This one will Philly you up (with happiness)

Someone recently suggested I try Taylor Gourmet, and when I went, I couldn't believe I hadn't been there before. I never noticed it- maybe because the K street location is in between Busboys and Poets AND Kushi. Yep, that's absolutely why I never noticed it before. Kushi.....yummmm....

Anyway, this blog is about sandwiches, not overpriced (yet delicious) sushi. Right, C-Rock? I happened to be at a conference near Taylor this week, so I stopped in for a late lunch one day in between sessions.

When I stepped inside, I was a little overwhelmed by the extensive menu.  However, in rare form for me, I made my decision very quickly when I saw the JFK Boulevard sandwich (the names are all Philly-related and the sandwiches are all Italian hoagie style).

The JFK is one of many chicken cutlet sandwiches on the menu, each offering a choice between grilled and Italian breaded chicken.  I went for the breaded. On top of the chicken are portobella mushrooms and goat cheese.  I happen to be obsessed with goat cheese, which may be the main reason I selected this sandwich so quickly.  I think portobella and goat cheese are a delicious combination in almost anything, but added to a fresh, moist, lightly breaded, olive-oil drizzled chicken cutlet and wrapped in a fresh hoagie (I chose wheat), this combination forms an amazing sandwich.

Half of this substantial sandwich (substandwich?) became a delicious, reheated lunch on another day!

My stomach is actually growling right now as I write this.  Gotta go make a sandwich! (thinking peanut butter and honey- ever had one? be forewarned...they are ADDICTIVE).

WARNING: DO NOT WATCH WHILE HUNGRY

This video says it all...thanks to California sandwichpants friend K. Michele for the great find!!!

I'm thinking I may have to attempt this one myself and blog about it in a future post.

Who doesn't love a good Italian?*

In the name of all things sandwich,

Pants

*are we still talking about sandwiches? just checking.

Deli-cious

An interesting niche of wonderful sandwiches exists at grocery store deli counters. Although the readymade sandwiches at these counters can be great, there’s something sort of exciting about creating your own combination from all of the sandwich ingredient possibilities. As a Florida native, I have serious loyalty to the made-to-order Publix subs. I feel pretty guilty even trying to compare any deli counter sub to Publix. During my next trip to Florida, I’ll share more about Publix subs (and this phenomenal thing called an ‘ultimate Turkey’ from Hopkins’ Eatery in Tallahassee...).

In the meantime, I will tell you about my deli counter sandwich experience at a different grocery store- Whole Foods. Deli sandwiches are so great to take along on adventures. My friends and I planned to go tubing yesterday, and we stopped at a Whole Foods to pick up snacks and sandwiches and beer (these are a few of my favorite things)- all of the essentials for a few hours on the river. I was quite excited when I noticed the made-to-order sandwich option at the deli. I just love filling out the little form with all of the sandwich ingredient options. For today’s adventure, I selected fresh sourdough bread, grilled chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, avocado, a delicious creamy dill havarti cheese, and a little bit of Dijon mustard.

It was a perfect sandwich to pack for our afternoon ahead.

Apparently, it can be ‘cold’ in July in NoVa, so tubing rapidly (get it? rapidly?) lost its luster. Although the weather did not cooperate with our tubing plans, we ended up on a different adventure- wine tasting nearby. After sampling several wines at 3 Fox vineyards, we purchased a bottle of 2011 Leggero Chardonnay to enjoy with our WF sammies. The wine was perfect with my dill havarti cheese! Wine and sandwich pairings…hmmm…food (and wine) for thought WB! I mentioned to the guy doing our wine tastings that the description of this particular chardonnay should have included: "pairs well with sandwiches."

Next up on our grocery store sandwichpants agenda is Wegman’s. Get ready!!

(photos taken by guestphotobloggerpants Dana "Ddubs.")

Months that don't end in "R"

When you go to Baltimore, you eat crab. It's just what you do.

"They" say, for the best crab experience, you should go during a month that doesn't end in R.

A few weeks ago, 7 girlfriends and I Staycationed in Baltimore for a hot summer weekend (good for crabs!) during the bicentennial Sailabration of the War of 1812.

And that's when this really delicious crabcake sandwich came into my life. Somehow, we snagged a spot at the J. Paul's bar on the water- among hoards of people visiting the Inner Harbor that day- to grab a quick bite before our scheduled speedboat tour. This thing was one of the best crabcake sandwiches I have ever eaten. It was perfectly moist, with a good crab-to-other-stuff-ratio (not overly breaded), and melted in my mouth with just a thick slice of tomato, a fresh piece of lettuce, and a generous slathering of sauce (cherry pepper remoulade). The bun was so soft. All this sandwich needed to be was a quick lunch to tide us over before a boat sped off without us. And it was so much more.

Sandwich Scene from The Breakfast Club

I do not think sandwichpants will be attempting to recreate this...masterpiece.

My History of Sandwiches

So while giving quite a bit of thought to the most memorable sandwiches I've had, I decided I would talk about some of them.  There are sandwiches I loved simply because the combination of ingredients or fillings caused my tastebuds to beg for more, and there are sandwiches I remember because of who I was with, or where I was when I ate them.

I've been eating grilled cheese sandwiches since I can remember.  I used to eat them with chicken noodle soup, and as I grew up I switched to tomato soup.  Moving on in my life I discovered that adding things like tomatoes, or bacon, or ham just made it that much better.  Definitely a sandwich that's good with soup on a cold rainy day.

When I was a teen, I remember the summers, and my mom always had all kinds of fresh cold cuts in the fridge.  She used to love the sandwiches I would make, because I could never decide what to put on them so I would just put some of everything...ham, cheese, turkey, roast beef, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, mustard.

My high school BFF and I used to make the craziest egg sandwiches in the mornings after we had a sleepover.  She remembers them too...just recently she invited me for a visit and said she would even make  one for me in the morning.

For those of you that knew me when I lived in Houston, or when I worked there, there are two specific sandwiches that I think of...the first is from the Cool Beans Cafe in the MD Anderson Cancer Center.  I used to work there quite often and you could go to the cafe and have a wrap made to order.  I don't know if it was the tortilla and how they made it all soft and chewy when they steamed it, or the roasted red pepper sauce, or the contents, but I loved those things!!  And then there is the Italian Sandwich from Central Market.  A most amazing food, the perfect Italian Bread, fresh baked at the store, premium Italian meats and cheeses, and most importantly the lettuce, tomato, carmelized onions and roasted red peppers.  And of course, Balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Every time I traveled to Houston for work I would make sure I went to CM for one of these sandwiches.  Who doesn't like a good Italian?  (Sorry WB, I couldn't help myself!!)

I am thinking that the closest I may get to that sandwich around these parts may be at a place like Wegman's, but have yet to get a sandwich there.

One last one I want to mention, and if you haven't tried it I think you must.  Bananas and Nutella on toast.  OMG!  Sometimes I have to have two because the first one tastes so good and I eat it so fast I have to have another so I can remember the experience!!

A nostalgia sandwich...with a grownupdate

When I was a kid, my dad made fried egg sandwiches often for my brother and me. I remember thinking they were a little weird and not really LOVING them all that much (probably because I got sick of them), but for my dad, they were a quick lunch or dinner to make us when it was just about time for another trip to the grocery store. And, although I loved- and still love- a good PB&J, a hot sandwich just feels more like comfort food.

Today, I got home from work after a long day (and a long commute in traffic) and I found myself hungry with limited dinner options. I haven't trekked to the grocery store lately...I looked in the fridge and saw eggs and sesame buns (the whole wheat ones from Trader Joe's- so good) and immediately thought of my dad. As a kid, I always reminded him to make mine with NO PEPPER, but today's version included freshly ground pepper and kosher salt on the two fried eggs. To add dimension in flavor, texture, and temperature, I topped the eggs with fresh sour pickles that my brother bought from a local Maryland farm over the weekend.

The result was incredible! I fried the eggs over medium, so the sandwich wasn't too messy to eat but I still had the yummy, slightly runny yolk that I love. The pickles were crunchy and cold and (dare I say) the perfect addition to my otherwise seemingly plain sandwich.

I know what I'll be eating for dinner the rest of this week, when I'll probably be similarly too busy (read: lazy) to grocery shop, too cheap to order out, and too hungry when I get home!

What is a sandwich, and why do we love it?

Joey from Friends was obsessed with them. For Subway's Jared, they are a way of life. The Men at Work sang about a vegemite sandwich. So what exactly IS a sandwich, and why do we feel so strongly about it?

Dictionary.com tells us that a sandwich is:
sand·wich
noun
1.two or more slices of bread or the like with a layer of meat, fish, cheese, etc., between each pair.

My bookshelf's Merriam Webster Dictionary from the SEVENTIES gives us a little more history by telling us the sandwich is named after John Mantagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.

Some may think of the bread (or pita or roll or bun or "wrapper") as simply a vessel for the filler, but I strongly disagree. The bread's complementary flavor, texture, and proportion are essential to the sandwich.

Sandwiches know no limit in borders or languages or cultures. The pickiest kids love them (even if sans crust only) and adults salivate just thinking about them (what, you don't?). They are vastly diverse in composition and flavor. They are traditional, simple, complex, and contemporary. They are breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snack, and tea time. They are a meal shared among strangers or close friends, and they taste of a place faraway or up the street. They remind you of a person, a funny or interesting story, a weekend trip with friends.

In many ways, sandwiches are like people. You never forget the really amazing ones.

As WB alluded to below, we both love food (especially sandwiches) and crave adventure. So, all of that being said....

WHO'S HUNGRY?

In search of the perfect sandwich...

I suppose you can tell from the name of the blog that it's about sandwiches.  Before we get into the sandwiches I'll just give a little history.  My Work Bestie and I became friends over sandwiches, not by sitting and having lunch together per se, but by running out for lunch together.  It started out as a once in a while thing and has now turned into every day we have the chance.  We go get lunch together.  Rarely do we get to eat together, but if we happen to get something amazing we tend to email each other back and forth about it most of the afternoon, about how yummy it is, etc.  I owe a debt of gratitude to lunch for bringing us together.

So the other day, my WB was working out of the office, and she posted something about the sandwich she had for lunch.  It was so inspiring to me...her description not only of the sandwich, but also of how she couldn't stop thinking about it.  And that is how we got here...so, I feel the need to share what she said as I feel that when you read it you will understand too.

"Today I ate the most delicious sandwich of my life.  Where, you (didn't) ask?  The NIH cafeteria.  I can't stop thinking about that sandwich"

So of course, I had to know what this sandwich was that was so captivating...and that I wasn't able to share with her except in cyberworld.  And here is what she said...

"seared rare ahi tuna, avocado, the most perfect, juicy tomatoes, crispy bacon, and this wasabi mayo-esque sauce, on whole wheat toast and ohmygod now my mouth is watering."

Her words inspired me to suggest that we go on a quest to find more sandwiches that make us feel this way.  And to share our quest with those who share a love of sandwiches.  I most likely will let WB do most of the writing up here since she is more talented than I when it comes to the written word, so keep tuned, and hungry for more sandwiches.