Sandwich hall of fame

[Judge Roybeanbag 11759]

a proper debris sandwich .

 

[Brisketexan 104056]

1 hour ago, irishtexan said:

I had this exact conversation on facebook a few years ago and it started a great debate. My only rule was you can't include specific versions of a sandwich you really like at one place. The merit of your vote would be judged by the conventional ingredients/construction of the sandwich. So you wouldn't say "the italian at Home Slice" but "the italian sandwich". I ultimately landed on 1) BLT 2) Reuben 3) Italian 4) patty melt (because a cheeseburger isn't a sandwich but a patty melt is and I can't tell you why that contradiction exists, but it's a fact) The simplicity of the BLT wins every time. And Reubens are just typically fucking awesome. 

Now, I might like an Italian Beef sandwich from any number of places in Chicago more than a BLT from Jersey Mike's. But Italian Beefs are regional and not typically executed correctly at most places outside of Chicago. And the Chilanga torta at Mi Tradicion might be better than a Reuben from Bella Donna subs. But still, the Reuben is a superior sandwich than a torta. 

Edit: If it were more widely-available, I think the jambon-beurre would make my top 5.

I'm okay with regional, not widely-available sandwiches making the list.  Indeed, many on the list started out as regional, but spread.  I think an italian beef counts (and it has spread -- you can get an italian beef at a couple of places in Austin, for example).  The muffaletta DEFINITELY counts, even though it's a NOLA specialty (again, you can get one in multiple cities now).

Can't believe I didn't put a torta on the list....but the challenge is, which one?  My favorite is a torta de lengua.  But barbacoa is great.  As is milanesa.  And I fondly remember the brilliant ones with roasted pork, mayo, and fresh avocado from a street vendor in Torreon growing up.  So...how do we put tortas on the list?

34 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Contender:  a gyro

Definitely.  I raised a berlin doner kebab earlier upthread - definitely very close relatives of each other.

16 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

 

Yes, please. And while you're at it, gimme a fried oyster or a roast beef po boy too.

See, po-boys give us the torta conundrum.  Which one?  All three?  My favorite po-boy is an oyster po-boy. But most people go for shrimp.  And the roast beef is a classic.  I feel like you have to pick one, definitive example of a po-boy or a torta.

15 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Anyone mentioned Lobster Roll yet?

Excellent call.  

[MAUFRAIS 6565]

Milanesa torta then

[Slacks 6771]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Contender:  a gyro

I wanted to say Shwarma and Gyro, but that would mean taco takes over the list. 

[jimmyjazz 45312]

20 minutes ago, Slacks said:

I wanted to say Shwarma and Gyro, but that would mean taco takes over the list. 

Yeah, it's interesting that most would consider a gyro a "sandwich" but taco al pastor "not a sandwich", yet they stem from the same cultural background and differ by the type of bread as much as anything else.  (No, they're not the same food, but they're both roasted on a vertical spit, and believe it or not, the "most" traditional meat for a gyro is pork.)

[Brisketexan 104056]

1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

Yeah, it's interesting that most would consider a gyro a "sandwich" but taco al pastor "not a sandwich", yet they stem from the same cultural background and differ by the type of bread as much as anything else.  (No, they're not the same food, but they're both roasted on a vertical spit, and believe it or not, the "most" traditional meat for a gyro is pork.)

Yeah, and this also gets us to the "flatbread condundrum."  Most people wouldn't consider a taco a sandwich, although it's fundamentally a filling on a flat bread (tortilla).

Yet a gyro or a doner, served on a different flatbread (pita), most people WOULD consider a sandwich.

I'm comfortable making the "tacos aren't a sandwich, but gyros/doner are" call.

[jimmyjazz 45312]

This is why I push back on the hardcore "authentic" food movements.  Sure, Texas Red chili doesn't have beans.  That's a good call.  It's true for Texas chili.  VIndaloo wouldn't be an "Indian" dish if it weren't for Portugese influences in Goa.  Italian-AMERICAN dishes can be delicious, even if they didn't wholly originate from Rome, Florence, Sicily, etc., but rather NYC, Boston, etc.  It's not a lesser food because of it.  Necessity and some other shit is the mother of invention.

A taco on a flour tortilla is essentially a sandwich.  Corn tortilla?  Different discussion, in my opinion.

[Macanudo 12891]

9 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

This is why I push back on the hardcore "authentic" food movements.  Sure, Texas Red chili doesn't have beans.  That's a good call.  It's true for Texas chili.  VIndaloo wouldn't be an "Indian" dish if it weren't for Portugese influences in Goa.  Italian-AMERICAN dishes can be delicious, even if they didn't wholly originate from Rome, Florence, Sicily, etc., but rather NYC, Boston, etc.  It's not a lesser food because of it.  Necessity and some other shit is the mother of invention.

A taco on a flour tortilla is essentially a sandwich.  Corn tortilla?  Different discussion, in my opinion.

Does this mean cornbread is not bread?

[jimmyjazz 45312]

1 minute ago, Macanudo said:

Does this mean cornbread is not bread?

Hell, I don't know.

[kilroydos 267]

2 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Does this mean cornbread is not bread?

Structurally, it's closer to cake than traditional bread, in my opinion.

[Brisketexan 104056]

Does this mean cornbread is not bread?

Hell, I don't know.

Structurally, it's closer to cake than traditional bread, in my opinion.

Agreed on all points…yet, at Cafe Pasqual in Santa Fe, they make an amazing grilled chicken with green chile and manchego sandwich on toasted cornbread. Only cornbread sandwich I can think of, but it’s great.

[kilroydos 267]

Just now, Brisketexan said:

 

 

Agreed on all points…yet, at Cafe Pasqual in Santa Fe, they make an amazing grilled chicken with green chile and manchego sandwich on toasted cornbread. Only cornbread sandwich I can think of, but it’s great.

 

 

I'd absolutely eat a sandwich on cornbread, but I'm also fine with a McGriddle on a pancake, so I'm pan-pain-ual, it seems.

[dcbc 14349]

3 minutes ago, kilroydos said:

I'd absolutely eat a sandwich on cornbread, but I'm also fine with a McGriddle on a pancake, so I'm pan-pain-ual, it seems.

The trick to a sandwich on cornbread is getting it toasty enough that it doesn't fall apart.  I assume this could be done with a smooth plancha/panini press or waffle iron with some success.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11759]

3 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

a proper debris sandwich .

 

To be clear that wasn't any sandwich I made, just one I ate.

 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11759]

 

32 minutes ago, kilroydos said:

Structurally, it's closer to cake than traditional bread, in my opinion.

If you can master a cornbread waffle, then it's closer to bread and is a good delivery vehicle for pulled pork or a thin fried chicken milanese.   I'm too lazy to tackle any of that though.

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by Judge Roybeanbag

[Underdog 28356]

Ruling on open faced sandwich? 
 

I can tear up a good diner style OFS, turkey or roast beef.  

[Guest]

19 hours ago, Underdog said:

Shrimp po' boy

 

 

19 hours ago, ftf82 said:

Club sandwich from any old school country club.

I could alternate between these every day for the rest of my life and be the happiest man on the planet. 

[Kyrie Eleison 9312]

stand back and behold...

 

[Brisketexan 104056]

4 minutes ago, Kyrie Eleison said:

stand back and behold...

 

Oh, I'd smash the HELL out of that.  But, it's a "special one-off," not a classic.

Although if someone said "a classic jewish deli chopped liver sandwich," I'd consider that for inclusion in the sandwich HOF.

[Kyrie Eleison 9312]

14 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Oh, I'd smash the HELL out of that.  But, it's a "special one-off," not a classic.

Although if someone said "a classic jewish deli chopped liver sandwich," I'd consider that for inclusion in the sandwich HOF.

good points...

surprised no one has mentioned a really good, East Texas chopped beef...onions, pickles, jalapenos. 

[conVINCEd 21468]

Meatball sub.  Not from a sandwich shop, from a real Italian restaurant.

[Biff Tannen 45361]

[Brisketexan 104056]

11 minutes ago, Kyrie Eleison said:

good points...

surprised no one has mentioned a really good, East Texas chopped beef...onions, pickles, jalapenos. 

Well, someone has mentioned it now.  It's a meritorious nomination.  It's one of my wife's favorite sandwiches.

8 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Meatball sub.  Not from a sandwich shop, from a real Italian restaurant.

What, you don't love you a real authentic Subway meatball sandwich?

I mean, I GUESS a real-deal meatball sub might be better...

[conVINCEd 21468]

The first thing that pops into my head is Jimmy’s in Dallas.  The next thing is how many $2.99 6” from Subway I ate in college.

[Brisketexan 104056]

13 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

The first thing that pops into my head is Jimmy’s in Dallas.  The next thing is how many $2.99 6” from Subway I ate in college.

One has amnesty for college dining choices.  I mean, I love a good hot dog.  And I love good chili.  And I won't have my choice to consume 2 for .99 "chili dogs" from 7-11 many a night held against me with respect to either food.

[ztejas 42963]

Gyro isn't a sandwich for me it's a wrap. It's one piece of bread vs. two which is a fairly easy distinction to make I feel like. 

[Brisketexan 104056]

1 minute ago, ztejas said:

Gyro isn't a sandwich for me it's a wrap. It's one piece of bread vs. two which is a fairly easy distinction to make I feel like. 

Not an unfair take.

I do not agree with it, but it's a good-faith position.

[jimmyjazz 45312]

5 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Not an unfair take.

I do not agree with it, but it's a good-faith position.

It's fucking stupid.  Protein on bread -- sammich.

[Brisketexan 104056]

Just now, jimmyjazz said:

It's fucking stupid.  Protein on bread -- sammich.

The taco exception stands against you, though.

[jimmyjazz 45312]

Just now, Brisketexan said:

The taco exception stands against you, though.

Not really, a flour tortilla is still "bread".

[YChang 3421]

I don't know if I just had good memories of my time living in the area, but I really really love the egg salad sandwich from Hobbit Cafe in Houston.

 

A Japanese Katsu sandwich is also pretty damn delicious if it's made well. 

Edited May 30, 2023 by YChang

[jimmyjazz 45312]

I mean, let's take it to the absurd:  cut the pita in half along a diameter, fill it with Greek lamb/beef/pork/chicken, load it up with tzatziki sauce, some lettuce, onion, and tomatoes, and that's not a sammich?  I mean, it's EXACTLY a sammich and all I did was slice the round pita in half.

[Brisketexan 104056]

1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

Not really, a flour tortilla is still "bread".

And on this, you and I part ways.  As deeply as I love flour tortillas and tacos, tacos are something different than sandwiches.  They just are.  I don't know exactly why, I just know it in my soul, where all good food-related knowledge lives.

[conVINCEd 21468]

Team taco is a sandwich.

[Macanudo 12891]

1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

Not really, a flour tortilla is still "bread".

Then a corn tortilla is too.  *

 

* See.....   Cornbread.

[Brisketexan 104056]

Just now, conVINCEd said:

Team taco is a sandwich.

[Bozo_Casanova 26111]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

This is why I push back on the hardcore "authentic" food movements.  Sure, Texas Red chili doesn't have beans.  That's a good call.  It's true for Texas chili.  VIndaloo wouldn't be an "Indian" dish if it weren't for Portugese influences in Goa.  Italian-AMERICAN dishes can be delicious, even if they didn't wholly originate from Rome, Florence, Sicily, etc., but rather NYC, Boston, etc.  It's not a lesser food because of it.  Necessity and some other shit is the mother of invention.

A taco on a flour tortilla is essentially a sandwich.  Corn tortilla?  Different discussion, in my opinion.

You're making a good point philosophically, but the bolded exception is memetic bullshit despite being widely believed (and often ignored). Beans are far more authentic than expensive beef cuts, tomatoes, or for that matter, rules. 

anyway, missing so far is the classic italian-American sub sandwich. 

Edited May 30, 2023 by Bozo_Casanova

[jimmyjazz 45312]

Flour, salt, water, and a leavening agent, baked.  That's bread.

[Brisketexan 104056]

Just now, Bozo_Casanova said:

You're making a good point philosophically, but the bolded exception is memetic bullshit. Beans are far more authentic than expensive beef cuts, tomatoes, or for that matter, rules. 

anyway, missing so far is the classic italian-American sub sandwich. 

It was on my first list, and it definitely belongs -- italian grinder.  Someone also mentioned the Delaware Subs italian, which is a great version of that sandwich.

[jimmyjazz 45312]

Just now, Bozo_Casanova said:

anyway, missing so far is the classic italian-American sub sandwich. 

I thought someone above mentioned an Italian sub?  (Not an Italian beef, that's a different thing, Chicago-centric.)

[Bozo_Casanova 26111]

1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

Flour, salt, water, and a leavening agent, baked.  That's bread.

tortillas aren't baked or contain leaven. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11759]

Quote

The ancient Jewish sage Hillel the Elder is said to have wrapped meat from the Paschal lamb and bitter herbs in a soft matzah—flat, unleavened bread—during Passover in the manner of a modern wrap made with flatbread.^[11] Flat breads of only slightly varying kinds have long been used to scoop or wrap small amounts of food en route from platter to mouth throughout Western Asia and northern Africa. From Morocco to Ethiopia to India, bread is usually baked in flat rounds, contrasting with the European loaf tradition.

During the Middle Ages in Europe, thick slabs of coarse and usually stale bread, called "trenchers," were used as plates.^[12] After a meal, the food-soaked trencher was fed to a dog or to beggars at the tables of the wealthy, and eaten by diners in more modest circumstances. The immediate culinary precursor with a direct connection to the English sandwich was to be found in the Netherlands of the seventeenth century, where the naturalist John Ray observed^[13][14] that in the taverns beef hung from the rafters "which they cut into thin slices and eat with bread and butter laying the slices upon the butter"—explanatory specifications that reveal the Dutch belegde broodje, open-faced sandwich, was as yet unfamiliar in England.

Initially perceived as food that men shared while gaming and drinking at night, the sandwich slowly began appearing in polite society as a late-night meal among the aristocracy. 

I’d be ok with being known as Hillel the Elder.

Edited May 30, 2023 by Judge Roybeanbag

[jimmyjazz 45312]

7 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

tortillas aren't baked or contain leaven. 

Depends on the recipe.  Plenty contain baking powder or baking soda.

[Texzilla58 4695]

My favorite sandwiches in no order

Pastrami Reuben
Chicago Italian beef
Meatball parm
Shrimp po’boy, dressed
Debris po’boy , dressed
Patty melt
Italian deli meat sub, fully dressed
Cubano
Fried chicken sandwich
Chicken salad sandwich
Lobster roll
Porcetta sandwich with greens
Memphis chopped hot pork sandwich
Memphis bbq baloney or salami sandwich
Texas chopped brisket sandwich
Louisville hot brown
Torta with carne asada
Speidies
Lemongrass pork bahn Mi
Meat loaf
Homegrown tomato sandwich

Worst I ever had
In Japan at Panasonic executive dining room: cold fried egg on white bread with ketchup. They were told it was the favorite sandwich of California.

[ztejas 42963]

7 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

Texas chopped brisket sandwich

That's a solid addition. Chopped beef between hamburger buns can be about as good as it gets sometimes. 

[Sbbruin 21636]

59 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

And on this, you and I part ways.  As deeply as I love flour tortillas and tacos, tacos are something different than sandwiches.  They just are.  I don't know exactly why, I just know it in my soul, where all good food-related knowledge, and fired gizzards, live.

fify

[conVINCEd 21468]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

And on this, you and I part ways.  As deeply as I love flour tortillas and tacos, tacos are something different than sandwiches.  They just are.  I don't know exactly why, I just know it in my soul, where all good food-related knowledge lives.

Throwing out logic and reason and going with your gut feeling  is a very unbrisketlike approach.

[dcbc 14349]

I haven't ever tried one, but the song is catchy.

 

Pork roll, egg, and cheese . . . on a Kaiser bun.

 

 

Also, in honor of Christofuh on the Sopranos:

 

The Fluffernutter

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by dcbc

[ftf82 481]

My now deceased Mom was affectionately known as Grandma Sandwich to our kids and their friends, because that's all that she would offer to make them for lunch when she watched them. When I was growing up, more often than not she made this on white bread with Miracle Whip. And gave the rind to our dacshunds. I would still kill for one today, but my wife does the shopping generally and refuses to buy it.

 

 

[Brisketexan 104056]

6 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Throwing out logic and reason and going with your gut feeling  is a very unbrisketlike approach.

Tacos are matters of the heart, not the head, gringo.