Lets argue: sandwiches for the track

In reply to Duke :

How could I forget about Lance crackers? Perfect for snacking on, travel well and sometimes i just plain crave a little salt.

EvanB said:

Lebanon bologna, cheese and mayo. Throw in a cooler and assemble when it's time to eat.

I totally LOVE lebanon bologna.  Might be hard to get in the not-north-eastern parts of the US.  When I lived in Los Angeles I had to have it shipped from home.

If you haven't tried it, Sweet Lebanon Bologna and peanut butter is actually really stoopid good.  Peanut butter and sweet pickles (I prefer bread-n-butter pickles) is amazing.

When I go somewhere for a day and have to take food, I usually do the least perishable type of food in case something happens.  I have done dumb things like spilled the cooler and lost all the ice, didn't use enough ice, or otherwise let things get too warm.  Things like Lebanon bologna have nitrites and nitrates (great for your health... not) that prevent nasty bugs from rotting things.  Peanut butter, cheeses, and nuts are good for protein that won't go all salmonella/botulism on you if you leave the cooler in the sun for a bit.

Another favorite is SBLAT sandwiches.  Like a BLT, but add sprouts (or spinach) and avocado.

tb said:

In reply to Duke :

How could I forget about Lance crackers? Perfect for snacking on, travel well and sometimes i just plain crave a little salt.

Captain's Wafers with sour cream and chives.  Dang those are good.

I love me a good sandwich but not on race day.  I pack 2 of the following 3 items. Pasta salad, hard boiled eggs, a can of salmon. Of course bananas, grapes, an orange or two, or whatever fruit you have kicking around for desert

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

tb said:

In reply to Duke :

How could I forget about Lance crackers? Perfect for snacking on, travel well and sometimes i just plain crave a little salt.

Captain's Wafers with sour cream and chives.  Dang those are good.

Yeah, all the varieties have at least a smidge of protein in them so they give a little more satisfaction. The PB and honey ones are good for salty-sweet but I like the ones you mention and the classic Toast-Chee.

Stampie said:

Grilled cheese with a slice of ham between two slices of cheese.  Use bacon grease as a butter substitute for that extra bit of yumminess.

I'll have to try that, but we use mayo instead of butter in my home. Makes the outer layer crispier and gives it a very light added flavor. I'd argue this isn't a good solution for a packed lunch however.

PB&J for the listed reasons, if you're like me and need meat I'd go with turkey, because BERKELEY ham! Pack all the parts (meat, cheese, bread) seperately and then assemble when you're ready to eat.

Same as a day of flying:  Peanut Butter & Nutella.  Tasty, nutricious, filling, refrigeration optional.  I also pack a zip lock bag of nuts, dried fruit etc.

i usually buy the $1 package of hamburger buns, a handful of the store brand budding meats in various flavors, a package of pepperjack cheese and some spic mustard. Simple, cheap, easy. 2 sammiches per meal, that's 4 meals.

I prefer to pack something that doesn't need to be kept cold. So I'd skip the sandwiches (or use PB&J if that isn't an option) and bring some beef jerky and apples or oranges (uh-oh, is that another comparison that never gets resolved?), and maybe some crackers or the like. And a lot of water.

For a day on the lake, at the autoX or out on the trails in the truck, I like to do some sort of preserved meat with cheese on firm bread. My theory is that preserved meat like salami or cured ham is more stable if my cooler has issues. The easy button on that is a Cuban from a Publix Deli as I drive to the location. They're solid, reliable, and you can grab a handful of mustard packets to add when you eat if time allows. I usually have to stop to stock the cooler anyway, so it makes things simple.  Grab some chips and a few packs of snack crackers and you're golden. 

I eat fairly healthy food most of the time and indulge at the track so my preference is a greasy burger from the track concession stand.  Hear in the southwest I want green chilli on it.  If I have to bring my own food my preference is my wife's home made pizza.  Yes, I like cold pizza.

Variation on the theme:

PB & Banana

Get the banana in there for the electrolytes to stay hydrated and alert at the track.

Lunchables, craisins and bring cutting boards.

Lay it out like a charcuterie. If anyone ask or gives funny looks say this is the first time you've been to an autocross that wasn't with PCA. 

Codriver here.  Lots of good ideas.  I will report back with results 

I'm not sure how I managed to get OP to provide both the car and the food lol.

Celiac disease, so no gluten (bread) for my trackside. I've been doing yogurt and granola at rx's since the yogurt keeps well enough to lunch, and can be a hearty enough meal to keep you going through the afternoon. We had some fun convincing a fellow competitor we could all smell coolant around his car after we figured out it was just the sweet smell of the yogurt.

I'm wierd and bring sweet and savory-  

Salami and cheese with mustard

PB&J

Both on some sort of 124534000 grain bread, it's firmer and denser so they don't mush up.  Both are mostly* cooler-proof, and I get to have lunch and dessert if I have one of each :p

I like pb&j. I like that shot of sugar from the jelly after standing out in the sun all day. But what we would usually do is stop at subway and get a breakfast footlong, eat half, and wrap the other half up for lunch. 

Back in the day the little drag strip in marion county ohio sold some bomb ass cheeseburgers. They would grill and assemble them, wrap them in foil, then stick them in a roaster oven. It had the opposite effect of a heat lamp, the longer they were in there, the better they got.

In reply to gearheadmb :

20 years ago when I was working in Delaware we used to run up to Larue regularly.  I never tried a cheeseburger and now I regret it!

This is munchkin my dad and I just got back fron the store. So should we ruin the surprise or let ProDarwin report back?

P.S. I'd vote for PB&J.

Temperature and dampness are big factors in sandwiches.  Instead of switching up bread types so much, just toast your bread.  It helps a lot.  Make sure to seal each sandwich in a ziploc bag before throwing it in your cooler.  Personally I've been enjoying Dave's Killer Bread, a bit pricier but healthier and tastes fantastic - their "good seed" is excellent.  Using wraps or even tortillas is a great idea as well.

If I still ate meat then I would be eating Cubans at every opportunity.  You can make a passable attempt with ham, swiss, mustard, and pickles.  It lacks the slow cooked pork but still a tasty combo that uses very simple ingredients.  As someone else said, set them on your dash to heat them up.

Nowadays I'd just go with a PBnJ if I were going to pack a sandwich or two.  Also you'll be burning extra calories out in the sun moving around, so ensure you have sufficient calories and protein.  Either way I'd pack an apple to help clean your teeth after eating a bunch of bread.

Curtis and evan:

You guys just made me less crazy!

I have told people about Lebanon balogna. They all looked at me like I was nuts. I ised to get it from the farmers market in Harrisburg Pennsylvania when we visited grandmother tarasi. Best lunch meat i have ever had. My brother also got sone sort of white chease with a brown skin on it,  but i don't remember the name.

Never seen either of those outside when i was a little kid with nana tarasi. 

Dammit. Now i have to figure out how to get some.....

My first rule of track food is try and not require refrigeration.  So PB&J was the go to.  Simple is better.  The PB&J is the perfect food.  You get the quick energy boost from the Jelly that is then sustained by the Peanut butter.  And some times I would just use spoons and forgo the bread.  

Here is the way to do it.

Bread

Miracle whip

American Cheese

Ham

Dab of Mustard

Cheddar Cheese

Dab of mustard

Turkey

Pepperjack Cheese

if you feel saucy, Bacon

Miracle Whip

Bread

Then, keep a couple of the sandwhich slices of dill pickles to throw in there before you eat.  

Thawed frozen burritos wrapped in foil and cooked on my truck's exhaust. Or get fancy and make your won burritos first.

Or PB&J. If you pre make them put some PB on both inner bits of bread then the jelly on one. No soak through. This was the coup de grace of a college speech on how to make something.

I don't care for pre-made sammiches so much anymore.  Ones I have enjoyed lately are things in tubs (pimento cheese or chicken salad) and bring a loaf of something chewy (13 grain or whatever bread).   But pretty minimal food, I find I need more liquids on autocross days.    And ibuprofen, bring ibuprofen.