Apparantly I'm Not the Only One Who Enjoys a Good Sandwich...

Tonight marked the end of another season of "The Next Food Network Star" and the winner was the cat you see pictured above - Jeff Mauro (photo courtesy of The Rachel Ray Show). If you watch this show at all, you know that each contestant has their own schtick, or "point of view". Jeff's is that he is the self-proclaimed "Sandwich King", a man after my own heart. The premise of his show is turning any meal into a sandwich. I can definitely get on board with that and will certainly tune in to see what he's got cooking (you see what I did there? Huh?) - because after all, as great as it is to go out somewhere and pay someone to make you a great sandwich, there's something uniquely satisfying about staying home and putting yourself together an epic sandwich creation in your own home. Anyway, props to Jeff. Score another one for sandwich-lovers everywhere!

7 Sandwiches Almost as Crazy as Charlie Sheen

Big thanks to my buddy Jeff for the heads up on this great article. Check out for 7 positively maniacal sandwiches to be found around the country. Sadly, the closest one to me is all the way down in Arizona. The good news is this gives me another great excuse to make an Arizona Spring Break Trip. Anyway, enjoy the read (courtesy of The Bites on Today blog):

7 Crazy Sandwiches

Italian Combo Sub from Gabor Brothers Main Street Grill

So, as you may or may not have noticed, both the title of this blog (Supreme Sandwich Task Force) and the mission statement below it on the main page ("Some hungry guys...") imply that there is more than one person involved in this project. And while it's true that I'm the only one writing on this thing (for the time being), I definitely have some fellow travelers on this journey through sandwichdom; namely my dad and brother-in-law. Once a month, we set aside a Saturday afternoon to go grab a sandwich together. Aside from the obvious benefit of companionship, the other great thing about this is that we rotate turns selecting that month's site, and because of that, I've been to a couple new places that I don't think I ever would have discovered on my own. Today's post features one of these new discoveries: Gabor Brothers Main Street Grill in Layton, UT where we traveled based on the recommendation of my bro-in-law.

If I was forced to categorize Gabor Brothers, I would call it an italian restaurant rather than a sandwich shop - as you can see from their menu, they specialize in pizza and pasta dishes, but also serve burgers and sandwiches. Serving sandwiches seems to be a growing trend among pizza joints - even Domino's got in on the game when they added sandwiches to their menu awhile back. Not surprisingly I guess, most of these sandwiches that I've tried seem to taste like...well...pizza. That can be a good or bad thing depending on what you're in the mood for, but it seems to be a fact of life when ordering a sandwich at a pizza restaurant. I suppose at this point I could raise the inevitable "Why would you go to a pizza shop to order a sandwich?!?" question, but I really don't see that as a problem. As long as it's qual, you go ahead and make whatever you want, restaurant owner. Probably not the best business plan, but you go ahead and do it. You want to make tamales at your fried chicken joint? Why not. You want to make burritos alongside your sandwiches? Fine by me. As long as it's good. Sorry, McDonald's, but this clearly means you can't go back to the McPizza. That crap was REESTY.

But I digress. Let's get back to the restaurant at hand. After perusing the menu, I settled on the Italian Combo, figuring it would offer a good representation of what this place's sandwiches were about. The Italian Combo looks something like this:

• Type of Bread: French Roll
• Condiments/Dressing(s): Vinaigrette Dressing
• Toppings: Pepperoni, Salami, Ham, Sausage, Mozzarella Cheese, Bell Peppers, Onions

Now seriously - take a look at those toppings and if you didn't know any better, what do you think I'd be making with those things? See what I mean about sandwiches at pizza joints being just like pizza? I mean the only thing missing is the crust! Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but come on - think outside the box (no pun intended. Get it? cuz pizzas come in a box?? ha ha) a little, right? Anyway, uncanny resemblance to pizza aside, let's take another look at this sandwich and then go to the judges:


Here are the scores for the Italian Combo Sub from Gabor Brothers Main Street Grill:

• Quantity/Value: 5/5 - As you can see from the picture at the top of the post, this sandwich is ENORMOUS. As soon as they dropped that thing in front of me, I knew I'd be taking some of it home (turns out I just barely finished half of it). It set me back $9.95, but that price also included your choice of fries, salad, or soup. Thinking the sandwich might be a bit on the heavy side, I opted for the salad - this was a wise choice. Slamming an order of fries on top of that sandwich would have had my heart hating me big time.
• Originality: 3/5 - Definitely nothing over the top in originality here - a very typical Italian type sandwich - cured meats, mozzarella and vinaigrette dressing. The presentation offered a little bit in terms of originality, but I'll cover that next...
• Appearance: 7/10 - Here's one more close-up shot of the sandwich:




• Again, the thing that you'll notice right away is how much this looks like a pizza. Part of that is appealing - for example, the herbs sprinkled on top give it a nice touch and the bread has been buttered and passed through the oven to give it a nice shiny glow. Part of it however, I think takes away from the appearance. As you can see, they obviously just took their ingredients already prepped for making pizzas and just tossed them on the sandwich. The cheese is shredded and the meat is cut into small pieces. It just kind of looks like someone took the toppings, threw them in all in a blender and then dumped them out on the bread. A little haphazard if you ask me.

• Quality/Freshness: 8/10 - Although I'm guessing the ingredients used on the sandwiches are the same they use on their pizza, that is not to say that they weren't fresh or of good quality. They were. Everything from the bread to the cheese to the meat and veggies looked and tasted fresh. Nice job.
• Taste: 16/20 - The one word I would use to describe how this sandwich tastes is "heavy". All of the meats and cheese and dressing combine to form a very rich sandwich experience. As with a pizza, the peppers provided a nice contrast in both taste and texture to the other ingredients. All together, the sandwich was very savory and satisfying, but it wasn't too long before I had to wave the white flag. Tastes great, but perhaps this is a case of a little too much of a good thing.

All together, The Italian Combo from Gabor Brothers Main Street Grill earns a very respectable score of 39/50. If you've got a serious hunger working and want a delicious pizza turned into a sandwich, this is definitely the place for you.

Sandwich Pilgrimages Vol. 1: Primanti Brothers - Pittsburgh, PA

Alright, I've decided to start a new feature on the old SSTF blog: Sandwich Pilgrimages. Up until now, all my posts have consisted of reviews of various sandwiches I've consumed at different places. In the Sandwich Pilgrimages feature, I will spotlight a famous/historic/legendary sandwich establishment that I have yet to visit; a place that I've read about or seen a feature on that looks so incredible that a sandwich-enthusiast such as myself simply must make a voyage to and experience at some point. The first such place I've selected is Primanti Brothers, a sandwich-making institution in Pittsburgh, PA. I first saw this place on an old TV special that counted down the Top 10 places in the US to get a sandwich. I don't remember where Primanti Brothers placed, I just remember being awed at the sight of the beautiful monstrosities they create there. Here is a more recent clip where Adam Richman pays a visit on his show Man V. Food:



If you don't have time to watch the clip, the summary is this: Primanti Brothers takes the meat of your choice, piles it on some fresh Italian bread that looks soft and heavenly, adds some cheese and then a heaping handful of french fries and some coleslaw for good measure. That's right: sandwich + fries. That is a formula for success and I hope to someday test is out for myself.

Because You Demanded It: The Double Down From KFC

I know, I know - by using the phrase "Because You Demanded It..." in the title of this post I'm assuming that: A) Someone out there is actually reading this, which at this point seems to be a rather starry-eyed hope, and that B) This (most likely fictitious) someone wants me to review this particular sandwich. Probably a reach on both counts, I know, but hey - I thought it sounded good, so sue me (again, assuming "you" are actually reading any of this). Anyway, the point is this: unless you've been living under a rock, you've no doubt heard by now of the new "sandwich" from Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC hereafter), The Double Down. In fact, as I write this, it's pretty old news. Also, I'll get to why I used quotes back there in a second, but here's the thing - say what you will about this sandwich: it's delicious, it's horrific, it's the culmination of all that's great in America, it's the culmination of all that's wrong with America, whatever. The point is, it's rare for a sandwich to become a media phenomenon before it's even officially released to the public and as such, I knew that at some point, for better or worse, I would have to weigh in (no pun intended) on this new concoction. And so I have.

Now, back to why I used quotation marks around the word "sandwich" back there. The reason is this: I'm not really sure if this qualifies as a sandwich. For all the myriad varieties of sandwiches that exist out there, they all really boil down to one basic formula: filling of some type encased by bread of some type. So the question is, if you eliminate the bread entirely and replace it with something else, is it still a sandwich? This isn't the first time this has happened, mind you. Back when all those low carb diets were the craze, people were eliminating the bread in sandwiches and using lettuce or something else instead. But I think the reason this sandwich has elicited such a strong response is that KFC appears to be giving the middle finger to convention (and people who care deeply about nutrition) and replacing the bread with fried chicken for no other reason than the simple fact that they can. This is America, after all. So anyway, I'll leave the decision of whether or not this is a sandwich up to you. I'll refer to it as such, but not everyone is. Here is one reviewer who refuses to call the Double Down a sandwich, instead referring to it as a "meat glorb". That's pretty funny.

So, with that introduction out of the way, let's go to the tale of the tape on The Double Down from KFC:

• Type of Bread: n/a Obviously, the bread is absent. In it's place you'll find two slabs of chicken which can be ordered in one of two varieties: fried or grilled.
• Condiments/Dressing(s): "Colonel's Sauce" - basically colored mayonnaise
• Toppings: Monterrey Jack and Pepper Jack cheese, Bacon

So as I mentioned before, as soon as I found out about this sandwich, I knew I would have to try it. Not because it looked incredibly delicious, or because I thought it was an amazing idea, but I guess for the same reason people climb mountains or jump out of planes or order the spiciest thing on a restaurant's menu- just to be able to say that they did it. Having said that, a curious thing happened when I went in to my local KFC to order this thing. I was embarrassed. I had never felt shame ordering something to eat before, but I kind of did on this day. I couldn't even look the cashier in the eye. In short, I hadn't felt like this since my wife sent me out to buy tampons some time ago. Anyway, I made my purchase, found a vacant corner of the restaurant and went to work. Here is another picture of my purchase and the scores:

• Quantity/Value: 3/5 - This thing set me back five bucks (actually, the sandwich was $4.99, but I opted for the combo meal which goes for $6.99. Thank goodness I did. More on that later), and as you can see from the picture at the top of the post, it's really not that big at all. I mean Han is towering over this thing. But don't let the size fool you - after I was done with this thing, it felt like I'd eaten 8 pounds of spackle. No joke.
• Originality: 5/5 - Say what you will about this thing, but there is no other place out there that I'm aware of offering a sandwich with chicken as the bread. It is, if nothing else, original. The only question now is what other over the top culinary inventions it spawns: a pizza with burritos for toppings? A donut with ice cream filling? Only time will tell.
• Appearance: 4/10 - Look at that picture right up there. Seriously. The top piece of chicken looks okay - I'll give you that. But the one on the bottom is practically bleeding grease onto the lens of my camera, the cheese looks like straight up wax (except for that fact that wax would actually melt when placed on some hot chicken), the bacon can barely even be seen, and if you look closely on the lower right, you will see my Double Down evacuating some of it's "Colonel's Sauce" onto the table. Sorry, but "seeping" is not a word I tend to associate with a good looking sandwich. Oh yeah - and good luck eating this thing without the bottom or the top practically shooting out of your hands onto the floor (which might actually be a blessing).
  
• Quality/Freshness: 5/10 - If someone takes something out from under a heat lamp to make your sandwich, it is not fresh. The end.
• Taste: 12/20 - As mentioned earlier, this sandwich is not that big. But I'm telling you, I ate this in the early afternoon and didn't eat another bite for the rest of the day. Not because I was stuffed, but because I was quasi-ill. Somehow, this sandwich managed to be dry and mind-bendingly greasy at the same time. The chicken itself wasn't half bad - it had a nice crunch and a peppery spiciness that I enjoyed. The cheese and sauce both tasted like mayo and the bacon was completely undetectable. And the salt. Sweet mercy, the salt. Thank heavens I ordered the combo meal, because without that drink, I never would have made it. It was no surprise that when looking at the nutritional info for this thing, it has enough sodium to salt your driveway. However, speaking of nutrition, as abominable as you think the Double Down might be, it still comes out ahead of The Whopper and several other popular fast food staples in terms of calories and fat. Go figure.
  

So when we add it all up, The Double Down from KFC manages a paltry 29/50, the worst score I've handed out so far in this little project. As for me, the only thing I got out of the experience (besides a gut-ache) was the ability to now say I've done it. Was it worth it? I'll let my boy Han have the last word:

Classic Italian from Quiznos

So hey, remember in that very last post how I made a big shpeel about how when you're out of town you should go somewhere cool and local instead of going to some chain that you could visit anytime you wanted to at home? Yeah....well, I have a confession to make. After taking a totally amazing cruise to Alaska in May of this year, we had some time to spend in Seattle before driving back home. And where did we go to get a sandwich? Quiznos. Yeah. THAT Quiznos. The same one that's in the strip mall like 2 minutes from my house. I know - I can hear your collective groan from here and I agree - big time LAME on our part. Not that it matters, but here's my (weak) defense - we were on a very tight schedule, we were on foot, and worst of all, I just hadn't done any research ahead of time to know where a really good place to go was. Hungry and in a hurry, we saw the familiar Quiznos sign, knew what to expect and succumbed to the temptation of a quick and easy fix to our hunger dilemma. Now look, I'm not trying to throw Quiznos under the bus here - I like the place. I do. But in a huge, exciting city like Seattle? Come on, there's dozens of really awesome sandwiches that could have been had which simply don't exist back here at home. So, with that confession out of the way I'm asking you right now to help me to ensure that this doesn't happen again. All you have to do is tell me where I need to go to eat a sandwich. Anywhere. Any city - I don't care. Just start filling up the comments section in any one of these posts with things like "Yeah, that looks decent, but you should really go here." or "Dear dumb-crap, you obviously don't know anything because you haven't been here yet." You get the idea.

So back to Quiznos. The history of Quiznos begins in Denver, CO in 1978 with the opening of a sandwich shop called "Sandwich World". A couple years later, Sandwich World was bought out by new owners who changed the name to "Quizno's" and began franchising and pitching the idea of toasted subs, which is the chain's claim to fame. In the 30 years since, Quiznos has gone on to become the second largest submarine sandwich chain in the world behind Subway. There are well over 4,000 locations world-wide.

Despite being in existence since roughly 1980 and starting up in (relatively) nearby Denver, I only became aware of the existence of Quiznos in the late '90's. When I was dating my wife, there was a Quiznos near the building she worked in, so we went there quite often for lunch. In the years since, Quiznos has obviously kept expanding and now they are nearly inescapable.

So anyway, there we were - walking back from The Space Needle on our way to the Mariners/Padres inter-league game and in a rush. We'd already passed the Quiznos once thinking we'd find someplace with better sandwich offerings, but having not found quite such a place, we ducked in and went to work. I went with the Classic Italian, which features the following:

• Type of Bread: I went with Rosemary Parmesan, but Italian White, 9 Grain Artisan Wheat and Italian Herb were also options.
• Condiments/Dressing(s): Red Wine Vinaigrette
• Toppings: Ham, Salami, Pepperoni, Capicola, Mozzarella,Black Olives, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions

This sandwich features the types of things you would expect in an italian - cured meats, mozzarella cheese, olives and a vinaigrette dressing. As is customary at Quiznos, I got my sandwich toasted (which involves a quick burn through the conveyor-belted toaster oven, if you've never seen it done before) and we were all set. As is the case when you order any sandwich, your overall experience is at the mercy of whoever is preparing it for you. And today, unfortunately, we got a dud. Sufficeth to say, dude's sandwich making game was weak. And that will show a little bit in the scores:

• Quantity/Value: 4/5 - Quiznos sandwiches are available in three sizes - small, regular and large. As usual, I went with the large which, in this case, set me back $6.99. Under 7 bucks for a solid foot-long sandwich is pretty decent value. However, it's not quite enough sandwich quantity wise (I had no trouble finishing the whole thing in one sitting) or value wise (especially considering the recent rash of $5 foot-long deals) to earn a 5 in this category.
• Originality: 4/5 - Putting cured italian meats and mozzarella on a sandwich has certainly been done before, so this is not getting a 5. However, the combination of meats is a good one and the red wine vinaigrette is a nice touch as well. Also adding to the originality is the toasting factor. It really improved this sandwich and Quiznos, as stated earlier, was the first place to really take the toasting idea and run with it.
• Appearance: 7/10 - Here is where homeboy making my sandwich really started to do his damage on this thing's score. Having made sandwiches for a living myself, it really irks me when someone obviously doesn't take care when doing this. This guy was probably about done with his shift (at least I hope so) and it showed. He slapped that thing together so that the placement of everything was uneven, lop-sided and sad. The only thing not sad is the guy they buy their lettuce from because that guy is making a killing. Hey sandwich-maker - the idea is to put enough lettuce on to cover my sandwich. Not enough that I can take it home and stuff a pillow with it. Thanks. That said, everything on the sandwich looks nice and the toasted bread looks great.
  
• Quality/Freshness: 7/10 - Here is where the chain restaurant/assembly line aspect of Quiznos comes into play and hurts. I have no idea how long any of the stuff that went on my sandwich had been sitting there, but I know for a fact none of it was made to order. That said, the quality was there. The meats didn't look slimy, the lettuce wasn't wilted and the fact that the sandwich was in fact toasted in front of me helps as well.
• Taste: 16/20 - Sandwich guy strikes again as he dumps that dressing on my sandwich as if it were water and he was trying to put out a fire. I'm not really sure what this sandwich is supposed to taste like since it was completely overpowered by the deluge of dressing. Aside from masking the taste of everything else (which was a shame because the other stuff was good - I pulled some of the meats free and tasted them on their own. They had unique flavors - the spicy capicola was especially tasty), the dressing quickly made this sandwich a big time sog-fest which does not help the taste at all. Anyway, the taste probably rated lower than a 16, but I corrected a little bit towards what I believe the sandwich would taste like if it weren't prepared by a distracted, ham-fisted zero.

If we add all those numbers together, we come up with a score of 38/50 for the Quiznos Classic Italian. Oddly enough, that ties the score of the one other major chain sub I've reviewed so far. And, that score is waaay more than the score I would get on choosing a great place in Seattle to get a sandwich at. Epic fail there. Again, not that Quiznos is awful, it's just that I could've and should've found a sweet local joint instead of a place I can go to anytime I want. So yeah, help me avoid making this mistake again by recommending cool sandwich places all over the place and hopefully I can get there.

Westside Signature Sub From Westside Drive In

One of the best parts about being on a life-long quest to find the best sandwiches anywhere is that every time you go on a trip and pay a visit to different town, no matter how big or small that town may be, chances are there will be a place there where you can get a sandwich to try. Such was the case last summer when we took our regular trip up to Cannon Beach, OR. With a four-year old in tow, it's a bit much to make the entire thirteen hour trip in one day, so we decided to make a pit-stop in Boise, ID and spend a night there. Before leaving, I did some research which included watching episodes of both Man v. Food and Diners, Drive Ins and Dives where they had stopped in Boise. After doing that and figuring out where we were staying, the place that was the best combination of good-looking food and convenient location from our stay for the night was the Westside Drive In. Here's the video of Guy from Triple D visiting the place:



Fortunately, this place was as advertised. First of all, you need to look past the nauseating pink and blue decor (I know you're probably going for a cool vintage vibe there, but seriously, it looks like a Miami flamingo yanked all up in that place). Anyway, what this is, is a drive in that offered things like prime rib and pasta that you wouldn't ordinarily expect to find next to drive in staples like burgers, fries and milkshakes. As I perused the menu, one item quickly jumped out at me - the Westside Signature Sub. It was still tough to decide as there were several things on the menu that looked awesome. But in the end, I remembered that, as a general rule, if something on the menu is given its own special section and is labeled as "signature", that will probably be a pretty good choice. Thankfully, that was the case here. Unfortunately, that good choice was countered by the poor choice we made of ordering spaghetti for our little boy. In a crucial lapse in judgment, I forgot how inconceivably messy a four-year old can get when tackling some spaghetti. Being on the road as we were with no laundry real handy, that was a bad move. But anyway, here's what the Westside Signature Sub looks like (figuratively):

• Type of Bread: Hoagie Roll
• Condiments/Dressing(s): Sour Cream, Dijon Mustard
• Toppings: Ribeye Steak Strips, Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, Bacon Strips, Provolone, Lettuce, Tomato
  

And, here is what it looks like literally (in the upper left, you can also see the spaghetti that my son would soon be wearing:


Unfortunately, my trusty Han Solo action figure didn't make this trip with us, but I think you can still get a pretty good idea of how big this sandwich was (and keep in mind, this was only half of one). Normally, I would get a full sized version, but I knew chances were good I wouldn't be able to finish it, and with no real refrigeration available, I didn't want to waste what was left over, so I just went with a half. Let's get to the scoring:

• Quantity/Value: 4/5 - The half sized version of this sandwich cost me $6.49, but you can upgrade to a full for $9.29. Getting a massive steak sandwich for under ten bucks is a pretty good deal, if you ask me. Especially with all the other goodies that come on this thing. As it was, I barely finished the half of it. This is a really good sized sandwich.
• Originality: 5/5 - A steak sandwich is not in and of itself original, but this version of a steak sandwich definitely is. The first thing I couldn't help but notice was the addition of bacon strips. It makes so much sense - I mean you wrap steaks in bacon all the time when you cook it, so why not put it on the sandwich? The peppers, onions and 'shrooms are typical additions to a steak sandwich, but the addition of sour cream and dijon mustard was another interesting twist that makes this sandwich completely original. Well done.
• Appearance: 9/10 - If there is anything more beautiful than some melted cheese draped over bacon and beef, I don't know what it is. I mean seriously, months later and just looking at that picture gets my salivary glands going. The colors of the vegetables, the perfectly toasted roll, and even some parsley on the side as a garnish (garnishes at a drive in??! I know, right?). This sandwich looked great.
• Quality/Freshness: 9/10 - When you've got a legitimate, trained chef with 30+ years of experience running the place, it's really no surprise that the quality and freshness of the ingredients is top notch. I don't know that there's much else that needs to be said about it.
• Taste: 18/20 - I've already talked about how original I think this sandwich is, how good it looks, how fresh the ingredients are, so the only question left is how did it taste? Perhaps not surprisingly, it tasted really great. I mean, I don't know how badly you can mess up a marriage of steak, bacon and cheese, but the trick is balancing flavors with all the other ingredients and not letting one completely overwhelm the others. The Westside Signature Sub does a great job of this. I think a mild cheese like provolone is a good choice with this in mind. The creaminess provided by the sour cream and cheese, the bite from the peppers and dijon mustard and the tender steak were all delicious. My only minor complaint would be that I couldn't really taste the bacon as much as I was hoping. But whatever, you could probably wrap this whole thing in bacon and I still would want more. That's just me. Well, me and Jim Gaffigan.
  

So, if we add it all up, the Westside Signature Sub from the Westside Drive In in lovely Boise, ID receives a seriously impressive score of 45/50. Visiting this cool little place was a great part of a great trip and I will definitely look forward to returning some time in the future. There's definitely something fulfilling about discovering a new great place to eat in a city you're visiting. So next time you're on a trip, be sure to get out there and try somewhere new. I mean, Subway's good and all, but you can get that at 5 different places 5 minutes from your house anytime you want. Come on, you're better than that. Oh, and be sure and tell me about the cool places you go, okay? Deal.