DIY Gourmet Sandwich

Inspired by the “Bangin’ Blueberry” pesto (Pestos with Panache by Lauren) that I picked up at the SoWa market, I made a sandwich from one of their recipes for dinner. Living in the North End, picking up ingredients isn’t exactly convenient. I took my bike out, and started filling my basket with a baguette, a few slices of fresh asiago cheese and 1/8 pound of pancetta from Monica’s Trattoria on Salem St. I ran over to Going Bananas down the street to pick up some arugula before heading home with my supplies.

Although the recipe calls for a Panini maker, who really has one of those? I preheated my toaster oven, and waited a long 5 minutes until the bread looked perfectly toasted, with bits of sizzling asiago cheese seeping out from the edges. Before putting my dinner on a plate and bringing it to the table, as any chef, I had to take a bite to make sure the ingredients combined properly. The sweet, but tart blueberry pesto perfectly coupled with the bitterness of the arugula and the saltiness of the pancetta. The asiago cheese added sophistication to this incredibly easy-to-make sandwich. I recommend getting a fresh loaf of bread because the bread can make or break a sandwich. The pesto actually comes in five other flavors: fabulous fig and gorgonzola, decadent dark chocolate and ancho chile, pumpkin chipotle, prosciutto and smoked almond, and succulent strawberry. Although a huge fig fan, the blueberry pesto was by far my favorite. With a slight tart flavor, the blueberry pesto makes an excellent condiment not only for sandwiches, but also for pasta, pancakes and pizza!

Backpacker's Delight

Backpacking through Eastern Europe, Jara and Roy aimed to spend as little as possible by packing this light sandwich in their bag for many quick lunches and dinners. The ingredients are quite simple:

- 2 slices of whole wheat bread
- tomato slices
- cheddar cheese (Are those Kraft singles? J&R, how did you manage to find those?)
- crushed potato chips (Personally I would opt for salt & vinegar, but I can't be sure what kind this adventurous couple used!)


When Anoli and I traveled through the Baltics, we certainly were not saavy enough to grab leftovers from our all-you-can-eat breakfast buffets. Our lunches often consisted of a fresh baguette with whichever kind of berry jam we could find. And a bottle of wine. Sandwich, you ask? Of course. If you get the opportunity to travel out there, our favorite food was cold beetroot soup. I know what you're thinking, but don't judge a soup by it's name...it was honestly fantastic.

Flashback Pizza

Walking into a bustling 1980's-era pizza shop, with Neil Sedaka's "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" cranking on the jukebox, my dad and I felt like we had somehow been transported in time to the days of hoop earrings, ripped jeans and pay phones. The bar at Santarpio's in East Boston (Eastie? Do people call it that?) subtly reminded me of my parents' basement only with hardwood floors, brighter lights and one of those plastic neon-blue Pepsi-Cola clocks. Attempting to take in the ambiance, I snapped back to reality as a man at the grill shouted "How many? How many?" over and over again. I looked at my dad, and we silently agreed to sit at the bar...was the grill guy asking how many people? Or how many skewers of meat we wanted? A question for next time perhaps.

Carl the bartender introduced himself almost immediately. The warm, friendly faces around us made me wish the millennium had never happened. People were so friendly in the 90's. I hear you could leave your front door unlocked at all times and no one would even think to rob you. Anyways, my dad and I skimmed through the short menu as Carl told us a little about the place. Apparently Santarpio's opened in 1903, and the same family has been managing the business since. The menu has never changed and probably never will. Boxing paraphernalia hang from the walls along with a Labatt Blue light-up sign. Families and friends of all ages yell back and forth to each other across tables and a line started to form out the door. "Rainy Tuesdays bring a lot of business", I commented to Carl. A local next to us replied, "So do Sunny Saturdays, and Snowy Thursdays". Looks like Santarpios isn't the hidden gem I thought it was, but it's definitely worth the hike.

Dad and I ended up ordering the steak tip skewers and a half garlic, half mushrooms, onions and hot peppers pizza. Carl told us that the garlic pizza was his favorite, and he did not steer us wrong. As the hot, steaming pizza appeared in front of us, it looked like an artistic masterpiece. Chunks of tomato sauce crept out from a generous layer of melted, sizzling cheese. The dough had been tossed to perfection, the underside coated in cornmeal to prevent the cheese from melting into the crust to cause emancipated disappointment. My dad and I grabbed a couple slices of the garlic pizza. As if we were in a race, we housed the entire first slice in what felt like just a few bites. Having an out-of-body experience, my ghost-self was telling me to stop eating so quickly. "Your mouth is burning, let the pizza cool down!" It was worth it though. Santarpio's was definitely the best pizza I've had in New England. Probably ever, if you don't include Chicago-style pizza, which is in a league of its own.

Some of you may be wondering why I'm writing about pizza in a sandwich blog. You may even be surprised to hear that I like food outside of the sandwich realm. Here are my random thoughts on pizza in relation to sandwiches:

Pizza - an American staple food, almost as popular as the sandwich. I do think there can be pizza sandwiches when they are in the form of pizza bagels or English Muffin pizzas. How could one differentiate between a slice or pie of pizza and an open-faced sandwich though? Couldn't a slice or pie of pizza in essence BE an open-faced sandwich? And then on the topic of open-faced sandwiches, can these really be called sandwiches? The jury's still out on this one, but my initial thought is no. But why not? Why can’t everything eventually branch off from the sandwich kingdom? i.e. Burritos, pitas, wraps. I’ve participated in extensive debates on this topic with friends and strangers alike, and it seems like the answer isn’t as clear as many would like it to be.

America's Street Food

Overly excited by Boston’s compliance with the latest nationwide food truck craze, Ev, Kate and I headed to the SoWa market off Harrison Ave. Among the food trucks were Bon Me featuring Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, Silk Road BBQ, Roxy’s Gourmet Grilled Cheese and the Clover truck (usually parked by South Station). Lazily snacking on Grillo’s famous pickles (try the spicy!), we struggled to decide on a truck when a woman walked by with the most attractive looking stuffed pita. Eagerly, we asked her what she was eating, and she pointed in the direction of the Clover truck. The chickpea fritter sandwich was as delicious as it looked. Crispy chickpea fritters (which you could call falafels) were gently coaxed by smooth hummus, confidently topped with fresh pickles, tomatoes and lettuce. The crown of the pita is stuffed with bright purple cabbage, carrots and a drizzle of tahini sauce. Together, the ingredients create a vibrant, lively meal that almost looks too artistic to eat. During our intimate engagement with our sandwiches, several food enthusiasts stopped by to ask us what we were eating...it actually looks (and tastes) THAT good.

It's the Little Things

I've made it perfectly clear how I feel about 21A's sliders (check out http://sandwich-hands.blogspot.com/2011/04/10-things-i-hate-about-you.html if you haven't already!), but I recently had the opportunity to try two extraordinary sliders in the most unexpected places. One was at East Meets Northeast in Inman Square. This tapas-inspired modern Chinese restaurant has a rare find on its menu - a pork belly slider. It's hidden under the "breads" section of their menu and reminded us of BBQ pork buns you would get at dim sum…only better. The bread is actually a steamed bun, extremely soft to the touch. It is cut in half and filled with crispy pork belly, daikon and a sweet bean paste. The slider literally melts in your mouth and has the most intense flavors. We couldn't stop at just one, and neither will you.


Next up on our tribute to all things small: sliders at Island Creek Oyster Bar. Not your standard beef sliders, these crispy sliders are made of Island Creek Oysters, lime and chili aioli, sandwiched in a brioche roll. After a few glasses of champagne on a gorgeous, sunny Saturday afternoon, these sliders were exactly what we needed. Ev, Kate, Div and I were silent for a good 5 minutes as we tried to take the smallest bites possible to prevent the flavors from ever ending. Alas, they did, and we were sad to see them go so quickly. I could have easily put down a few more of these. ICOB, we will be back.

The Accidental Discovery

All signs pointed in one direction, we just couldn't see it yet.

It was Saturday night. The time was approximately 11:30 PM when I stood perplexed with Matt and John, trying to think of a place to get some decent food. Laughing and joking as we reminisced about college for most of the night, we all realized we had completely skipped dinner. We asked a bartender at the Barking Crab for suggestions, but his response was that it would be tough to find a kitchen that stays open after 11. (Seriously Boston, what do you have to say for yourself?) A cartoon light bulb went off in my head as I excitedly told Matt and John about the Friendly Toast in Kendall Square. This eclectic, hipster joint serves breakfast all day long until 1 am (along with sandwiches, salads and burritos!).

As fate would have it, there was a sign on the door revealing that the Friendly Toast was closed due to a water outage. Gutted, we wandered over to the Cambridge Brewing Company to see if any locals could give us some direction. The bartender, in an extremely decisive fashion, advised us to go to Hungry Mother down the street.

Timidly we walked into what appeared to be someone's living room. The adorable restaurant was filled with 20- and 30-somethings drinking beer and eating late night snacks. After we put in our beer order, we perused the extremely short menu (literally consisting of 5 items). We asked the waiter for his opinion, and he told us to order the Carolina BBQ pulled pork sandwich.

To the right is a creepy picture of Matt and John with their sandwiches - mostly creepy because of the dark hue cast over the photo (thanks to my vintage iPhone that doesn't have a flash). Also a little creepy because Matt looks like he might lean over and take a bite out of the camera. As you can see, we were all really happy when the sandwiches appeared in front of us. And why wouldn't we be? Flawlessly BBQed, tender pieces of pulled pork were topped with crunchy cole slaw and slathered between two slices of homemade white sandwich bread. Sweet and salty flavors tangled together to satisfy a countless number of taste buds, while a heaping pile of fried onion strings complemented the sandwich perfectly. At 12:30 AM, this sandwich was exactly what we had all been craving.

We could have skipped dessert which was really talked up by our waiter. Sugar hungry, we ended up ordering some kind of honeycomb panna cotta. The panna cotta had a strange carbonated taste to it, and the over-salted honeycomb stuck in the crevices of our teeth. Regardless of dessert, Hungry Mother was a great, accidental find! The restaurant has a full dinner menu during regular hours too. Based on their late night pulled pork sandwich, I can't wait to see what else Hungry Mother has to offer.

I've been Rabe'd!

After my college roommate Kate introduced me to Taylor, a DC-based sandwich shop, I have been on a quest to find a comparable sandwich in Boston. Preferably one with sharp provolone and sautéed broccoli rabe. I knew this would be a difficult mission. Taylor’s run by a couple hipster babes that travel all the way to Philadelphia, every morning, to pick up loaves of bread. They mean business.

On my expedition, I managed to find one almost comparable sandwich – which is a better compliment than it seems. To start off, Nick Varano’s Famous Deli, in the North End, has a few sandwich options with broccoli rabe. I usually mash Joe Dimaggio’s and Don Deluises’s signatures to create a sandwich with fresh breaded chicken cutlet, broccoli rabe and sharp provolone on ciabatta. Admittedly, it is pretty satisfying and usually my go-to on account of availability and proximity. The shop is cheesy and touristy, but, unlike many sandwich places in Boston, it is actually open on weekday nights. (One of my complaints to the city of Boston, right after the no happy hour law.)

Nick Varano’s isn’t the one though.

One day a few months ago, Kate, Ev and I were out seeking adventures in Brookline when we came across a sandwich shop called Cutty’s. Unfortunately we showed up a little late, and they had already run out of their slow-roasted pork, only available on Saturdays. I went for the “spuckie”, fennel salami, hot capicola, mortadella, hand-pulled mozzarella, and olive-carrot salad – all craftily placed in a fresh loaf of ciabatta (bread made my Iggy’s). The sandwich is toasted and delicious. The olive-carrot salad is unique and adds a subtle, crunchy bite to the flavorsome sandwich. It’s a creative twist to the traditional Italian.

Fast-forward to this past weekend, when I showed up at Cutty’s doorstep once more. Intrigued that they only sell the slow-roasted pork on Saturdays, Div and I split the pork rabe (photo to the right) and the pork fennel. The rabe is sautéed and placed on top sharp provolone while the fennel is pickled and topped with roasted garlic. Both specials come on a sesame seed roll, but only the rabe is served hot. To curtail any suspense, I’ll tell you straight up that the rabe is truly the superior sandwich. The sautéed broccoli rabe seeps garlic and olive oil into the hard, crusty roll, and the sharp provolone melts right into the perfectly roasted pork. I have no idea why this delightful sandwich is only available on Saturdays, but I’ll definitely be back for more. Well done, Cutty’s.