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 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 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

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 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 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

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 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 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 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

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