread. The shooter's, the blt, the caprese, the cuban, the glorious banh mi. But y'all? I just got back from New Orleans and once again, I'm muffaletta-struck. At the moment, I lust for no other sandwich, no other food. The Central Grocery has me in its thrall. It's a sandwich that's so much more than the sum of it's parts. How does a pretty basic Italian deli sandwich on a not too soft, crispy, or chewy loaf plus olives and pickled veg equal something so sublime? Salty, tangy, meaty... sigh. Why don't they taste as good when I make them at home? Why must I suffer?
posted by mostlymartha at 1:16 PM on April 8, 2010 [3 favorites]


This entire thread has me ready to eat my own arm.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 1:24 PM on April 8, 2010 [1 favorite]


Grilled cheese with lettuce and tomato: simplicity itself, in a cronschulous envelope of yums.
posted by wowbobwow at 3:21 PM on April 8, 2010


Thanks entirely to this thread I just had a BLT as a midnight snack. And yet again I must put "making banh mi" on my cooking to-do list, since I've never lived anywhere I can get one.

The French may not be sandwich people, but that is because they are pastry people - a [meatstuff] croissant fills the same culinary niche as a sandwich. That said, they make awesome hot dogs because they take a length of baguette, poke a hole in it and stuff the sausage down the hole. (Ahem!)

My favorite sandwich I have only ever seen at Marks & Spencer in the UK, and I've never gotten around to recreating it because I'm horribly lazy and it's a lot of money and effort for one sandwich: Chinese-style roast duck with sesame mayo, chives and plum sauce (on white). Magical, I tell you, even from a supermarket shelf.
posted by bettafish at 3:51 PM on April 8, 2010


In the harsh light of morning, I realize my extreme jealousy. You might take for granted access to foodstuffs such as soppressata, corned beef, (decent) pastrami, and cheese of all kinds, but I say don't. The last (and probably first) decent sandwich shop in Japan came from Britain (Pret a Manger) and closed almost as quickly as it opened. It's to the point that I'm planning on making my own corned beef because here, people only know it as that stuff that comes from a can. And if you think the French roll their eyes at Americans and sandwiches, the Japanese people I just started working with see me eating a sandwich and feel it confirms probably every stereotype about foreigners ever invented...

Last sandwich: Hollow out a loaf of french bread (you'll need space for all the stuff inside). The meat can either be sliced roast meat (pork is good) or sauteed strips of meat. I usually season it with Zatarain's cajun seasoning, garlic, and oregano. Saute onions, red bell peppers and sliced mushrooms. Add the cooked meat to the vegetables to get it warmed up, and to spread the flavor around. Line the inside of the baguette with cheese (cheddar is all I've got, but other stuff is good, too), and scoop the meat and veggies into the bread with a slotted spoon to keep it from getting too soggy. Close the bread and press it down, then wrap it in foil, toast for 15 minutes in the foil. The crust will turn crunchy, the cheese liquid, and you'd best use a good number of napkins.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:01 PM on April 8, 2010 [3 favorites]


You sons of bitches. I'm so fucking hungry right now. I just ate though. Why did I read this whole thread.
posted by dubitable at 7:42 PM on April 8, 2010 [2 favorites]


I always hollow out the buns or rolls I'm using so the filling rests inside it better

That's genius! Tomorrow's lunch will incorporate grilled chicken breast in a hollowed out roll.

I will call it a Tyson Sphere.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:17 PM on April 8, 2010 [4 favorites]


The French may not be sandwich people, but that is because they are pastry people - a [meatstuff] croissant fills the same culinary niche as a sandwich.

In Berlin a "Hot Dog Deluxe" is a Croissant with a hot dog wiener baked into it in the middle, and it rules. That is some good late night eats.

That said, they make awesome hot dogs because they take a length of baguette, poke a hole in it and stuff the sausage down the hole. (Ahem!)

This I can't go for. The two occasions that I've tried it, I found the baguette overwhelming. Too chewy, too much of it, too dry. The squishy-soft bread of a traditional small hot dog bun allows you to focus on what a a hot dog is really about - the toppings.
posted by molecicco at 12:49 AM on April 9, 2010


The sandwich is my favorite food group, and this looks like a good one. Except, as mentioned, the lack of cheese. Stick a little sharp cheddar on it and then we'll talk.

My favorite sandwich hack: using a George Foreman grill to simultaneously toast the bread and melt the cheese. DELICIOUSNESS. Also, if you're ever in Providence, Hudson Street Deli (formerly Hudson Street Market) makes sandwiches that could very well kill you. They're the size of a baby and incredibly delicious. SIZE OF A WHOLE BABY. FULL OF DELICIOUS.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 6:20 AM on April 9, 2010


The piccalilli pic at Wikipedia is even more gross. On the plus side, I never knew some folks call squash "vegetable marrow."
posted by mediareport at 6:21 AM on April 9, 2010


http://www.sandwichproject.co.uk/index.php

It's a few years old (2004) but still looks interesting.
posted by pretzel at 8:01 AM on April 9, 2010


It almost doesn't matter what gets put into it -- mashing a sandwich is the omega weapon to create deliciousness.

Today I just have a simple deli-sliced chicken sandwich on white bread with mayo & american cheese. But I'll be damned if I didn't PUT IT BETWEEN TWO CUTTING BOARDS AND MASH THE HELL OUT OF IT.
posted by anazgnos at 10:44 AM on April 9, 2010


Okay, I had to come back. Because no one mentioned doner kebab, which I think could reasonably be called a sandwich.

And what a sandwich it is.

I've been to Germany once, I was there about a week. I stayed with a friend's cousin in the city of Oberhausen. Evidently, one of the things you do in Germany is drink (surprise!). In addition, because it was the summer that the world cup was being hosted in Germany, well...things were a bit crazy, you know? I was ready for anything to happen, but this...this was a surprise.

I had been out partying pretty late, and finally got back into the city and I was trashed and HUNGRY. And there was this one little stand outside the train station with a light on, the only thing open. And I didn't know what doner kebab was. I had never heard of it. I knew of the stuff we have here in the U.S. called gyros, or whatever, which I guess is the closest we can come to this thing. A kebab here is totally different. I've never had anything here that comes close.

Anyways, I walked up to the window and just pointed at shit, and the Turkish guy just tossed it in. I had no idea what was going on. There was meat, and about twenty different containers of various stuff that he had going, and about ten different sauces, and I just pointed at everything and he threw it all in, and then he handed it to me.

And it was transcendent. The tender, springy, chewy wrap...the melting juicy, flavorful spit-roasted lamb...the spicy tangy sauces, the crunchy vegetables...it all came together in a sandwich of sublime--but still working-class--deliciousness. I thought that it was going to be merely satisfying, a purely functional foodstuff to assuage the combination of drunken queasiness and hunger pangs I was experiencing, but when it arrived it glistened greasily in the light of the street lamps, heralding great promise, and as I took my first bite, I recall thinking "yeah it's like...wait...oh my, this isn't...oh...oh DAAAMN!"

Plus, you know, I was really drunk. But, seriously, that was one good fucking sandwich.
posted by dubitable at 9:17 PM on April 9, 2010


Greg Nog has made the most beautiful photo ever.
posted by The Whelk at 11:46 AM on April 11, 2010


Enough of that, how was Dr. Who?
posted by The Whelk at 8:33 PM on April 11, 2010




What's a solid British food I can make for us to eat while watching limey TV?

Next time, get yourself a kebab. I have access to many kebabs in Britain and they are delicious unhealthy wonderfulness. (And they need to be in naan, not pita.)
posted by mippy at 9:29 AM on April 12, 2010


Dr Who went to school with my ex-boyfriend, which means DR WHO IS YOUNGER THAN ME.


This is wrong.
posted by mippy at 9:30 AM on April 12, 2010


C'mon now Mippy, Dr. Who is like a Billion years old from the End Of Time.
posted by The Whelk at 9:39 AM on April 12, 2010


So... are people still posting in here? Cool.

I made the variant I proposed way up there somewhere. A 400g (half pound?) La Brea Sourdough loaf, filled with a fried onion, half a punnet of mushrooms, a small amount of stilton, some hot roast lamb and a few rocket leaves.

Except all my pans were in use (Sunday lunch) so I got two chopping boards and some G-clamps from the workshop.

I might have overclamped things slightly, since the resulting sandwich was thinner than most store bought sandwiches, but it didn't last long enough for me to take photos...
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 3:47 AM on April 13, 2010


I made it too. I don't really like mushrooms, so I used chopped pepperoncini and sliced black olives.

It tasted like a cold steak sandwiched in some bread. It definitely needs cheese and also some crunch, although that could be a side of chips.
posted by DU at 8:32 AM on April 13, 2010


The Beast Below was really disappointing, and the problem was entirely with the writing. It's definitely Moffat's clunker.
posted by painquale at 11:45 AM on April 14, 2010


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