Two slices of wheat sourdough
Spread a light coating of mayo on one side of each slice
Placed mayo side down in a pan over low heat
Placed sliced provolone cheese on both pieces of bread
Placed sliced smoked pork loin on top of cheese
Placed some grated mixed cheese on top of that to kinda hold things together
Let it heat until cheese melted a bit
Drizzled with bbq sauce
Flipped faces together
It was a happy, cheesy, crunchy, bbq thing.
I think there may be room for referring to it as a sexual experience.
My first Italian beef. No, actually, it was my second. I was visiting Chicago in the spring, and it wasn’t very warm. I had had an Italian beef the first time I visited, and it was a revelation. This time, tho, I went to the same place (Cubby Bear’s? someplace across from the ballyard), got one, took it inside the ballyard, sat down, and just, *communed * with it. Total immersion in deliciousness. Looked up when it was done and I had drizzled Italian beef juice all down the front of my sweatshirt. And I didn’t care. Later that day got some mix from a popcorn shop (not Garrett’s, wish I could remember the name) and had another revelation. That was a day, boy howdy.
Also, the meatball/sausage combo from John and Sons II in good ol Wormtown MA. Special boot-shaped roll that they would hollow out and cram full of meatballs and housemade sausage, braised in sauce for hours, (no one seems to do that any more, not around here anyway) until almost falling apart. Good sweet Jesus that was a sandwich. Got into a bicycle accident once because of that sandwich. I’d step over my own mother for just one more of those.
I was visiting San Francisco & had the morning to myself. Decided to take a bus & walk a few blocks to see an art school with a Diego Rivera mural–then a few blocks more to Coit Tower (with more murals). Being a flatlander, I didn’t realize that some of those blocks were steep enough to give a mountain goat a coronary.
After Coit Tower I decided I’d earned some lunch. Walked down Grant Aveue & stuck my head into an Italian deli. Nobody there but the counter girl–it was just before the lunch hour. So I walked about half a block, then realized the place had smelled *really *good. Turned around & ordered their house sandwich.
It wasn’t pre-made. The ingredients weren’t even pre-sliced. She took every piece of cheese & meat out of the case & sliced it as I watched. Then I walked outside & sat at a table on the slanting sidewalk. It was the best, freshest sandwich I’d ever eaten. (Maybe my near-death experience had sharpened my appetite.)
It doesn’t show up on Google Maps. Looks like there’s a dull residential building on the location. Probably an expensive one…
In my experience, this is pretty usual for a deli (as opposed to sandwich shop). Perhaps it varies regionally.
Orgasmic sandwich experience? The pulled pork at Morris Grocery in Eads, TN. It’s just a little, nondescript grocery store/shack in a small town outside Memphis. We had heard about it before, so on our way from Memphis to Owensboro, in our barbecue journey, we decided to pop in and try it. It was the juiciest, most delicious barbecue sandwich I’ve ever had. Clean, smoky flavor; a tomato-based barbecue sauce that was neither too sweet nor too sour (I’m normally a sauce-on-the-side guy, but this one I decided to go fully dressed on this one), and with a creamy coleslaw on top. First sloppy bite into that sandwich and I knew I was tasting barbecue sandwich perfection. I still dream of that sandwich and have semi-seriously thought about making the 8 1/2 hour drive down there for a weekend just to experience that sandwich again.
A few weeks ago at the Lambertville Station in Lambertville NJ my daughter ordered what was described as BLT sliders for an appetizer. She took one bite and declared it the best thing she ever tasted. I grabbed a piece and I have to say it was fantastic. Texas toast, lettuce, tomato, and a subtle chipotle mayonnaise. The star of the sandwich was the meat. Instead of bacon they had smoked pork belly. The restaurant smoked their own meat. It’s hard to explain, it was smoky and salty and juicy and crisp at the same time. Truly wonderful on it’s own but together with the rest of the ingredients it was amazing.
Pepperidge Farm white, the way it used to be, not the stuff they are passing off now. Sun-warm Big Boy tomatoes from Dad’s garden. Lots of Cains mayonnaise. Salt and fresh ground pepper. Eat over the sink. Groan with ecstasy. Make another.
Good one. That’s one of the things I look forward to the most when tomatoes are ripe: tomato sandwiches. Unfortunately, this year, we’re still in the middle of a move so I haven’t had a chance to put any tomatoes in the ground at the new place, and I fear I may have missed my window. But if I get some down by next week, I may still be good. I do them pretty much the same way as you, though not as particular about the bread and mayo. I like toasted white bread of any kind, and then either Hellman’s or, if I’m feeling particularly fancy, homemade mayo (this is one of the few sandwiches that I make homemade mayo for.) Or, if I’m not using white bread but something sturdier like rye, I dress 'em the same, but make them as an open-faced sandwich. Heaven. All of it.
One beefsteak tomato out of Dad’s garden, sliced thick.
Fresh Irish potato bread, pillowy soft with a perfect chewy crust, dusted with soda so it’s just slightly bitter, bringing the sweetness of the bread to the forefront. Slather both sides with mayo, I used Hellman’s.When I do it again, maybe a smoky homemade chipotle aioli.
Liberally dust with fresh ground pepper and a dash of sea salt.
Add thick, beautifully chunky slabs of old or extra old cheddar cheese and layer the tomato on top.
Put it all together and finish the works with an ice cold Coke. Every other time I’ve made this it’s been a pale imitation of the first one, but I’m 16 all over again.
Not the best I’ve ever had, but they make a damn fine Reuben at Bat 17 in Evanston, IL. Even better was the spicy potato salad.
My son was at orientation at Loyola and there was a picnic at the end and my expectations were set very low. It turned out they served really good Italian Beefs. Overall a very good sandwich experience over a couple of days.
I’ve been making cheese steak sandwiches. I buy thin-sliced ribeye, hideously expensive, if I can find it. It makes all the difference. Sliced toasted long sub sammitch rolls from the grocery. Saute the meat briefly in a hot hot pan with a drop of olive oil, add a slug of A-1 sauce, and pile on the rolls. Sprinkle with white cheese of some sort, add onions, peppers and mushrooms before the cheese if you want. Put in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
Second best sandwich: fresh marble rye, thick slices of liverwurst, Sweet Hot Mr. Mustard. If using slices of onion, a little mayo. Probably not a very healthy thing to eat, but it is so good!
Third best: grilled Swiss cheese and tomato (de-seeded and patted dry a bit). Italian or marble rye, hot mustard, pickles. I always have the ingredients because sometimes nothing else will do.