# It's technically not a sandwich **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 14, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109 "2014-07-14T21:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109/41 "2014-07-15T17:42:42Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Wow, this thread is just screaming out for a little Mitch Hedberg. (youtube warning) > > Jump to the 30 second mark of [this classic bit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyvOj-ICuAQ) on the subject of overstuffed sandwiches. Ahh, you beat me to it. 😃 I generally like well balanced sandwiches. But I will eat a huge pile 'o roast beef, when it’s good (minimally processed/homemade) with just a little salt and butter on the bread. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109/42 "2014-07-15T18:59:03Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Can you eat it as a sandwich? If you can’t pick it up as a unit and chomp on it as is, then you’ve got a nice pile of corned beef, but you don’t have a sandwich. Ummmm… yes I can, and I have. You just smash it down and work on it little by little. A famous local Deli does this and sometimes I just crave their Peppered Beef on an Onion Roll. The only problem with this rant is you used the word “Technically.” I can’t believe this has gone on this long on the Dope without someone else challenging this. “Technically” it IS a sandwich as defined in the first entry from Webster’s : two pieces of bread with something (such as meat, peanut butter, etc.) between them It doesn’t say anything about if the cut off is 4, 8, 16 oz etc. of fillings. I do however agree with you wholeheartedly that this isn’t in the SPIRIT of a sandwich. If I want to eat that much meat I’d much prefer it in two (or three) smaller sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109/43 "2014-07-15T20:08:04Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Monte Christos are another “sandwich” that I suppose you might eat with your hands. Same as you could eat scrambled eggs with your hands, but in either case you’d look like Hellen Keller pre-Anne Sullivan. A monte christo is a perfectly fine sandwich. I only ever eaten them by hand. You just have the syrup or jam on the side and dip the sandwich in. > [@Smapti](#): > > Opinions and gut feelings aside, we at least have legal precedent establishing that [a burrito is not a sandwich and that the presence of at least two pieces of bread is necessary to constitute a sandwich.](http://www.stuartkaplow.com/library3.cfm?article_id=131) I agree. But a burrito between pieces of bread is a sandwich. > [@leftfield6](#): > > Wow, this thread is just screaming out for a little Mitch Hedberg. (youtube warning) > > Jump to the 30 second mark of [this classic bit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyvOj-ICuAQ) on the subject of overstuffed sandwiches. Now I want a banana bread cottage cheese pastrami sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109/44 "2014-07-15T20:08:47Z")
Even though an open-faced sandwich is not technically a sandwich, it is still a better and more appetizing name for it than “shit on a shingle”. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109/45 "2014-07-16T09:09:37Z")
Mmmm…open-faced sand wedge. _drool_ ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109/46 "2014-07-16T15:45:34Z")
Aside: I was at the grocery store the other day, and noticed that Hot Pockets-type products were labeled as being “sandwiches”. I wonder what that means, in light of the burrito ruling. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109/47 "2014-07-16T16:09:10Z")
I would assume very little, since the definition used in that court case would discount sandwiches with 1, 3 or more slices of bread, sandwiches with a thick layer of filling, sandwiches with thick slices of bread, and sandwiches with fillings other than meat, cheese, or a savory mixture. But I do believe strictly speaking, a quesadilla would be considered a sandwich. According to a USDA labeling guide from 2005 that I found, burritos and fajitas are sandwich-style products and things like hot dogs on a bun, hamburgers and chicken patties on a bun are sandwich-type products but stromboli is not. Which I’m sure clears up a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109/48 "2014-07-16T16:15:33Z")
Right, especially since a hot pocket is a lot more like a stromboli than it is like any of those other things. Personally, even though I would argue that a burrito is technically a sandwich of sorts, the decision in that court case was ultimately correct: The relevant definition here is not the technical one, but the common-usage one. When Panera wrote up that contract with the food court, the result that they wanted was that, whenever a shopper said “Hey, let’s go get a sandwich”, they would end up with a Panera sandwich. And nobody who says “Hey, let’s go get a sandwich” is going to get a burrito because of that. Someone might say “Hey, let’s get some lunch” and end up buying either a sandwich or a burrito, but Panera appears to be OK with that option, given that their contract wasn’t exclusive of all other foods. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109/49 "2014-07-16T16:20:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Aside: I was at the grocery store the other day, and noticed that Hot Pockets-type products were labeled as being “sandwiches”. I wonder what that means, in light of the burrito ruling. That ruling was merely a contract interpretation matter. It has no bearing in grocery store labeling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-technically-not-a-sandwich/693109.md?page=2)