Sloppy Joe is a glaring omission. It’s in.
I feel like - as with sticking to my one meat in tube form, I’d rather only have on gyro-like thing (which I don’t really consider a sandwich). However, since we need two more entries, I’m inclined to let kebab and shawawarararama (so hard to spell) in unless some crazy omission shows up before tomorrow.
@wookie, how do I get access to that bracket site thing?
How about sabich?
That’s another one that a lot of people like, but I don’t rate very highly.
Kathi roll should be in over one of those. Arguably both if you’re going for most different.
I’m going with shawarama because no one knows what that other thing is
Nominations are closed! I’m starting on the bracket and I’ll make a new thread.
For seeding the 40 on the initial graphic, I’m using this:
Seeds start from left to right. So fried chicken sandwich is the #1 seed.
You should try one. I had a good one in LA a couple of years ago, but I forget where.
Voting is live!
Should include meatball sub imo.
Dammit how could I have missed that?
At one point when I had too much time on my hands (maybe during 2020 lockdowns?) I tried a wide variety of sandwich combinations to decide what was ultimately my favorite sandwich. It’s a bit of a running joke in my marriage how much I like sandwiches, my wife loves to give me a hard time every time I order a sandwich at a restaurant. In her mind a sandwich is something you make at home.
Anyway, after much experimentation I settled upon the combination that I call The Perfecto because it’s basically what I deemed through experimentation to be my personal favorite:
Bread = Focaccia
Meat = Mortadella
Cheese = Provolone
Condiments = Kewpie mayo and Sriracha
Other toppings = Arugla and a fried egg
Preparation: heat a large pan, melt butter and then toast the bread in the butter, lightly fry the mortadella with the cheese sitting on top so it melts, spread generous mayo and sriracha on the bread, fry the egg and assemble. The egg, mortadella, cheese, and butter make this quite a rich sandwich, but the zingy arugula and tangy sriracha bring it JUST BARELY into balance. Like if you put not quite enough sriracha then the sandwich is too fatty bordering on greasy, but if you use just the right amount then that richness is just a base of deliciousness that works in absolute harmony with the tang of the sriracha.
So there it is, bracket not really necessary because I solved this by experimentation. But it will be fun anyway.
I think that the group here has accumulated a remarkable list of great sandwiches. Based on my experience, one area where there are numerous great sandwiches that people don’t often have is the wonderful world of mexican tortas. If you love sandwiches but have never made one with a bunch of avocado and beans on it, I highly recommend digging through some of Rick Bayless’s recipes for tortas. A lot of them amount to something very similar to sandwiches we might already be familiar with, but with a spread of beans and some avocado. They’re great.
As a sandwich aficionado, are you often disappointed by restaurant sandwiches?
No! In fact, I think that restaurant chefs are very good at sandwiching because so much of it just comes down to a basic understanding of how to play off fat vs. acid and salt vs. sweet vs. spicy. These are cooking fundamentals and underly most traditionally popular sandwich designs. Chefs are good at it, and restaurants usually have access to top notch bread.
Interesting. I find that restaurants will toast the bread too much, put too many toppings and make the sandwich unwieldy, etc. I’m not a big sandwich person, but when I make one I’m a minimalist.
Ah, that is a fair point. Sometimes restaurants will go for something that needs to look good instead of be actually good. When that happens to me I usually manage, maybe pick some of the stuff out with a fork and then eat the rest as a sandwich.
No swiss? We had a white trash version growing up that was hamburger patty with swiss cheese on it which was pretty good, probably all the butter on the bun and all the salt in the dip.
nice. I toast the bread last (in the butter & sandwich fat), and though the # of mortadella slices depends on the bread, I’m frying it in usually three or four separate piles, each of which gets flipped before adding some cheese to melt over all/most of the piles. And obv not stacking the mortadella like coasters, each pile gets crumpled and bunched into a cute little meatscape.
Focaccia is a great idea for the bread. I thought this sandwich would be easy to dial in but I’m not a great cook and for me it was tough to get the balance right, mostly because of what you said, that without a little restraint and acid it gets awfully rich. I’ll try it with the egg (skeptical!) but I hope it’s easy to figure out because trying to eat one of these a day for the next two months again is a fast trip to fat city
Speaking of goofing around away from classic stuff.
We make gout-burgers a couple times a year. I call it for an occasional upcoming nice day off. The fam have fun w it.
Big old toasted bun and beef patty (single or double). It’s loose w the individials; whatever they want…I canvas the family and shop for whatever they all want. Bun and beef layered w whatever combo you want of: slice of seared foie gras (fried spam for the poor mans version we usually make), 1 or 2 layers of whatever cheese(s) you like, crispy bacon, sauteed mushrooms, fried sweet onion slices. Whatever sauce you want (ketchup, blue cheese, bang-bang, whatever). Tomato and lettuce optional. You want fries?..welcome to the cardio unit.
Sorry, don’t have a pic atmo.
