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: