Monday 13 February 2012

Day 50 - Meat Liquor's Cheeseburger

Wow, what a way to finish my 50 days of Sandwich. Meat Liqour, like Lucky Chip, gained a healthy reputation in the Meatwagon, serving burgers to people committed enough to wait in the cold by a burger van. They have now got a fixed location just off Oxford Street, so now you can wait in the cold to get in to a restaurant. And there is a wait, because you can't book. Nonetheless it is worth the wait because the burgers are divine.

The burger was so densely packed with flavoursome meat (you could tell it had only been seasoned at the last minute on the outside so as to keep the juices in) that when you bit into it it didn't ooze with grease, but with the juices from the meat itself. The toppings of cheese, gherkins, tomato ketchup and mustard only enhanced the flavour of the meat, and the gherkin and lettuce added a nice bite. The bread was also very well made, not too sweet as some burger buns can be, but sweet enough. Simply delicious. If you live in London, or if you're ever visiting, you have to go here.



Description: Medium rare burger, cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, gherkin
Location: Meat Liquor, central London
Accompaniments: Wine, fried pickles, chili cheese fries, chicken wings, coffee
Companion: Friends
Rating: 10/10

Day 49 - Bacon Sandwich

You can't really go wrong with a bacon sandwich. Even the cheapest bacon tastes good. But you can't really do much more with a bacon sandwich either. Therefore this sandwich gets a respectable, but not great score.




Description: Bacon sandwich with ketchup
Location: Home, London
Accompaniments: Tea
Companion: None
Rating: 6/10

Day 48 - Steak Burrito

Okay, it's not a sandwich, but it's not as if I'm sticking to the rules any more. Also, I love burritos, I did not, however, love this burrito. It's ingredients were pleasant, and it tasted okay, but it did not have the punch that most of the best burrito's pack. There were no citrus, spicy undertones from coriander, lime and chili. There was no earthy creaminess from refried beans. It just tasted like steak and rice in a tortilla. And the steak, although it was cooked well, was terribly under-seasoned. The worst thing was that the thing was covered in a (very mild!) sauce and cheese, like a giant enchilada, which meant I couldn't pick it up. Poor show.



Description: Steak, rice, beans, cheese and burrito
Location: El Paso, Shoreditch
Accompaniments: Modelo especial, nachos (?)
Companion: Many
Rating: 5/10

Day 47 - Brie and Caramalised Onion Panini

I got this rather uninspired choice at Starbucks. Not expecting much, I was pleasantly surprised at the simplicity. It's really just a glorified cheese and onion sandwich, which is a combination which has been around forever, and a combination that works well. This one was a bit more jazzed up: Creamy rich brie with powerful, sweet onion warmed in a toasted ciabatta, which in itself was very pleasant, being slightly salty, slightly sweet. Nice.



Description: Brie and Caramalised Onion Panini
Location: Starbucks
Accompaniments: Coffee, crisps
Companion: None
Rating: 7/10

Day 46 - The "Kelly Lebrock"

Gourmet burger vans are gaining a serious following in London. And the popularity of some burger vans in particular has forced them indoors in order to cater for a wider audience. That is the case with Lucky Chip, which has taken up residency in the Selbright Arms off the Hackney Road. The burgers are all named after celebrities and (I suppose) are meant to embody their personalities. I, mainly because I fancied the pants off her in Weird Science, got the Kelly Lebrock. It consisted of a medium rare burger, with caramelised red onion, bacon and Philadelphia all encased in a semi-sweet bun. It was excellent. The meat was wonderfully juicy and flavoursome. The bacon added smokiness whilst the onions were crunchy and sweet. Even the cream cheese went really well, acting as a medium for all the other flavours to combine in. My only criticism, and the only reason this does not receive a 10, is that all of the other fairly powerful flavours detracted slightly from the star of the show; the meat.



Description: Medium rare burger, caramalised onions, bacon, Philadelphia,
Location: Lucky Chip, Hackney
Accompaniments: Beer
Companion: Friend
Rating: 9/10

Day 45 - Salt Beef Sandwich

Salt beef sandwiches are usually a speciality in Jewish neighbourhoods. I had one in a local Finchley restaurant called Chix Chox. The sandwich was huge. There was twice the amount of beef for the bread that was provided, not to mention the chips, gherkins and salad. I removed some of the beef and then assembled the rest of the sandwich myself, adding layers of beef, mustard and gherkins to the white bread. The beef was wonderfully tender and (surprisingly!) salty, the gherkins added a nice acidity and sweetness, as well as a good crunch, and the mustard lit the whole thing up with a bit of heat. All in all it was a great sandwich ... that is until I hit the salt wall. A smaller portion would have been better, and would have earned a better mark.



Description: Salt beef, gherkin and mustard sandwich
Location: Chix Chox, Finchley
Accompaniments: Chips, salad, lots of water
Companion: None
Rating: 7/10

Day 44 - Mexican Chicken Sandwich

Greggs has become a British institution. It is about the only shop that has done well during the recession. Probably because it's affordable and tasty. My memories of Greggs are from University when I would indulge in a "Meal Deal" on a daily basis. I decided to do the same on Day 44. I went for the limited edition Mexican Chicken. Spicy chicken, peppery cheddar, semi-sweet mayonnaise, jalapenos and lettuce combined to make a rather tasty sandwich. The quality of the bread (which was a crunchy baguette) was surprisingly pleasant and lifted the sandwich from above average to good.



Description: Spiced chicken, Mexican cheddar, jalapenos, lettuce, mayonaise baguette
Location: Greggs
Accompaniments: Coke Zero, Ready Salted Walkers crisps
Companion: None
Rating: 7/10

Day 43 - Tuna Melt

A tuna melt is tuna with cheese melted over it. Sounds hard to mess up doesn't it? Well, Coffee Republic messed mine up. The cheese remained almost 80% unmelted and the tuna was cold and dry. A tuna melt done well should burst with flavour. Unfortunately, the best thing about this sandwich was the end.



Description: Tuna and cheese melt
Location: Coffee Republic
Accompaniments: Coffee
Companion: None
Rating: 2/10

Friday 3 February 2012

Day 42 - Homemade Fish Finger Sandwich

Crispy hot white fish, heavily buttered fluffy white bread and a squirt of ketchup isn't a classic sandwich combination for no reason. Especially if you get good quality fish fingers, so the fish is moist and flaky inside, whilst remaining crunchy on the outside. The ketchup adds sweetness, saltiness, and tanginess to this sandwich, all of which offset and cut through the more stodgy elements. Great stuff.



Description: Fish finger sandwich with tomato ketchup
Location: Home
Accompaniments: Coke Zero
Companion: None
Rating: 8/10

Day 41 - Homemade Crisp Sandwich

In my opinion, you haven't lived until you have put crisps in your sandwich. Most people do this when they are children and then grow out of it. I still do it as an adult. In this case I was making a simple cheese sandwich. Therefore I decided I would liven the whole thing up with a dash of hot sauce and a handful of salt and vinegar McCoys (the ultimate sandwich crisp). And it tasted like school packed lunches. As in this case, there is something evocative about certain flavour combinations that set your mind back to a particular pleasant memory, or an era, in a way that alters your perception of whether what you're eating is actually good. So whether I actually liked this sandwich, or liked the way this sandwich made me feel, is up for interpretation.



Description: Edam cheese sandwich with Maggi hot sauce and salt and vinegar McCoys
Location: Home
Accompaniments: More salt and vinegar McCoys
Companion: None
Rating: 7/10

Day 40 - Homemade Tandoori Chicken Sandwich

I think this sandwich is the best sandwich I have ever made for myself. And, as you may have cleverly deduced, I have made a lot of sandwiches in my life. I started off by baking a chicken thigh fillets marinated (for a day) in a yoghurt and spice mix. Once cooked, and slightly charred, I cut a couple of fillets into strips, put them between two slices of buttered (not margarine) seeded wholemeal bread, added some date and lime pickle and finished off with a handful of rocket and cress. The result was wonderfully aromatic, spicy and succulent chicken with hints of sweetness from the pickle and pepperiness from the rocket. The textured bread and leaves added a nice bite to the sandwich as well. If I hadn't made this myself, I would have given it a 10, but for some reason I find it difficult to award my own creation a 10.



Description: Homemade tandoori chicken sandwich with date and lime pickle and rocket and cress
Location: Home
Accompaniments: None
Companion: Friends
Rating: 9/10

Day 39 - Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki

Yes yes I know, I did previously give Subway a slating, but I did have a sandwich I'd never had before. I thought I'd give it another chance with a tried and tested favourite (not of mine, but of Subway's clientèle in general): the chicken teriyaki. And it was a reasonable effort. The chicken was a little on the dry side, and it tasted nothing like chicken teriyaki, but it had a pleasant flavour nonetheless. The salad this time, with the sweet onion dressing, had more vibrancy and flavour. Unfortunately the bread was pretty dull. Overall, okay.



Description: Chicken teriyaki with sweet onion dressing
Location: Subway, Northampton
Accompaniments: None
Companion: None
Rating: 6/10

Monday 30 January 2012

Day 38 - Friend's Homemade Brie Sandwich with Chorizo and Pesto

The advantage of this blog is that people want to make me sandwiches. And I, for one, am not going to stop them. So, on day 38, another friend made me a sandwich. She forgot to name it so I have called it, rather imaginatively, by the name of its primary ingredients. I have mentioned proportions on this blog before, namely how important it is to appreciate the quantity of each ingredient in proportion to the others, and the amount of those ingredients as a whole to the bread. This sandwich is one of the best examples yet of good proportioning. The star of the show was the brie, therefore, logically, there was more of it than the other ingredients. It's flavour was mild but intensely creamy. This meant that other, stronger, flavours could be used to enhance the sandwich (not overpower it), and that's exactly what was done. The chorizo provided a spicy and salty element, the pesto added garlic and basil undertones, all of which combined with the cheese to give the sandwich a pleasant Mediterranean feel. The bread was deliciously thick cut tiger bread which was soft, but not in a way in which it absorbed the filling's flavour. My criticisms are minor: the rocket added to the aesthetics but was somewhat overpowered and lost underneath the pesto, and, as a whole, I think the whole sandwich could have been lifted with a dash of balsamic vinegar or a few capers. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed eating this sandwich.



Description: Brie Sandwich with choizo, pesto and rocket
Location: Home, Northampton
Accompaniments: Pretzels, 7up
Companion: None
Rating: 8/10

Day 37 - Boots' Coronation Chicken

Today I devoured another packaged sandwich. Yet again, my expectations weren't sky high, but, yet again, the result was a pleasant surprise. For the uninitiated, coronation chicken is a dish made from cold cooked chicken, mayonnaise, spices (such as turmeric and or curry powder), fresh herbs, raisins and almonds. It was invented in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, hence the name. It shouldn't really work, but somehow it does. It's sort of a sweet and spicy version of a chicken mayo sandwich. And the Boots version was tasty. Each spice and ingredient complimented the next, with sweet sitting alongside salty and spicy, all of which enhanced the flavour of the chicken. The problem with this sandwich, as with yesterdays, was the quality of the bread. There was just nothing to it. Still, a reasonably tasty sandwich.

Unfortunately, no photo today as I forgot to take one.

Description: Prawn and poached salmon with chive mayonnaise and spinnach
Location: In the car, driving to London
Accompaniments: Walkers Baked Cheese and Onion crisps, Coke Zero
Companion: None
Rating: 6/10

Day 36 - Tesco Finest Prawn and Poached Salmon

The problem with most pre-packed sandwiches is the level of freshness. Most pre-packed sandwiches I eat, usually taste like they have been pre-packed. By this, I mean that each ingredient tastes slightly more processed than its otherwise fresher alternative would. The bread regularly takes on a tasteless quality, often acting as a mere receptacle in which to transport the filling, not as an additional important ingredient itself. Ham is overly salty, cheese is hard and plastic, lettuce is white and flavourless. Saying that, I decided to purchase a pre-packed sandwich on day 36 of my sandwich journey, opting in this instance for a "higher end" version from the Tesco Finest range. The result was surprisingly good. The salmon was well cooked (albeit under seasoned), the prawns were succulent and sweet, the spinach added some bite and the chive mayonnaise melded the flavours well, although it could have done with some more lemon juice. The bread, however (and as alluded to earlier), was disappointingly flavourless pish.



Description: Prawn and poached salmon with chive mayonnaise and spinnach
Location: Home, Northampton
Accompaniments: Pretzels
Companion: None
Rating: 6/10

Thursday 26 January 2012

Day 35 - Homemade Pizza Sandwich with Beelzeblood Sauce

Two of my friends, after reading this blog, proposed to make me a sandwich. I obviously said yes, as long as I could, anticipating disaster, ruthlessly rate their offering. So they made me what they called a "Pizza Sandwich with Beelzeblood Sauce". This comprised of spicy tomato sauce (the Beelzeblood Sauce), steak, mozzarella, smoked cheese and cajun chicken in between thick white toasted bread. The result was very impressive. The ingredients were distributed liberally, but not excessively, allowing for each mouthful to sample the individual components of the sandwich. The downside of the sandwich was that the steak was a little tough and the bread was sliced unevenly, meaning that the sandwich imploded halfway through eating. The best thing about the sandwich was the sauce, which is by far the best home made tomato sauce I've ever had. It married the flavours, without overpowering them, and added a nice amount of heat and zest to the sandwich. Overall, slightly flawed, but very enjoyable.



Description: Steak, chicken, mozzarella, smoked cheese, tomato sauce on white bread
Location: Friend's house, Northampton
Accompaniments: Nachos
Companion: Friends
Rating: 8/10

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Day 34 - Spicy Chicken Sandwich Deluxe

As I post most of these entries a few days after I eat the sandwiches, unfortunately, I have missed one. But I'll slot it in at day 34 and we'll speak no more of it, okay?

For the uninitiated, Chick-Fil-A is a fast food chain that specialises in hot chicken sandwiches (think of a better McChicken sandwich or Zinger Burger). I've had it a few times before so by the time I got to the restaurant I was salivating in anticipation. I ordered the Spicy Chicken Sandwich Deluxe, which is spiced breaded chicken in a bun, with cheese, tomato and lettuce; pretty standard ingredients for a chicken "burger". This time it was a pleasant enough sandwich, although not as good as I remember because, unfortunately, the chicken was slightly on the dry side. The seasoned coating and the rest of the sandwich ingredients almost did enough to make me forget about the poorly cooked chicken. Almost.



Description: Chick-Fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich Deluxe
Location: Chick-Fil-A, Chicago
Accompaniments: Waffle chips, Diet Coke
Companion: None
Rating: 6/10

Day 33 - Homemade Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is a fast food dish that originated in Indian Marathi cuisine. Pav bhaji consists of bhaji (a thick vegetable and potato based curry) garnished with coriander, chopped onion, hot chilli peppers and bread, which is usually buttered on all sides. This was my first time having the dish. My fiancée's family's friend made it and brought it over on the last day of my visit to the USA. The vegetable curry was loaded on to a buttered and heated slice of bread which I rolled up and ate with gusto. The curry had a texture akin to chilli con carne and the flavour was incredibly rich. It could honestly sit amongst the finest vegetable currys I've eaten. Sweet and salty, sour and spicy, it hit all of the key elements for good Asian cuisine. The depth of flavour was also impressive; like it had been cooking for days, with all of the flavours melding together perfectly. The only criticism of the sandwich was the bread. It's supposed to be served on white rolls. If it had been, it would have received a 10 for sure.



Description: Pav Bhaji garnished with coriander, chopped onion and hot chilli peppers
Location: Future in-law's house, Sugar Land, Texas
Accompaniments: Water (lots and lots)
Companion: Many
Rating: 9/10

Day 32 - Cubana Tortas

Rick Bayless is an American chef who specialises in Mexican cuisine. This restaurant is one of his latest and is based at the O'Hare airport. It specialises in tortas which, in this sense, are Mexican grilled sandwiches. They have a lot in common with paninis. The bread, when grilled, is hard and dry on the outside, whilst in the centre it becomes slightly moist and combines with its filling. I got the Cubana which, predictably, was filled with meat and cheese. The best thing about Mexican cuisine is the balance: It has spices and sauces which rectify the balance where a mouthful would ordinarily be too salty, cheesy or meaty. And this sandwich struck that right balance, flavour wise, with the coriander and chipotle mustard adding some zing to the creamy avocado, cheese and beans. A criticism about this sandwich was the quality of the meat, which was slightly tough and over-seasoned. Other than that, it was very tasty.



Description: Smoked pork loin, Nueske’s bacon, black beans, Chihuahua cheese, coriander crema, chipotle mustard, avocado Torta
Location: Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless, O'Hare airport
Accompaniments: None
Companion: Fiancée
Rating: 8/10

Day 31 - Ham and Cheese

I got this sandwich at lunch whilst volunteering at an event my fiancée was holding at her work. Unlike most catered lunch sandwiches, this one had bags of flavour. The combination was great - salty ham, spicy mustard, pickles and creamy cheese on a semi-sweet roll. The problem with it was that there was way too much ham in proportion to the rest of the sandwich and, for its size, it was really quite filling.



Description: Ham, cheese, mustard and pickle roll
Location: the Ivy Room, Chicago
Accompaniments: Bulgar wheat salad, crisps, cookie
Companion: Many
Rating: 7/10

Day 30 - Smoked turkey and cheese

Due to the ridiculously cold weather and time constraints I decided to purchase a sandwich from the 7/11. And it was better than expected. That is all I can really say about it.



Description: Turkey, cheese, lettuce
Location: Apartment, Chicago
Accompaniments: Cherry Coke Zero
Companion: None
Rating: 6/10

Day 29 - Chicken Venezia

As I was being lazy, and it's close, I went back to the Morgan Street Cafe to get another sandwich. This one proved that the last one was not a fluke: this place does make good sandwiches. The chicken was not as succulent as the California Dream but it was flavoursome nonetheless. The sauce, this time a pesto mayonnaise, was again the thing that drew this sandwich together. However, I thought the sandwich could have used something acidic, like a vinaigrette on the lettuce, and some spice, like red pepper flakes. Other than that, very good.



Description: Baked chicken, pesto mayo, swiss, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce
Location: Morgan Street Cafe
Accompaniments: None
Companion: None
Rating: 7/10

Day 28 - Chicken and Waffles

Okay, so today I didn't have a sandwich. But everyone's allowed a day off right? Anyway, I thought I'd still review this as it was a fantastic meal. For brunch, on the day of my fiancée's birthday, we went to a southern style brunch restaurant. The speciality of this place is chicken and waffles. Now, I've never had chicken and waffles before, but I like fried chicken, I like waffles, and I like sweet and savoury, so I had a feeling I'd like this. I didn't, however, expect I'd like it so much. The chicken was the best fried chicken I'd ever eaten; crispy on the outside, the meat perfectly cooked and very flavoursome, even without the skin. The waffles were light and slightly sweet and a mouthful of the two items, plus some Canadian maple syrup, was heavenly. Simply amazing.



Description: Fried chicken and waffles with maple syrup
Location: Table 52
Accompaniments: Bloody Mary and Bacon doughnuts
Companion: Fiancée
Rating: 10/10

Day 27 - Elvis' Last Supper

On a recommendation I went to this bar/diner to eat, what I'd heard to be, delicious burgers. I was not disappointed. I got Elvis' Last Supper which was a burger with bacon and peanut butter on it. I was assured that this did not taste as weird as it sounded. I'm not as in to peanut butter as some people are, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The peanut butter was slightly sweet and crunchy which sat alongside the salty crispy bacon as the perfect accompaniments for the succulent burger.



Description: Cheese burger with bacon and peanut butter
Location: Bad Apple
Accompaniments: French fries and beer
Companion: Fiancée
Rating: 9/10

Day 26 - The Mr G

J.P.Graziano is an Italian grocers which also makes sandwiches specialising in Italian meats and cheeses. I have been here a couple of times before and the queues in addition to the wait prove that this place is popular amongst residents and worker in the West Loop. My sandwich was the "Mr G" which was a mixture of Italian meats, provolone, vinegrette, roman style artichoke, basil, lettuce with a red wine vinegar and oregano. The sandwich itself was tasty and the quality of the ingredients is easily discernible. The artichokes make this sandwich, adding a great texture and (together with the vinegrette) an acidity that cuts through the many layers of meat and cheese. But beyond those aforementioned ingredients the sandwich is somewhat muddled and the basil, hot oil, red wine vinegar and oregano are somewhat drowned out. Still, impressive.



Description: Provolone, hot sopresatta, Prosciutto di Parma, Volpi genoa salami, truffle mustard balsamic vinegrette, hot oil, roman style artichoke, basil, lettuce with a red wine vinegar and oregano
Location: J.P.Graziano
Accompaniments: Crisps
Companion: None
Rating: 8/10

Day 25 - Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I purchased this sandwich whilst I was visiting The University of Chicago. It was bought from the cafe in the main book store on campus. After I handed the sandwich to the cafe staff to heat up, it was given back to me in a plastic box, which had dislodged the top of the sandwich thus spilling all of the cheese into the box. Not a good start. I tried my best to return it into some kind of sandwich shape and bit into it. The result was not pleasant. The bread was tasteless and stale, the cheese was too salty and its texture was very odd. The bacon added nothing except the fact you had to chew for an extra 20 seconds because it so poorly cooked. There was a little chutney in there somewhere, which was the only good thing about this sandwich. In summation, pretty gross.



Description: Grilled cheese sandwich with chutney and bacon bits
Location: University of Chicago
Accompaniments: Diet coke, crisps
Companion: None
Rating: 3/10

Day 24 - NY Pastrami Burger

DMK Burger is considered one of the best burger restaurants in Chicago. And, although it wasn't as life changing as Butcher and the Burger, it was a damn fine burger. I had the number 3 on the menu, which consisted of a burger topped with New York pastrami, Gruyère, sauerkraut and remoulade. I thought it would be an unmanageable mess of meat and toppings which I would struggle to fit in my mouth. But it proved to be the alternative; the ingredients had clearly been thought out well. The toppings were the best thing about this: the small amount of pastrami which added a salty element, the sauerkraut was refreshingly vinegary and the cheese was rich, almost buttery. The meat itself was tasty but, in my opinion, a little overcooked and (rather surprisingly for America) unsubstantial for a great burger. As a side note this was the first time I'd ever had fried pickles, which were spectacular.



Description: Burger with pastrami, Gruyère, sauerkraut and remoulade
Location: DMK Burger, Chicago
Accompaniments: Beer, fried pickles and okra
Companion: Fiancée's cousin's husband
Rating: 8/10

Day 23 - Bánh mì

Bánh mì is a Vietnamese sandwich. Technically, I believe the term is the Vietnamese word for bread, but it is commonly used now to describe a type of sandwich which is made using a baguette (introduced to the country by the french during colonial times)and filled with a variety of ingredients such as roasted pork belly, Vietnamese sausage, grilled pork, spreadable pork liver pâté, chicken, sardines, meatballs, head cheese, fried eggs, and tofu.

I had 'The Classic', which is Vietnamese pork, American ham, French country pate, mayonnaise, cucumber, pickled daikon (Asian radish) and carrots, coriander and jalapeño. On the owner's recommendation, I added a mixture of hoisin sauce and their own hot sauce, which is a sweeter version of Sriracha hot sauce. The result was a heady combination of Vietnamese and western flavours which made for a great mouthful of food. My only criticism is that the meat was lunch meat, not fresh grilled pork or chicken, like you get in Vietnam. Still, lip-smackingly delicious.



Description: Vietnamese pork, American ham, French country pate, mayonnaise, cucumber, pickled daikon (Asian radish) and carrots, coriander and jalapeño Bánh mì
Location: Saigon Sister, Chicago
Accompaniments: Water
Companion: Fiancée's cousin
Rating: 9/10

Day 22 - Fiancée's Homemade Turkey and Cheese Sandwich

It's really satisfying having a sandwich made for you. Even more so when the person making it for you knows that you will be rating them. And, honestly, I thought this was the best homemade sandwich I have had whilst I have been doing this blog. The bread, as you can see from the picture, was imbued with cheesy sun-dried tomato flavour which acted as a great base for the turkey slices, the cheese and spinach. A lot about good sandwich making depends on the proportions of each of the fillings to each other, and also the fillings in general to the bread, and in this sandwich that balance was struck perfectly.



Description: Homemade turkey and cheese sandwich with spinach
Location: Apartment, Chicago
Accompaniments: Pita chips
Companion: Fiancée
Rating: 8/10

Day 21 - Butcher and the Burger

This was, hands down, the best burger I've ever had. In fact, it's one of the best things that I've ever eaten. Butcher and the Burger was recommended to me through my fiancée's family. So we decided to go. First of all you choose your meat (in my case the local house blend beef - cooked medium rare), next your spice mix (mine was called Sanora Desert Chili), then your bun (mine was a pretzel bun), then your toppings (in my case fried onions, pickles, cheddar cheese, tomato, mustard and ketchup). The result was the juiciest, most flavoursome and tender burger I've ever had. The toppings were great and of the highest quality (the tomatoes were brimming with flavour, the pickles were sweet yet tart), but the star of the show was the beef. Even on its own, it was so tasty that I would have been satisfied if they had served me with a lump of it by itself. Incredible stuff.



Description: Burger with fried onions, pickles, cheddar cheese, tomato, mustard and ketchup
Location: Butcher and the Burger, Chicago
Accompaniments: Home made fries, Coke
Companion: Fiancée
Rating: 10/10

Day 20 - Homemade Spicy Turkey Meatball Flatbread

I'm good at making meatballs. I'm also good at making Italian style meatball sauce. Logically I should be good at making meatball sandwiches. But, on a whole, this sandwich was disappointing. It was made with left-over meatballs and sauce, which are usually better the day after cooking. I heated the meatballs and sauce, lay them on a pita flatbread and added cheese and rocket. The taste was okay, but lacking something, like hot sauce. The bread was also a poor choice, I should have used a baguette. Distinctly average.



Description: Homemade spicy turkey meatball flatbread with spinach and cheese
Location: Fiancée's Apartment, Chicago
Accompaniments: None
Companion: None
Rating: 6/10

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Day 19 - Steak Sandwich from Jerry's

Jerry's is fairly well known in Chicago. A lot of the sandwiches are named after the customers who created them. The menu is a long (there are probably over one hundred names) list divided into sub categories by the primary ingredient. It's rather pointless in my opinion because the difference between a "Jackie" and a "Ricky" could be the omission of mayonnaise.

Anyway, the sandwich I ordered, the name of which I immediately forgot, was a steak sandwich, with avocado, aged cheddar, coriander, mango chipotle chutney and adobo sauce. And it was flawless. The steak was tender and oozing with juices. The cheese and avocado gave the sandwich a rich creaminess. The chutney and adobo added sweetness and spiciness without drawing too much attention away from the steak. The coriander was a great addition, as it contributed to the Mexican flavourings whilst giving a crunchy texture. Best sandwich to date.



Description: steak sandwich, with avocado, aged cheddar, coriander, mango chipotle chutney and adobo sauce
Location: Jerry's, Chicago
Accompaniments: Chips and Coke
Companion: None
Rating: 10/10

Thursday 5 January 2012

Day 18 - Al's Beef Legendary Italian Beef

Al's Beef is a place I saw on Man versus Food. It's famous for it's 6 inch subs which are made with slow roasted italian seasoned beef, which is then left to stew in a spicy gravy. The beef is then placed in italian bread, garnished with sweet peppers and giardiniera peppers and then dunked in spicy gravy. And that's exactly what I had. Truth be told this was actually the second time I've been to Al's Beef and it was as good this time as the first time. Spicy succulent beef oozing with gravy, sweet and spicy peppers, what's not to like?



Description: Italian Beef 6'' sub
Location: Al's Beef, Chicago
Accompaniments: Diet Pepsi
Companion: None
Rating: 9/10

Day 17 - The Pepe from Jimmy John's

Jimmy John's is a chain of sandwich shops that a quite well known for quality sandwiches that use "fresh" ingredients. What "fresh" ingredients means I have no idea. You could say anything that isn't rotten is "fresh" therefore, logically, anywhere that serves food uses "fresh" ingredients. Anyway I was looking forward to lunch here as I'd heard so many positive things about Jimmy John's sandwiches. I was, however, disappointed. It's not that the sandwich was bad, far from it, there was just nothing special about it. I had real applewood smoked ham (oh good, I'm glad the ham was real and not imaginary), with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. All of the ingredients were pleasant, but they weren't tasty. The homemade bread was relatively uninspiring and the ham was not smoky at all. The cheese was creamy but the salad was lacking in flavour. The whole thing needed seasoning, or a sauce that wasn't mayonnaise. I left feeling a little unimpressed.




Description: Real (!) applewood smoked ham with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise
Location: Jimmy John's, Chicago
Accompaniments: Crisps and Cherry Coke
Companion: None
Rating: 6/10

Day 16 - California Dream

This sandwich is the best I have had so far. I purchased it on recommendation of my fiancé who herself had been recommended it by someone else. The sandwich consisted of grilled chicken breast, avocado, provolone cheese, sprouts, tomato, an amazing sauce and pretzel bread. I have never had bread like that in England, it's so flavoursome (sweet, salty, crispy, soft) that I'd be content just eating that on its own. The chicken was cooked perfectly, still running with juices and still hot from the grill. The other ingredients just danced around the chicken, complimenting it with every mouthful. To top it off, the sauce, which I am assuming was homemade, was spicy, creamy, acidic and fruity and married everything together perfectly. My only (minor) criticism is that I would have preferred iceberg lettuce instead of the sprouts, which I feel added nothing. Lettuce would have added a further texture to the sandwich and propelled it to a 10. Admittedly that is a minor point, and this is still a fabulous sandwich.




Description: Grilled chicken breast, avocado, provolone cheese, sprouts, tomato on pretzel bread
Location: Morgan Street Cafe, Chicago
Accompaniments: Water
Companion: Fiancée
Rating: 9/10

Day 15 - Chicago Style Hotdog

Okay so it's not a sandwich, but if you think about it ... (see here)

Anyway this hotdog was fantastic. There is very little in addition to this that I can say. I can't even be sure the meat they use is actually meat. But who cares about that? All that I care about is the taste, which was meaty and salty, and the texture, which was firm yet succulent. I could have been eating panda or seal for all I cared.



Description: Chicago style hotdog
Location: United Centre, Chicago
Accompaniments: Beer
Companion: Fiancée
Rating: 8/10

Day 14 - Buffet sandwiches

Day 14's sandwiches were a selection from the American Airlines Lounge food buffet area. I only had two, but both were your typical buffet sandwiches; white bread, lots of tasteless vegetable spread/margarine and fairly cheap fillings. The first filling was cheese. It was medium cheddar at best because it packed so little punch. The second was ham and tomato, which was more enjoyable, so I had another. The ham was tasty, but you could tell it is the sort of ham you buy in packs of 1000 and has so much water in it that you would fill a bath with it if you wrang it out. Still, there is something about these tasteless triangles that reminds me of my childhood; they were the sort of sandwiches you had a birthday parties. Therefore the nostalgic element probably has skewed the marking in this case.



Description: Cheese sandwich and Ham and Tomato sandwich
Location: American Airlines lounge, terminal 3, Heathrow
Accompaniments: Cognac and pretzels
Companion: Girlfriend
Rating: 6/10

Day 13 - Brie Bacon and Cranberry Baguette

I had to catch a train fairly early in the morning so I thought this would be the perfect brunch type sandwich. It was purchased from Upper Crust which, if you live in the UK, you will be aware is present at most main train stations. The quality was good for a pre-prepared sandwich. The bread was especially good; crispy, but not in a way that cuts the roof of your mouth to shreds. The brie was rich and creamy and the cranberry added a nice sweetness that sat nicely along side the bacon's saltiness. My only criticism is that there was not enough bacon and what little there was, was slightly too chewy.



Description: Upper Crust's Brie Bacon and Cranberry Baguette
Location: On a train from Victoria, London to Faversham, Kent
Accompaniments: Black coffee
Companion: Girlfriend
Rating: 7/10

Monday 2 January 2012

Day 12 - The Big Mac

Okay, so it's a burger. But if you think about it a burger is actually a sandwich. Right? RIGHT? Good, I'm glad we're on the same page. Truth be told I love Big Macs. I know there are some who turn their noses up at McDonald's but I am not one. It does what it says on the tin. It's cheap, delicious and filling. It may also fill you with unholy levels of saturated fat and self-loathing, but that is part of the McDonald's charm.

(Disclaimer: I did not take the picture below. This was taken by someone who has a knack for making Big Macs look nice and pretty. Mine did not look nice and pretty.)




Description: McDonald's Big Mac
Location: Tower Hill, London
Accompaniments: French fries, Diet Coke
Companion: Girlfriend
Rating: 7/10

Day 11 - Egg cress sandwich

Another classic sandwich. But not really one you can get too excited about. Egg, mayonnaise and cress. Simple, but effetive. This one was purchased from the Camden Food Company and was better than the average egg cress sandwich because the cress was actually peppery large English cress, not the tasteless tiny cress you usually get. The eggs were not over boiled which meant the yolk was not too chalky. But at the end of the day it's just an egg cress sandwich.



Description: Egg Cress sandwich
Location: Tower Hill, London
Accompaniments: Salted kettle crisps
Companion: Girlfriend
Rating: 6/10

Day 10 - Dessert Sandwich

This was made by mashing a frozen cream filled profiterole thing between two chocolate covered crepes. The result was a deliciously chocolate and creamy dessert pancake. To be honest, I was being lazy because I couldn't be bothered to make a real sandwich but the result was very pleasant indeed.



Description: Homemade dessert sandwich
Location: Home, Northampton
Accompaniments: None
Companion: Family
Rating: 7/10

Day 9 - Chip Butty

No detailed description needed really. Chips, bread, butter, ketchup, done. Unfortunately, in this instance the sandwich was made of whole meal bread. White bread would have been better. On the plus side I replaced the ketchup with Maggi masala hot sauce which makes everything taste better. Still, a pretty average affair.



Description: Homemade chip butty
Location: Home, Northampton
Accompaniments: Coke
Companion: Family
Rating: 6/10

Day 8- Christmas dinner left over sandwich

After stuffing myself with food, egg nog, mulled wine and cognac all day I, at 11.59 on Christmas day, sat down and had a Christmas dinner leftover sandwich. Despite my initial thoughts of vomiting or killing myself, I managed to squeeze the sandwich inside of me. I did this for you blog readers (edit: reader). Now that's commitment. Saying that, it tasted great. Succulent turkey breast, stuffing, sausages, bacon, roast carrots and parsnips, bacon, sprouts, more bacon and some cranberry sauce all combined into a pleasurable mouthful. The only downside is that I'd had almost exactly all of the ingredients 6 hours previously which detracted slightly from the enjoyment. Also no one saved any gravy from the Christmas dinner. If they has, it would have notched the score up another mark. (Warning: picture below makes it look super gross - rest assured it was not super gross).



Description: Homemade Christmas dinner leftover sandwich
Location: Home, Northampton
Accompaniments: Nine
Companion: Family
Rating: 8/10

Day 7 - Homemade Deconstructed Sandwich

So this may be a bit of a cop-out, but after a week I'm already finding it difficult to sustain my sandwich adventure. So although many of you may not regard today's sandwich as an actual sandwich, I do (well at least for the purposes of this blog). It's actually, if you insist on being technical, a bunch of bread, cheese and ham on a plate. At the time I thought it would be possible to review such a thing. But you really can't. That's because it's exactly the combination of ingredients that makes a sandwich what it is. If you 'deconstruct' it, it becomes something else. So yeah, day 7 was a bit of a failure.



Description: A bunch of cheese bread and meat on a plate
Location: Home, Northampton
Accompaniments: A bunch of other cheese and meat in a plate
Companion: Family
Rating: N/A

Day 6 - Part 2 - Dad's homemade fried chicken sandwich

My dad makes good "no nonsense" sandwiches. I think that's where my passion for sandwiches comes from. He doesn't fanny about making them look pretty, but he knows what goes and what doesn't. On this occasion he made me a sandwich consisting of left-over southern fried chicken, sautéed spiced tomatoes and cheese. The chicken, although processed, was nicely succulen and the tomatoes' acidity cut nicely through the fatty chicken. The bread was toasted to add a crunchy texture to the sandwich and the mayonnaise and hot sauce complimented the other ingredients without being overbearing. On a whole, very tasty.



Description: Homemade southern fried chicken sandwich with sautéed tomatoes cheese mayo and hot sauce
Location: Home, Northampton
Accompaniments: None
Companion: Family
Rating: 7/10

Day 6 - Part 1 - Sister's breakfast sandwich

As I was staying with my sister, she offered to make me a sandwich for breakfast. Which was nice of her. I said I would review it honestly and not pull any punches, which is nice of me. So, if I'm beng honest, on a whole, I did not like this sandwich. First of all, most fried egg sandwiches I've ever had or seen have just one egg in them. This one had two. In addition, it had lots of cheese and a couple of slices of chorizo. The sheer quantity of food meant that the flavours got lost in each other. The idea was good but there were too many faults, the most critical one being that the eggs was overlooked and under seasoned. One less egg, one slice of cheese and chorizo, some hot sauce and black pepper would have propelled this sandwich to a good standing, instead it fell short of average. Sorry sis.



Description: Homemade fried egg, cheese and chorizo breakfast sandwich
Location: Bow, London
Accompaniments: None
Companion: Miscelleneous family members
Rating: 5/10

Day 5 - Roast Vegetable and Mozzarella Panini

Due to a mistake by a ditsy waitress, I ended up getting this sandwich instead of what I actually ordered (which I believe was a goats cheese, spinach and prosciutto sandwich). I would never dream of ordering a vegetarian sandwich, unless someone had a gun pointed at my head. However, surprisingly, it was not an unpleasant. The panini was well cooked (the outside crispy and the inside warm and slightly moist), the mozzarella was perfectly melted and flavoursome and the roast vegetables were nicely sweetened by what I can assume was a slow roasting proccess. Overall a dumb waitress, but a good sandwich.



Description: Roast vegetable and Mozzarella panini
Location: Westfield shopping centre Stratford
Accompaniments: Double Espresso
Companion: None
Rating: 7/10