Not to leapfrog topics, but the burger stacking order got me thinking about sammiches, a.k.a. God's own food--specifically, what's the best?
I'll go first because, uh, I started this, and nominate the BLT as the most perfect sandwich. Why? You can get fancier, you can get more creative, but a BLT on toasted white is a fallback you can trust at just about any restaurant. And for what I do, a bulletproof restaurant option is necessary.
Not at a restaurant? Fried bologna. All day long. Best quick lunch home can deliver, ideally with good mustard.
Trickiest simple sandwich? Egg salad. Like an omelette, it depends on a perfect understanding of egg, seasoning, and technique--and, ideally, access to Kewpie mayo. When it's good, it's winner take all. But that's rare.
That's just me, though, so go.
Margie
I've got six almost 6 foot tall Early Girl tomato plants (that will taste like candy) growing in 2 foot diameter pots just for BLTs. I can't wait and hope my heart holds out.
Best sandwich? The hot Italian Hero from Leggio's in Bay Shore on Long Island.
/thread
Trent
PowerDork
7/28/23 5:03 p.m.
It exists but will change on any given day from a good old Italian Grinder to a Bahn Mi or an Al Pastor Torta.
Hasn't been a local spot for a decent Grinder around here in decades
Another vote for BLT. A BLT with a fried egg is muy bueno too. Pizza Den's Muffaletta in Oxford is heaven on earth.
Multi-grain bread, toasted.
Roast beef
Tomato
Bacon
Lettuce
Mayo
with or without an over easy fried egg. (i'll take mine with, the wife prefers hers without the egg or tomato)
Stack them in whichever order makes sense to you.
If I'm ordering out it depends, but if I think the deli might be alright it's a Reuben, otherwise a club sandwich. The club is like the BLT, in that it's hard to get it very wrong.
CJ
Dork
7/28/23 5:16 p.m.
Philippe’s in LA - French dipped sandwich. Pastrami with Swiss on a fresh baked French roll. Throw on little of their famous hot mustard and you have sandwich perfection.
They've been doing it right since 1908.
I don't get the BLT. It's like going to Road America, to for the track food and exercise, but without any cars on the track.
At best, it's trying to make eating a 'bacon sandwich' sound more socially acceptable. At worst, it's toppings with bread.
A BLT with fried egg is simply a bacon and egg sandwich.
Most great sammiches have egg, except for a Monte Cristo....
In reply to travellering :
Monte Cristo has egg. It's just in the bread.
In reply to Marjorie Suddard :
My kiddo is having a mini thing with fried balogna right now. She is 9 and can make it herself. We use lightly toasted bread slit the balogna so it doesn't bubble up too much and American cheese for its meltability.
I also love egg salad and deviled eggs.
NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) said:
Driven5 said:
I don't get the BLT. It's like going to Road America, to for the track food and exercise, but without any cars on the track.
Heretic
Lol, I concur. The beauty of a BLT is its simplicity and purity. Nothing to overpower the subtle flavors. Wonderful sinful and deadly sweet bacon, mayonnaise or Miracil whip, lettuce for texture and wonderful sweet garden tomatoes. I can east them as fast as you can make them.
I make sandwiches from anything.
Spaghetti? Bread? Bam, make it into a sandwich.
Fried bologna.
The Germans have something called Leberkäse. It's very similar to bologna, but better. It's a common street food, served fried on a kaiser with mustard, sometimes fried onions.
We fry it and put it on a pretzel bun with mustard.
Whenever we have business in Toronto we always go to an Italian restaurant that serves veal on a bun with roasted veggies, capicollo and pesto mayo.
One I make at home, toasted bun, slices of ham, avocado, and chipotle peppers. The saltiness of the ham, and smokiness of the chipotle peppers is perfectly offset by the avocado.
My mom was from deep south Alabama. We learned to eat PBJB (Peanut butter jelly and banana) which I improved with PBJBM (Peanut butter jelly banana and mayonnaise), and cream cheese pineapple sandwiches. She also made head cheese sandwiches which I liked until I asked what they were made of and she said it was made from the meat from the head of a pig. Then my older siblings informed me that it was pig brains and you could easily see the brain matter folds chopped up in the gelatin.
Like women & cars, depends on my mood.
For breakfast this morning I had lightly toasted sourdough with a big slather of mayonnaise, fresh tomato slices and thinly sliced red onion and fresh basil from the porch.
Poifect.
Realistically, anything on bread is my fave. I'm not eating as much bread these days, because fat bastard, but here is a list of my favorite sandwiches from the last 60 years. Bread is generally a cracked wheat/ ancient grains/ cibatta, but good old white bread is fine too. And, unless it has a different goo, all have some sort of mayo.
Cold rare roast beef and tomato.
Toasted tomato.
Cheddar and onion.
Cheddar and honey.
Toasted with peanut butter.
Club.
Reuben.
Monte Cristo.
Peanut butter and honey.
Tuna with sweet pickles.
Cold smushed baked beans.
Bacon or ham with fried egg, broken yolk.
Bacon or ham with fried egg, runny yolk.
Ham and cheese.
Toasted, ham, cheese and egg.
The only thing that really doesn't belong on a sandwich is lettuce. It brings nothing at all to the party.
Trent
PowerDork
7/28/23 6:55 p.m.
Ok. Here is my hot take.
I don't understand what a tomato is bringing to the sandwich party.
I can go down the list of every condiment and topping and I get what they bring. Savory, salty, creamy, umami, richness, sweetness, texture.
A tomato is just a slimy layer in the middle.
I am a person who thinks tomatoes are at best "ok". I will eat them but I usually wonder what the hype is when I do. However, in a sandwich they are just mush.
End of hot take.
Best sandwich is like the best car. What are you looking for?
Sometimes the best is a grilled cheese, sometimes the best is a BLT, sometimes it's good old lunchmeat and some sort of condiment veg. Sometimes it is even braunschweiger and Swiss with a little horseradish, and a little more, with some extra on for color.
Re:tomatoes. I used to hate 'em. Fresh tomatoes from the garden that are mostly "fruitmeat", very low on watery seeds, are pretty good. It is like the difference between freshly steamed Brussels sprouts and canned glop. The tomatoes we grow are almost as firm as bell peppers. So good on a sandwich.
I'm a big fan of ham and swiss. You get a sweet honey ham, get the swiss goey and add in some squibbles of mustard for a touch of tart.
I make mine on a hoagie or sub roll and roll it up in plastic wrap and cook it on the floor of my truck as I work.
It really depends on the mood.
Generally though, when I say "I want a berkeleying sandwich", it means a trip to the Strip District Primanti Brothers for a steak and cheese with egg, no tomato. Thick, untoasted Italian bread, steak patty, cheese, vinegar based slaw, fresh cut fries (I HATE fresh cut fries but that's how it goes), and a fried egg.
Without traveling anywhere, pulled pork smasher on a toasted homemade burger bun. Leftover pulled pork, balled, chilled, smashed, topped with a slice of sharp cheddar, bonus points if I have any of my creamy BBQ sauce available.
While traveling, I will try the meatball hoagie or hot roast beef. Generally available in any place I would consider stopping at, and a good way to judge an area I've found. Usually hard to screw up too.
Apropos of nothing, I am now mentally singing "Fried Bologna" to the tune of My Sharona.
I blame the thread about undesirable cars. And Weird Al.
My two favorite sandwiches are:
Tacos
Pizza