Follow the Silk Road!

You know those cartoon characters whose eyes bug out when a pretty lady walks by?  And their round eyeballs make a sound effect that sounds something like “boing boing”?   That’s how I felt when I took my first bite of Silk Road’s jerk chicken sandwich.  The BBQ geniuses start out by grilling and marinating spicy jerk chicken.  The tender pieces of chicken are artistically stuffed into a hot dog roll and then drizzled with tangy, fiery BBQ sauce.  To cool the spice, the perfectly lathered chicken is topped by juicy, handmade cole slaw, and OH MY GOD, the bold flavors mingle together and tickle each of your taste buds.

Silk Road is usually down in the financial district during the week, but you can check it out at the SoWa Market on Sundays too! 

My Ultimate Sandwich Haven

Where the magic happens - M&P's miniature kitchen

Although I have lived in Boston for nearly five years, it wasn't until this past warm, rainy Saturday that I realized Boston has a neighborhood called Bay Village.  Sandwiched between Back Bay and the Theater District, in the heart of Boston, Bay Village shies away from the rest of the city, offering gas lamps, brownstone buildings and, the main draw: Mike & Patty's neighborhood sandwich shop.  Locking up my bike across the street, I glanced in the direction of Mike & Patty's, only identifiable by the long line protruding from a nondescript door.  The picture to the left is actually taken from the farthest corner of the shop.  There are only eight chairs for those dining in, thus forcing Bostonians to hang around outside, salivating over the sweet aromas lingering in the air.

As our turn came quickly, I had barely twenty seconds to decide on a sandwich.  If you know me, I need about ten minutes longer to make a decision.  The first sandwich description that met my eyes was the torta, displayed confidently at the top of the menu offering pork, chicken or a vegetarian option.  The vegetarian option sounded deliciously unique with sweet potatoes and poblano peppers, but I carnivorously went for the pork.  Next to the sandwich menu though, there is an additional menu dedicated to breakfast, served all day.  Mouth watering delights resonate from the menu, such as the grilled banana sandwich, the breakfast torta and the bacon and egg, fancy. 

Although the innovative menu items have lingering traces of the former Mike and Patty duo, Mike has played an integral role in the menu creation, relying only on employees Jen Galatis and Steph Basiliere, along with a few special friends and customers, for feedback.  As sole owner for nearly a year now, Mike confirmed that his professional break-up with Patty was an amicable one.  “If she was Farro Salad with Marcona Almonds, Arugula and Vin Santo, I was Chili Dog.  With a locavore slant,” he elegantly explains.  The two are former employees of the South End Formaggio, although with opposing geographical interests.  Describing his cuisine as North American, Mike delves into the pieces of his life that have crafted the menu.  To start, he is Canadian and represents his home base with Peameal Bacon, ketchup chips and specials like tourtiere and butter tarts.  He has lived in Boston for half of his life which explains the American influence, leaving only Mexico, a place he called home for six months in his early twenties.  “I always wanted to include Mexican and Tex-Mex and Southwestern, and to do so with respect for those much different traditions, but without feeling like I needed to be beholden to notions of authenticity,” Mike elaborates.

A resident of the South End, Keith Bachyrycz has been a patron of Mike & Patty’s for two years.  His beloved sandwich is the Bacon and Egg, Fancy, and he even orders breakfast sandwiches to bring to work for his whole team to enjoy.  Alan Inacio, one of Keith’s co-workers, favors the same sandwich, with turkey chorizo.  Alan exclaims, “The bacon egg, fancy is everything the Egg McMuffin can never be.  Fresh ingredients, made to order, high end quality in every bite.”

"Get in my belly!"

Sipping my freshly squeezed orange juice, I allowed myself to get lost in the ambiance of the petite shop.  Mike, with the help of three young women (who looked to be in their early 20s), worked diligently in the miniature open air kitchen as top 40s hits played on a hidden radio.  Watching in awe and anticipation as they carved out ripe avocados, hand mixed cole slaw and sliced open fresh rolls of bread, it was clear to see that this place was authentic.  Specials cheerfully shouted from paper plates displayed throughout the shop, while assorted hot sauces lined a nearby shelf.  My friend Jess and I planted ourselves at two bar stools by the window, within arms reach of the hot sauces.

Nearing the slurping stage of my orange juice, my name was called out and I quickly jumped up to grab my sandwich.  Captivated by bright, juicy jicama slaw, I politely waited for Jess to get her sandwich as barbequed pulled pork gushed from the edges of the fresh, plump sesame roll in front of me.  Bright green avocado slices playfully nestled among pieces of pork, creamy goat cheese, and a smooth refritos spread.  The soft bread roll was lovingly left closed on one end for easy eating.  The first bite left me feeling giddy with sheer excitement, thinking this is everything a sandwich should be.  The owner, wearing a chef's hat, eagerly looked over at us, capturing our first reactions. 

Between massive mouthfuls, Jess and I shouted over to each other proclaiming words of praise for the flavorsome masterpieces.  In a messy fit of passion, I ate every last piece on my plate.  Blissfully leaving the sandwich shop feeling completely satisfied, I reminisced about my sandwich experience the whole ride home, dreamily wondering when I'll find my way back to Bay Village.

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.

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.