Beanplating sandwiches

September 11, 2018 1:02 PM

We've already covered if pizza and burritos are sandwiches. Now there's a silly Buzzfeed quiz that will allow you to air your opinions and see how wrong everyone else is.
posted by coppermoss (98 comments total)

I don't even know what is real anymore.
posted by Foosnark at 1:10 PM on September 11, 2018 [4 favorites]

Well, now I gotta track down an arepa.
posted by Etrigan at 1:14 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

Stop doing this, internet.
posted by bondcliff at 1:15 PM on September 11, 2018 [5 favorites]

I put yes for all because I feel like the 'sandwich' category is not 100% determined on the taxonomic scale. I feel it is more like 'phylum' rather than 'species' or even something more specific like a 'brand'.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:15 PM on September 11, 2018 [8 favorites]

I personally only drew the line at the lettuce wraps. Everything can be a sandwich as long as there is sufficient carbohydrate on the outside!
posted by coppermoss at 1:16 PM on September 11, 2018 [12 favorites]

The only thing there that I don't want to call a sandwich is the lettuce wrap (it's a salad), but I don't think I have strong feelings either way about it.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:17 PM on September 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

A wrap is not a sandwich. An open-faced "sandwich" is not a sandwich.

A sandwich must have something "sandwiched" between two layers. Those layers can be connected in a U shape, but there must be an open part.
posted by SansPoint at 1:20 PM on September 11, 2018 [10 favorites]

I just ate 2, 1, or 0 sandwiches. (Folded flat bread with salami, tomato, smoked mozzarella, pesto, and a shrimp roll)
posted by batter_my_heart at 1:30 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

A sandwich must have something "sandwiched" between two layers.

Ah, but the noun predates the verb, so your reasoning is circular.

I'm arguing about grammar, in an argument about what is a sandwich, on the internet. I might as well go home for the day
posted by Mayor West at 1:32 PM on September 11, 2018 [17 favorites]

I had a problem right off the bat with the taco, because my definition of sandwich is based on the wrapping material holding together while you eat it, which burrito-size flour tortillas do far better for me than crisp corn tortillas... soft tacos, pretty much yep, but crispy? Borderline. On that basis, some of the more exotic overstuffed items like the arepa are dangerously near the border.

On that basis, "open-faced" throws things into a totally different category. So pizza can only be considered 'sandwichy' if its crust is elastic enough to fold well. I'm half surprised they didn't include "taco bowls" or any kind of "bread bowl".

And my personal epiphany about defining a hot dog as a sandwich occurred when I was making a meatball sandwich with the same kind of roll I usually used to encase a polish sausage. Yes, I am overthinking a burrito FULL of beans.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:33 PM on September 11, 2018

No matter how far down this rabbit hole the Internet goes, I will always be grateful to it for birthing the phrase -- nay, the lifestyle -- Radical Sandwich Anarchy.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:34 PM on September 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

They warned us this would happen if we let gay people get married.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 1:35 PM on September 11, 2018 [12 favorites]

Also regrettably omitted from the survey: Asian wrapped things - egg rolls and spring rolls - which leads us down another rabbit hole into potstickers, dumplings and... ravioli? Can lasagna be defined as 'sandwich-like'? Extend the definition far enough and the breading on fried chicken makes it a kindofa-sandwich. Anything you can eat with your fingers is rather sandwich-y... Hot Pockets but not Pizza Rolls???
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:42 PM on September 11, 2018

This is all fun and games until you step up to the counter, order a Reuben sandwich, and get a slice of mustard pizza instead.
posted by notyou at 1:42 PM on September 11, 2018 [19 favorites]

now I gotta track down an arepa

the best one i've ever had was from a street cart in Cartagena, Columbia, in the walled city. i hadn't had it before i visited the country and the hotel's version was not as tasty.

the closest in quality i can find here is one of the stands in Union Market in DC.

arepas are amazing
posted by numaner at 1:47 PM on September 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

i am certainly biased, but anything in between bread that is not a banh mi is inferior.
posted by numaner at 1:48 PM on September 11, 2018 [7 favorites]

I think that as with all questions of genre this can't be answered through mere argument - we're talking about a constellation of sandwiches, so to speak, with sandwichness defined by usage.

It's like the question of what is science fiction - does it need rockets and lasers? Does it start with Persian wonder-tales, with Frankenstein or with the pulps? Is "What I Didn't See" science fiction or not? How can we write a tight enough distinction between fantasy and science fiction to be any use? Basically, we can't, and science fiction is defined by convention, usage and methods of genre production.

Sandwiches are what get sold at sandwich shops and what people make when they say, "I'm just going to make a sandwich for lunch". A pizza place is not conventionally referred to as a sandwich shop, so pizza is not a sandwich. No one says, "I'm making a sandwich for lunch" and then makes an empanada, so empanadas are not sandwiches. Neither are baozi or or pierogi or apple turnovers or jelly donuts.

Just because there are ambiguous entries in a category does not mean the category has no limits. Is Ratner's Star, by Don Delillo, science fiction? It's about a mysterious message from outer space but doesn't really have a lot of other SFnal markers. What about other literary fiction that uses select SFnal elements but isn't published as SF and isn't really similar in emphasis to the majority of what is published as SF? Well, it's debatable.

But we can say with confidence - unless we're being cute, like smart-alec assholes - that Persuasion isn't science fiction, and Another Country isn't science fiction, and Girls, Visions and Everything isn't science fiction. Similarly, just because your smorrebrod and your broiled cheese on toast exist does not mean that anybody anywhere actually regards a soup dumpling as a sandwich. For pete's sake.
posted by Frowner at 1:56 PM on September 11, 2018 [9 favorites]

what if the real sandwich was the friends we made along the way
posted by Mayor West at 1:58 PM on September 11, 2018 [22 favorites]

Future job description: Historical food topologist.

Damnit, now I want a tofu banh mi with extra veggies. The local place makes 'em so big they're Subway footlong sized. I also once openly asked them for a piece of carrot because everyone left their pipes at home and we wanted to smoke some weed before we ate. They laughed and gave me half a carrot.

Also, just because I can't resist retelling this tale - One day I had to remind an otherwise smart but often ponderously doofy and checked out coworker for the nth time that we cut all sandwiches in half and presented them in a certain way on the plate.

Not 30 seconds later I caught him plating a hot dog. Cut in half the short way. "Dude, what the fuck? Are you fucking with me? When have you ever seen us or anyone do that to a hot dog, ever, in the history of hot dogs?"
posted by loquacious at 1:59 PM on September 11, 2018

what if the real sandwich was the friends we made along the way

Then the police would probably be very interested in you.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:00 PM on September 11, 2018 [12 favorites]

They left out the “abomination” choice for avocado toast.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:00 PM on September 11, 2018

Maybe it's just me, but all of those things are sandwiches.
posted by Sphinx at 2:01 PM on September 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

I didn't realize "everything is a sandwich" was an opinion I felt so strongly about.
posted by eotvos at 2:02 PM on September 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

Asian wrapped things - egg rolls and spring rolls

Nori-maki are not sandwiches. This far and no further.
posted by The Bellman at 2:02 PM on September 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

While taking the quiz I decided that there needs to be two pieces of "bread" with some kind of filling inside for my concept of a sandwich. My only exception was for the open-faced sandwich because sandwich is right there in the name.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:04 PM on September 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Everything but the lettuce wraps.

"Extend the definition far enough and the breading on fried chicken makes it a kindofa-sandwich."

No KFC Double Down?
posted by Marky at 2:04 PM on September 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Also, there's a certain....well, let's think a little bit before sandwich imperialism consumes the world's starches. Why does a taco need to be a sandwich? Why do we need to insist that baozi are really sandwiches? I mean, if we're going this route, why can't everything be baozi, for starters? If the essence of baoziness is that there's a filling and a starchy surround/support, surely pizza is actually a type of baozi, and so is an arepa, and so is a twinkie, and at least we're using a non-USian metric for filled starches.
posted by Frowner at 2:06 PM on September 11, 2018 [15 favorites]

The sandwich is what an 18th-century rich English dude would recognize as a bread-slice-encased snack he could eat with one hand while playing cards with the other. The arepa, the taco, the pizza, the samosa, the bao, and the bagel all predate the 18th-century-origin-Sandwich, which if anything, is a newcomer iteration on the form established by the taco, the gyro, or the baozi. Don't insult these venerable foods by saying they are a version of something invented a thousand years after they became gastronomic icons. Decolonize food wrapped in carbs.
posted by zingiberene at 2:09 PM on September 11, 2018 [9 favorites]

Frowner beat me to it!
posted by zingiberene at 2:10 PM on September 11, 2018

NOTHING is a sandwich.
posted by aspersioncast at 2:11 PM on September 11, 2018 [8 favorites]

if you eat it in layers, it's a sandwich

no exceptions

no special rules

starchiness is irrelevant

layered for eating = sandwich
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:11 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

A sandwich is also only a sandwich if its primary form is sandwiching something. Pizza is not a sandwich, and cannot be a sandwich, even if you fold a slice. A "stuffed" pizza is not a sandwich, but a large dumping. Same for a calzone.
posted by SansPoint at 2:13 PM on September 11, 2018

prize bull octorok: So seven-layer dip is a sandwich?
posted by SansPoint at 2:13 PM on September 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

yes, of course
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:15 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

This is all fun and games until you step up to the counter, order a Reuben sandwich, and get a slice of mustard pizza instead.

A restaurant near me does a wonderful Reuben pizza...
posted by Jacob G at 2:22 PM on September 11, 2018

From an originalist point of view, a sandwich should be something, composed of bread and cold meats, you can hold in one hand while holding a playing cards in the other.
posted by bonehead at 2:23 PM on September 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

Does "eating" include drinking?
Do "layers" need to be horizontal, relative to the earth?

Can you play cards in space? If not, then you can't eat a sandwich, even if you have one.
posted by tempestuoso at 2:25 PM on September 11, 2018

The sandwich is what an 18th-century rich English dude...

Eighteenth century?! I almost choked on my lamb and bitter herb pesto hillel as I was reading that.
posted by slkinsey at 2:27 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

Also, from the originalist point of view, a sandwich doesn't therefore become a sandwich until consumed, and if you have no hands with which to hold the sandwich, or are unable to play cards, then nothing can ever be a sandwich.
posted by tempestuoso at 2:28 PM on September 11, 2018

An open-faced "sandwich" is not a sandwich.

This statement is biased against Scandinavians.
posted by elsietheeel at 2:29 PM on September 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

None of those things were sandwiches, and I was gratified to discover that a full 40% agreed with me that a burger is not a sandwich.
posted by rikschell at 2:32 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

Eighteenth century?! I almost choked on my lamb and bitter herb pesto hillel as I was reading that.

The hillel pre-dates the sandwich! If anything a sandwich is a version of a hillel. Like I said, decolonize food-wrapped-in-carbs. Why assign a designation invented by 18th-century aristocrats to a form and technique conceived much earlier by other cultures around the world?
posted by zingiberene at 2:33 PM on September 11, 2018

Anything eaten by the Earl of Sandwich is, by definition, a sandwich.
posted by GuyZero at 2:34 PM on September 11, 2018 [4 favorites]

"Sandwich" is one of those words that could have meant a very specific thing, once upon a time, but it broke its chains and ran free and seeded the world with the concept of itself. Now we find ourselves faced with things -- like seven-layer dip -- that aren't very sandwich-like according to our prevailing ideals of sandwichness, but because of the great simplicity and flexibility of the concept, we have no way of inventing rules that exclude them from sandwichhood without also excluding other things that we all commonly understand to be sandwiches, so to make a prescriptive definition of sandwichality work we have to invent all kinds of special-case rules and the whole endeavor breaks down into subjectivity and illogic.

And for what? Are we some fussy principality that needs to define and enforce a rigid definition of "sandwich" for the sake of protecting our sole profitable export? No! Everything that might be a sandwich is a sandwich.
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:37 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

a bagel is not a sandwich. a bagel is a bagel. you can use bagels to make sandwiches, in which case they become "sandwiches," or, perhaps, "bagel sandwiches." it's like saying "bread is a sandwich."
posted by mrg at 2:40 PM on September 11, 2018 [14 favorites]

layered for eating = sandwich

That definition is perfect. No, wait, I mean parfait.
posted by The Bellman at 2:40 PM on September 11, 2018 [6 favorites]

I'm sorry, but a smear of pesto between two layers of cold KD (mac and cheese to folks from away) is not a sandwich, whatever that young man with his hair in a bun writes on the menu. I'm sure he's very nice, but there are limits.

Also, I would like a plate to eat off of, not a cutting board please.
posted by bonehead at 2:40 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

While I am a little tired of this whole thing right now, it did occur to me that you can pretty much explore any aspect of philosophy through the medium of sandwiches, and I hope someone sets up a university course that does this very thing.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 2:44 PM on September 11, 2018

At the banh mi place. Fuck philosophy!
posted by loquacious at 2:47 PM on September 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

I got the correct (i.e., most popular) answer for each one. This either pleases me or disturbs me, I don't know which.
posted by yhbc at 2:49 PM on September 11, 2018

everything is a sandwich, metafilter is a sandwich, you are all sealed crustless sandwiches with hot but uncooked fillings
posted by poffin boffin at 3:19 PM on September 11, 2018 [9 favorites]

if we’re going to talk sandwiches and philosophy, let’s start with Zeno, who pointed out that, since you can never eat a whole sandwich, you might as well order half a sandwitch and a cup of soup.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:24 PM on September 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

layered for eating by hand

lasagna is layered for eating, but not by hand. unless you put the lasagna on some bread, which I would totally do...carbception
posted by supermedusa at 3:37 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

supermedusa, I dunno, I've had some pretty serious sandwiches that ended up needing a knife and fork.

Lasagna isn't a sandwich, however. It's a layered casserole.
posted by SansPoint at 3:41 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

the hand barrier was broken by the open-face turkey and gravy sandwich decades ago

all casseroles are sandwiches
posted by prize bull octorok at 3:43 PM on September 11, 2018

The verb "sandwich" is exceptionally helpful in determining what is or is not a sandwich.

"___ sandwiched between two ___."

An Oreo is a sandwich as it's "creme filling sandwiched between two chocolate cookies."

You'll have a hard time describing a taco or a burrito this way. Because they're not sandwiches.

Note that "between two slices of bread" obviously works, or even "between two halves of a bun" works for a burger. But hot-dogs are served "on a bun," and not "between" anything.
posted by explosion at 3:44 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

If bread or some equivalent grain product provides a buffer between your hands and the rest of the food item, then it's a sandwich. That means open faced "sandwiches" are not, in fact, sandwiches, but depending on how you eat it a pizza slice may be a sandwich.
posted by rocket88 at 3:50 PM on September 11, 2018

explosion: Hot dogs and other sausages are served between the halves of the bun, but the bun is still connected to provide structural integrity. Many other sandwiches are prepared and served this way, including the noble Philly cheese steak, and don't you tell me that isn't a sandwich.
posted by SansPoint at 3:54 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

see? this is where prescriptivism gets us, sandwich theories predicated upon bun-hinging connectivity or the precise angle at which a piece of filled and folded bread becomes a sandwich
posted by prize bull octorok at 3:59 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm structure neutral/ingredient rebel when it comes to sandwiches.
posted by SansPoint at 4:02 PM on September 11, 2018

Avocado toast isn’t a sandwich, but you could take two pieces of avocado toast and smash them together, filling-side-inward, to make an avocado sandwich.
posted by madcaptenor at 5:39 PM on September 11, 2018 [4 favorites]

1. Sandwich must be designed to be edible by hand. If you can't pick it up without it spilling all over, it's not a sandwich. If it needs a fork, not a sandwich.

2. Sandwich has at least one open edge. If it's sealed all around - ravioli, piroshki, spring roll, burrito - it's not a sandwich.

3. Sandwich requires bready unit of some sort as the outside layer(s). Ice-cream sandwich: yes; chocolate-layer bars: no. "Breaded chicken" does not count; the bread is not its own unit. Not a sandwich.

4. Sandwich is horizontal, not vertical. Taco and "lobster roll" are not sandwiches; they're open on top, not on the side. Pita is not a sandwich as usually prepared; it's too floppy to eat horizontal.

5. Sandwich has a top and a bottom that match. Avocado toast and pizza are not sandwiches. The modifier "open-face" is not a subcategory; it's a modifier meaning "like a sandwich except for this feature."

Hot dogs: Depends on preparation. Often not a sandwich (because vertical opening, not horizontal), but a sparsely-condimented hot dog is a potential sandwich. Bagel can be the outside layer of a sandwich. I've never heard of arepas before, but they look like a sandwich to me.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 5:40 PM on September 11, 2018 [4 favorites]

I answered "no" to everything just to maintain a sense of balance in the universe.
posted by TedW at 6:09 PM on September 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

If a sandwich wore pants would it wear them like this or like this?
posted by glonous keming at 6:17 PM on September 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

...air your opinions and see how wrong everyone else is.

Ladies and gentlemen... the Aristocrats Internet!
posted by rokusan at 7:38 PM on September 11, 2018

Pizza is round, you bake it in the oven, it has no crust on top. Obviously pizza is a cake.
posted by w0mbat at 7:43 PM on September 11, 2018

A flute with no holes ... is not a flute. A donut with no hole ... is a Danish.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:08 PM on September 11, 2018

Anything that has some other name is not a sandwich, it's that other thing. Why does it also need to be a sandwich? Just let a taco be a taco and a bao be a bao. Decolonize your lunchboxes.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:16 PM on September 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

Y'ever notice...sandwiches drive like this, and not-sandwiches drive like this?
posted by rhizome at 8:27 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

We had a long discussion about this at supper today (where we were eating arepas and calling them sandwiches). We seem to zero in on some rules. We figured this should apply to how it is quintessentially prepared, not in some one-off, hipster dive that is frequented by Guy Fieri (i.e. a burger with mac and cheese on it still falls into the overall "burger" archtype).

• The outer starch ("bread") must be fully formed prior to integration into the sandwich. It can't be cooked from dough along with the other core ingredients. The bread may be further cooked as part of the sandwich (grilled cheese, panini, etc.). This would exclude pizza, calzones, empanadas, and similar food
• Only one main starch may be typically used. Many burritos have rice, so not a sandwich. This is the key thing distinguishing a burrito from a wrap.
• Has to have a grain-based starch. This would include arepas and matzah (grain based), but not a lettuce wrap.
• Should be eaten by hand as served. Sorry-not-sorry, avacado toast and open faced sandwiches.
• Should be distinct from a "sandwich style" offering. An Oreo is not a sandwich
• Can be two slices of bread, one folded over, or a split roll or loaf that remains connected. This would include a hot dog, lobster roll, most bahn mi I've had, as well as a lazy peanut butter sandwich where I just put it on the bread and fold it in half.

Hot dogs and hamburgers are sandwiches. I'll include things served at Subway as, technically, sandwiches.

The one item that seemed to meet these criteria yet not feel sandwich-y was the taco. The tortilla is grain-based, complete prior to adding other ingredients, and folded over. Most have only one starch. Clearly eaten by hand. Yet...I still don't think it's a sandwich.

Anything eaten by the Earl of Sandwich is, by definition, a sandwich.

No, but any Earl of Sandwich you eat is a sandwich.
posted by MrGuilt at 8:30 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

No no no now I want tostadas and falafel
posted by Hermione Granger at 8:31 PM on September 11, 2018

I made a sandwich family tree a while back
posted by The Whelk at 8:54 PM on September 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

BUT HOW MANY HOLES DOES IT HAVE.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:42 PM on September 11, 2018

♬ and although I know, it's strictly taboooooooo ♬
♬ when you arouse the need in me ♬
♬ my heart says yes indeed in me ♬
♬ proceed with what you're leadin me tooooooo ♬

♬ It's such an ancient pitch ♬
♬ But one I wouldn't switch ♬

'Cause there's no nicer -wich than youuuuuuuuuu ♬
posted by aspersioncast at 9:47 PM on September 11, 2018

They are all sandwiches. Good sandwiches.
posted by oneironaut at 9:56 PM on September 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

we have no way of inventing rules that exclude them from sandwichhood without also excluding other things that we all commonly understand to be sandwiches

Back in my day, Pluto was a sandwich.
posted by nat at 1:31 AM on September 12, 2018

Everything is a sandwich and nothing is a sandwich.
posted by yueliang at 1:59 AM on September 12, 2018

Unprincipled aesthetics
posted by Made of Star Stuff at 4:52 AM on September 12, 2018

I took this quiz with my partner, mostly to tease her about the obvious inconsistencies in her choices (because it is, of course, impossible to answer all the questions in this quiz without obvious inconsistencies).

It went about as well as you'd expect.
posted by solotoro at 5:38 AM on September 12, 2018

Should be eaten by hand as served. Sorry-not-sorry, avacado toast and open faced sandwiches.


How do you eat your avocado toast if not by hand as served? I hold it by the sides, just like I hold a cheesesteak or hoagie by the sides and not the top and bottom.
posted by coppermoss at 5:47 AM on September 12, 2018

Sandwich was the Earl. This PB&J is Sandwich's Monster.
posted by moonmilk at 6:13 AM on September 12, 2018 [7 favorites]

How do you eat your avocado toast if not by hand as served?

I confess, I assumed it was a fork dish, like most open face "sandwiches." Really, "encased in starch" may be the better criteria. Toast with just butter or French toast aren't sandwiches.
posted by MrGuilt at 6:19 AM on September 12, 2018

Has anyone asked Dagwood Bumstead about this?
posted by TedW at 7:50 AM on September 12, 2018

Has anyone asked Dagwood Bumstead about this?

No because he's a mean drunk. :(
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:05 AM on September 12, 2018

What about croque monsieur's and croque madam's? I feel like they meet a lot of things that characterizes sandwiches, but because of how you eat it I don't ever think of it as one.
posted by Carillon at 9:20 AM on September 12, 2018

I mean, if we're going this route, why can't everything be baozi, for starters?

perhaps all are buns and sandwiches are just buns with openings
posted by numaner at 9:21 AM on September 12, 2018

sandwiches are just buns with openings

Ah, so my ... never mind.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:33 AM on September 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

perhaps all are buns and sandwiches are just buns with openings

It works in the south calling all sodas Coke. I see this being just the same.
What do you want to eat?
A sandwich.
What kind?
Sushi rolls and poke bowl.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:40 AM on September 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

For your consideration & further dissection, the Sandwich Alignment Chart - enjoy!
posted by milnews.ca at 11:18 AM on September 12, 2018

avacado toast and open faced sandwiches.

Sandwiches are like obscenity and fashion: the eyeball knows it when it sees it.

We're talking about something defined by context, culture and use. A short formal definition, even a common one, isn't going to happen.
posted by bonehead at 11:58 AM on September 12, 2018

I'm not any kind of sandwich scientist - a sandwich, to me, is like porn or art or even love! in the sense of it being clear to observe, but difficult to define. So I voted based on my instinct and feeling and basest reactions - some food items simply have that certain je ne sais quoi...

So I try not to think so hard. Because apparently over the course of the quiz I decided that a burrito is not a sandwich, but a wrap is, and if I think too hard about it it'll make me angry.
posted by one of these days at 12:35 PM on September 12, 2018

burritos and wraps are uncut maki sushi
posted by rhizome at 1:05 PM on September 12, 2018

This reminds me of a few weeks ago when we were arguing at my volunteer job if lasagna was a cake or not. I argued yes because there are chocolate lasagnas.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:24 PM on September 12, 2018

Some wise person once remarked that lasagna is spaghetti-flavored cake. I can't argue with that.
posted by moonmilk at 7:50 PM on September 12, 2018 [2 favorites]

I had an amazing brisket sandwich yesterday, topped with coleslaw it's my favorite type of sandwich which is just a meal you sandwich between bread, preferably Dutch crunch. See also the next day Thanksgiving sandwich with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.
posted by Carillon at 8:46 PM on September 12, 2018 [3 favorites]

One of my favorite sandwiches in all of history was a thinly-sliced cold pastrami on Dutch crunch I used to get at this Polish deli 20 years ago. That's the only way I allowed myself to tear the roof of my mouth off with the Dutch crunch. Maybe that's a hallmark of age: no more Dutch crunch or Captain Crunch. Maybe all of the crunches are a kid's game.
posted by rhizome at 10:46 PM on September 12, 2018

Well, now I gotta track down an arepa.

I return to report: Not a sandwich. Still delicious.
posted by Etrigan at 10:02 AM on September 13, 2018

I'm really glad you found an arepa, because fuck yeah, but emparedados or tortas get more at the root of the problem.

Julia's empanadas in DC has a great little sign about what an empanada is, and pointing out that most if not all cultures have some sort of "dough folded around something."

"Sandwich" is blatant Anglo-imperialistic bullshit, Montagu no more invented the sandwich than Tolkien invented elves.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:28 PM on September 13, 2018 [3 favorites]