Riding the Midnight Meat Train

I know this doesn't have any meat in it, but it's a train 

made out of sandwiches... close enough, I say. Hell, for 
all I know, that's horse radish and rare roast beef. 

Recently, after a night of curling, a few of us decided to hit up a burger place that was noted on one of those Travel Channel shows. The burger was delicious, and this happened to be the second week in a row our group of three had discovered some tasty meat between bread. You can read about it here.

Obviously, the first thing I thought about was how little attention I've paid to this guy over the past year. I think it's high time to kick it into gear. So, in a cross promotional effort, I'm going to try and cover all the angles between the two blogs.

While sandwiches and burgers will be the primary MacGuffin, we may delve into pizza's and desserts as well. Who knows what kind of treats we'll come across during this food Odyssey, all I know is it will be delicious. More details to come.

Meat-Meat-Meat

I love fried chicken. How can you not, really? Frying pretty much makes everything better, and KFC's genetically enhanced chickens are no exception. Given the choice though, I'd probably take Popeye's spicy chicken, but KFC is more ubiquitous so I can always count on finding one.

In lieu of chicken off the bone, a good chicken breast sandwich is always a nice option to break the monotony of fast food visits. The best, I think, is the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich from McDonald's. Just a breaded chicken breast and a couple pickles on their plain hamburger buns.

That is, until this:

Yes, it's bacon, Swiss and pepper jack cheeses an the Colonel's sauce (that sounds like a bad euphemism) sandwiched between two Original Recipe filets. If that doesn't sound delicious, I don't know what does.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to try one.

The Twitterverse has been all abuzz of this new sandwich monstrosity. Apparently they're rolling it out in Rhode Island and Nebraska before it spreads to the masses. When it comes to obesity-inducing foods, those are where the taste-makers reside. I guess it's like when indie movies have a limited release in LA and New York so it can spread by word of mouth to the flyover states.

Since it's highly unlikely I'll ever get to Rhode Island or Nebraska any time soon, I hope this spreads long enough for me to try it at the North Hollywood KFC.

The Poor Boy

In this economy, a poor boy could use a break.

They're called subs, grinders, hogies, heroes and probably a dozen other regional names. In Louisiana, they're referred to as po' boys. And they're effing delicious.

Typically, they're made with battered and fried foods like oysters, crawfish, catfish and chicken. Most shops seem to sell turkey and ham and whatever else. But really, if you're in New Orleans, why would you order a turkey sandwich? Do you want that on white bread, too?

They say the Louisiana French bread is different because of the humidity. Perhaps, I don't know. All I know is getting an oyster po' boy and dousing in Crystal hot sauce is one of my favorite things to do in New Orleans and Johnny Po-Boys is my favorite place to get one.

This is about dream food that's out of reach for most people. I could get an acceptable facsimile here in Los Angeles, but that's not even what this is about. Like many regional names, and things from New Orleans in particular, the etymology of "po' boy" is as shrouded in fog as the Lake Pontchartrain causeway.

I know, I know. This is the Crescent City Connection not the causeway.
I couldn't find a causeway picture with fog, but at least it's still a bridge
in New Orleans, right? The causeway is much more intimidating as it
is, let alone blanketed in unholy fog. Damn, I hate fog!

The most accepted origin is it came from the phrase, "poor boy." How this came to represent a sandwich, is still unclear. Wikipedia could give you a bunch of the possible origins I don't feel like rehashing here. One does stick out to me, as making the most sense. Sandwich carts in the '20s and '30s used to sell hot pork and beef sandwiches, but for only 5 cents, you could get just the bread soaked in the meat juices. A poor boy's sandwich! I like it. Still doesn't explain how it came to represent sub sandwiches as a whole in the Big Easy, but I like the story. Of course then, "poor boy" morphs into "po' boy" by way of those awesome Cajun accents and slack Southern twang.

Cut forward to our current day in age and every one's favorite phrase, "in this economy..." Everyone is looking for a deal and I found one for the Bread-Meat-Bread followers. Albertson's has your standard grocery store deli, they sell sliced meats and cheeses and a varying amount of side dishes. They even do the pre-packed sandwiches which is finally what this post is about.

They offer "Poor Boys," small sub sandwiches pre-made, packaged with may and mustard packs, ready for the go. The best part is the price, hence the "poor boy" moniker. They're $1.99 and they're at least just as good as Subway. I bought one that was loaded with turkey, ham and roast beef. It was topped with lettuce, tomato and provolone cheese. What more convincing do you need?

If you go to the Albertson's in Burbank on Hollywood Way and Verdugo, you can take the money you saved and get some frozen yogurt at Menchie's.

Bread-Cheese-Bread

While I love my meat, there is something to be said for a good grilled cheese sandwich. Mostly, this is the choice of vegetarian friends when we go out to the deli or In-n-Out Burger. I figured I'd spotlight this treat as the LAist tipped me off to National Grilled Cheese Month.

Their post does a good job of running down good places in LA to get one made. Personally, I like the way we did it in college when we didn't have a stove. Hell, even when we did, there weren't proper cooking utensils.

Look at this fancy guy, kitchen counter AND chopping block!

The good old ironing board grilled cheese sandwich. Slap some Kraft Singles (or Kroger brand if you're on a budget) between some Wonder Bread, slather a little butter on the outside and set the iron to "cotton" (be sure to turn off the steam). And, if you're like me, you'll douse it with a healthy dose of Worcestershire sauce. Delish!

This then, is just the stepping stone to all kinds of sandwich treats. Patty melts, tuna melts, grilled ham and cheese. Basically, just put your favorite meat in a grilled cheese sandwich and you've got a whole new kind of awesome sandwich. Or, just get fancy cheese if you're too good for American cheese, you commie bastards.

Quiznos FAIL

My first post on this great sandwich blog! What better first post than to expose the dirty sandwich scandal of the year (so far).



A couple days ago I went over to MillionSubs.com to get my coupon for a free Quiznos sub in exchange for giving them my email address and other personal information. Quiznos was giving subs away to the first 1 million people who signed up (the promotion is now over). I printed out my coupon and headed over to Quiznos for lunch the next day. I walked up to the shop and was greeted with an ugly handwritten sign on the door that stated they would NOT be accepting the coupons. This seemed like a scam to me, so after I went else where for my lunchtime sandwich needs, I did a quick google search to see what people were saying about this Quiznos coupon...

It turns out the whole thing is one big marketing FAIL! Apparently very few Quiznos' across the entire country will take this coupon! But why would they create such an ad campaign only to disappoint the hundreds of thousands of people who just wanted their free sandwiches? Well it's because corporate Quiznos are a bunch of d-bags. They want the money to come out of the pockets of the individually owned stores, and obviously these stores are not happy about losing thousands of dollars every day by giving out free sandwiches, so they just won't take them. Sounds like a winning business model to me! Is this a way to run a company, to send out worthless coupons that will only piss your customers off? I did read about certain stores that will give you $1 off if you bring in the coupon, or places that will accept the coupon only if the customer purchases chips and a drink with it. The coupon by the way, does not say anything about required additional purchases.

Check out The Consumerist to see what other people are saying and also to get the information for Quiznos Headquarters if you want to complain. Walletpop.com also has some interesting info, notably that the CEO of Quiznos resigned on Tuesday!

So what did I get out of this? Quiznos got my info for their marketing department and I got to waste my time. I can't imagine that this promotion is actually going to help them in the long run. I think the exact opposite effect will happen and people won't eat there because they feel like they were cheated. I know I won't be back anytime soon! If you still have a coupon to redeem, I'd call ahead to see if they'll even accept it. Good luck!

The Muffeletta

I hate to blow my load on the first post, but in honor of Mardi Gras tomorrow, I wanted to share with you the wonder that is the muffeletta.

I borrowed this photo from Flickr user Hankins. He made his own Muffellta, aside from using a thinner bread, he stayed true to the original plans and documented his fine looking meat between bread here.

The muffelleta (or Mustafa, as a friend playfully put it) is basically a combination of Italian meats and cheese on Italian bread. What really makes the sandwich so special is the olive salad spread. Damn, if that's not an oily fine sandwich topping. This spread will make or break a muffeletta, and Central Grocery in New Orleans (the originator of the sandwich) makes my favorite.

Its named after the bread its served on, a focaccia-ish type of loaf. Spread on a little olive salad, add capicola, salami, mortadella, then top it off with emmentaler (a Swiss cheese, apparently (I know! I did research, I lied!)) and provolone cheese. Heat it up, get the cheese all melty and serve. You can buy a half sandwich, if you want a light snack. But if you're in New Orleans, pony up and eat the entire thing! Seriously, though, this thing feeds like, 2-4 people.

As you would expect, the place that created the thing does it the best, or at least is my favorite version. Couple that with being across the country, and you'll be damned if you can find a decent, Crescent City-ish muffeletta in the City of Angels. All is not lost, however as my quest for the SoCal muffeletta has lead me to two interesting place holders (something to hold me over until I can get my hands on a real one):

One: Vons (Pavillions if your nasty). Yes, the grocery store. They sell sandwiches next to the service deli and for five bucks, you can get the Big Easy. I cheap version of the muffeletta, on a French roll with genoa salami, ham, capicola (not sure, actually), swiss and provolone. Like I said earlier, the olive spread makes the sandwich and their olive spread is actually pretty tasty. Again, it's a cheap, bastard version, but isn't that what LA is about?

Two: Honeydew. There is a small sandwich shop in Burbank that sells their version. I must stress this is their version. It's more inspired by really. Kind of like when a movie is inspired by true events. Anyhow, it has turkey, ham and salami, with cheddar, provo and parm cheeses, and a decent twist on the olive spread. The real issue here is the addition of lettuce, tomatoes and onions in between sourdough bread. Yes, hardly a muffeletta, but it is delicious in it's own right. While one part of me wants to boycott it for taking a name of a sandwich it clearly is not, I can't help but be drawn into it's mountain of melted cheese and toasted bread.

So, go out and get fat this Fat Tuesday on this greasy pile of Big Easy goodness. I suspect you can get a version of this at Stevie's Creole Cafe in Encino (in fact, I think I've had one there and remember it being pretty good) or perhaps Michael's in Burbank. If you're not in the valley, you can go to The Bourbon St Shimp Co. on Pico. They don't have muffeletta's, but you can get a po'boy (that's a whole other post).

Happy Mardi Gras! Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

I like meat between my bread

I love sandwiches. They are, perhaps, the single greatest culinary invention. This is mostly due to their versatility as configuration allows for infinite possibilities of deliciousness. They're customizable for staunch meat eaters (a good steak and egg on a French roll, anyone?) or vegetarians (avocado, sprouts and cheese). I'm sure vegans have a form of sandwich, but as you will find, extra research will not be a staple of this blog.

Rarely, if ever, will I claim a sandwich to be the best, period. I will only offer my opinion as to the relative deliciosity (I'll make up words, too) of each individual sandwich within the sphere of my personal sandwich experiences. I recognize I do not have the diverse and vast backgrounds with every type of meat and bread combination to accurately weigh in on the grandness of such statements. The sandwiches that will follow are simply sandwiches that I enjoy, and I hope you will, too.

Depending on how ambitious or lazy I may be, this blog will document the best (and maybe worst) sandwiches found around the Valley, LA and the rest of the country (as appropriate). I welcome any tips on tasty sandwich providers around the city, as I'm always on the lookout for quality meats between bread.