6 days of Christmas (Sandwiches) - day 6

Pret A Manger has nailed it. This beauty was near perfection. The turkey was so deliciously moist it took me by surprise, especially since after days 1-5 I had began to think all turkey should be dry and (largely) flavourless. The cranberry sauce was great and on par with Tesco's, the stuffing was like the stuffing mum makes (that isn't a 'your mum' joke) and the real kicker here was the crispy fried onions which added, wait for it, texture! Wonderful stuff.

Description: Turkey, pork stuffing, onions, wholemeal bread, cranberry, spinach
Location: Pret A Manger
Accompaniments: Some overpriced juice
Companion: None
Rating: 9/10

6 days of Christmas (Sandwiches) - day 5

Ah Waitrose, trust you to have such a middle-class offering this Christmas: the Three Bird Roast Wrap. I had high hopes for this, expecting a Heston Blumenthal surprise in the middle (liquid nitrogen balls or a duck basting itself in its own juices). But alas, it was merely a souped-up chicken mayonnaise wrap. Three birds? There was some darker meat in there which I think was duck but, to be honest, the mayonnaise drowned out most of the meaty flavours. The meat was on a whole succulent but I could not taste the cranberry at all. Average.

Description: Turkey, chicken, duck, cranberry, mayonnaise
Location: Waitrose
Accompaniments: Coke Zero
Companion: None
Rating: 6/10

6 days of Christmas (Sandwiches) - day 4

I generally enjoy Tesco Finest sandwiches and this Tesco Finest Turkey Feast was not too far off the mark. The turkey was, again and unfortunately, not great but was buoyed by the supporting cast. The cranberry sauce had great depth (definitely the best so far), was more tangy than sweet and generally well balanced. The bacon was nicely smoked and my only complaint would be that there was not enough of it. The stuffing was also very good and melded all of the other flavours well. My main criticism is that the sausage was overkill; you don't need huge chunks of sausage if you have pork stuffing. This made some mouthfuls too meaty and unpleasant and, ultimately, dropped the sandwich down a couple of points. Still, on a whole, enjoyable.

Description: Turkey, pork stuffing, bacon, wholemeal bread, cranberry
Location: Tesco
Accompaniments: Water
Companion: None
Rating: 7/10

6 days of Christmas (Sandwiches) - day 3

Surely it can't be that hard to make a decent Christmas sandwich. Well, apparently the people at Co-op have no idea. It was almost as if the creators were trying to make a bad sandwich - here's a list of the five worst points (and there are more):

1. Dry turkey had a weird a-few-too-many-hours-left-out-of-the-fridge vibe to it
2. Cranberry was almost like strawberry jam - sickly sweet
3. The mayonnaise was like salad cream
4. Bacon was dry, stringy and chewy and lacked any smoky flavour
5. Stuffing was paste-like and tasted of nothing except salt.

Rubbish.

Description: Turkey, pork and sage and onion stuffing, bacon, cranberry, mayonnaise, wholemeal bread
Location: Co-op
Accompaniments: Water
Companion: None
Rating: 1/10

6 days of Christmas (Sandwiches) - day 2

M&S again - but this time the healthier option. To be honest, they needn't have bothered. No one wants a healthy Christmas sandwich - Christmas food is pretty much the antithesis of healthy cuisine, with it's over-the-top portions and waistline destroying calories. And it showed through in this lacklustre sandwich. First of all, when unpackaged, it felt limp. It was the type of sandwich which flops around in your hand as the filling dribbles out. Flavour wise, if wasn't much better: The butternut squash was the texture of baby-food and the general taste was off-putting. The turkey in this one, compared to day 1, was bone-dry. I can't remember much more about it. Disappointing.

Description: Turkey & roast butternut squash stuffing, lettuce, wholemeal bread
Location: M&S
Accompaniments: Water
Companion: None
Rating: 3/10

6 Days of Christmas (Sandwiches)

Because my mailbox is swelling from adoring fans of my blog, I have decided to do a Christmas special edition. This will involve me doing the same thing (eating and rating sandwiches) but in the lead-up to Christmas. All the sandwiches will be Christmas sandwiches so inevitably that will mean a lot of turkey. Unfortunately my metabolism is not what it once was therefore I have to spread the consumption over a few weeks rather than 6 consecutive days, hence why I'm starting in November.

So, here is the first; the Marks & Spencer Turkey Feast. And, for my first one, it was a very good sandwich - I expect nothing less from M&S. The bread had flavour (something which is lacking in many shop-bought processed sandwiches) and a soft springiness which felt oddly comforting. The turkey, although substantial and surprisingly flavoursome, was not as moist as it could have been. Regardless of this the mayonnaise and cranberry prevented it being too dry. A few rashers of bacon added smokiness and the pork and chestnut stuffing added depth. The whole thing worked well together and reminded me of leftover Christmas dinner sandwiches - which I guess is the point.

Description: Turkey, pork and chestnut stuffing, bacon, cranberry, wholemeal bread
Location: M&S Fulham
Accompaniments: Salted crisps, Coke Zero
Companion: None
Rating: 8/10

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