"What Country Produces the Best Sandwich?" poll nomination thread

My noms:

– Bánh mì (Vietnam)
– Cuban (Cuba)
– Gyro (Greece)

-Torta ahogada (Mexico)
-Croque madame (France)

Cheeseburger (USA)

– Reuben (USA)

never gonna vote against reuben

BLT (USA)
Philly cheesesteak (USA)

hooray for freedom

Do the British have anything worth mentioning? All I can think of is some horrid concoction of pressed, crustless, bread smeared with a pablum of cream cheese and watercress.

Chip butty

– Croque Monsieur & Croque Madame (France)
– Sincronizada (Mexico)

sandwiches I think of as British but amn't actually sure now:

- roast beef & horseradish
- salmon & cucumber
- club sandwich

also:

- hot dog (Germany)

salt beef beigel...origins unclear

Brits invented the word "sandwich" iirc.

In a long and proud tradition of inventing things and then having the rest of the world show them how to do it properly.

Decent chicken tikka sandwich, not yet found outside of Britain. Also we have proper granary bread and yeah, chip barms.

I've never been let down by a sandwich in Italy, even at the shittiest-looking stands in touristical mainstream. I couldn't name them: just yummy salty meat & cheese on yummy salty bread; but it's always just the best.

I hope France does not do well here b/c whilst I think it's the best food country in the world overall, its sandwiches are pretty crappy by & large. There's a reason paninis have been all the rage there for years.

Always found Paul sandwiches to be reliable in France (and London).

yes they are good b/c of the bread (enjoyed their take on a salami sandwich in Gare Montparnasse during a brief transfer there a few months ago) but o/w it's just a bit of meat & butter & maybe cornichons, all of which can be great! but they don't ~transcend~ the sum of its parts unlike your completely average sandwich in Italy.

oh, does falafel count as a sandwich?

origins of the club sandwich are obscure but it's usually considered american, i think.

a patriotic vote from me for the hoagie/sub.

Grilled Cheese (EEUU)

Australia: Steak sandwich wif cheese fried egg etc etc Vegemite sandwich? "Salad" sandwich?

Tbqh our own sandwiches are garbage but we have souvas and banh mi and panini up the wazoo so it's not really weighing that heavily on us.

torta milanesa >> torta ahogada

my favorite sandwiches vacillate between something parmigian-y (chicken or meatball) or something shawarma/gyro-y.

– Croque Monsieur & Croque Madame (France)

these are next-level as a "once every five years" treat. just bring me my bill on a stretcher.

New issue of Saveur is a global guide to sandwiches. Calls Philly the best sandwich town.

- Montreal smoked meat sandwich (Canada)

tbf, handheld savory pastries ought to count as "sandwiches", too, thereby allowing the Cornish pasty into the competition as a British entry.

Can we count calzone as a sandwich? If a Cornish pasty gets in, that should to.

I totally want a chip butty now, btw.

too

Chip butty

― I said Omorotic, not homo-erotic (aldo), Saturday, March 26, 2011 10:07 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

But it has to have butter on and, am I alone in enjoying a chip butty with a bit of marmite? Possibly.

Does the sandwich which is chorizo, rocket & red pepper have a name? Anyway, it's Spanish (I presume).

any variation on a rib-sandwich (USA)

TS: barbecue on a bun vs. barbecue on white bread

hard to beat fried sausages or bacon + ketchup in fresh crusty white bloomer bread

taco (mexico)
arepa (venezuela)
sushi (japan)

are we treating a gyro as the same as a doner kebab here? I know what I'm voting

pizza bagel (usa)

Salt beef on pumpernickel with mustard #gojews

sushi (japan)

― ice cr?m, Sunday, March 27, 2011 11:35 AM (1 minute ago)

my migraine just set in

Do the British have anything worth mentioning? All I can think of is some horrid concoction of pressed, crustless, bread smeared with a pablum of cream cheese and watercress.

― they call him (remy bean), Saturday, 26 March 2011 22:05 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

As the inventer of the fucking thing, we technically produced all of these.

Also, the majestic Scottish invention that is a roll and pie.

xp

As the inventer of the fucking thing, we technically produced all of these.

As the inventor of the English language... ^_~

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr92/rcps-scotland/spelling_police.jpg

thuringer bratwurst (germany)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/955711400_eabb7af6d9.jpg

That looks like a geoduck!

opened thread, CTRL+F 'Ireland', no results, eh tbh that's probably fair enough.

carry on.

completo, chacarero (chile)

potato sandwich (ireland)

been mentioned upthread but i will reiterate roll and pie (scotland)

there is a really out of place chacarero place in the financial district of boston. it's okay, i guess, but it's not as good as even the crappiest food truck in LA

best chacarero is to be had at the fuente alemana. you know, if you're ever passing through santiago.

lol as soon as i typed that i was all 'hmmm, i should change that'. aw fuck it

where's the pork

Corned beef, brisket, pastrami etc more than makes up for it.

Five Dollar Footlong (U.S.A.)

It's not the lack of pork that kills a true Jewish sandwich for me, it's the lack of cheese.

Like, mayo is supposed to be the non-dairy way to add any kind of softness or gentleness in the flavors, to soften 4 kinds of salty cured meats in your mouth, but it's just not doing enough.

I know one thing, its not the English.

Some English sandwiches are amazing. There are times when I'd chill for a cheese and spring onion sandwich.

chill?

lol.

kill.

I'm gonna wrap up the noms on Friday, and post the poll on Monday. Maybe I'll do soups next? (Although meatball pho will probably join bánh mi on the top of the list).

I wonder if France is being underrated here.

Dear Vietnam,

Thank you for your food and also for my girlfriend. Sorry things are so screwy and that the Chinese are mean to you and trying to evict your monks so they can mine copper on monastery land. At least you can eat good food in your sadness. For soups, I thank you for Bún bò Huế, Canh chua, and, of course, Phở.

Sincerely

Remy

something with paté?

For vegetarians, the five dollar foot long is a thing of wonder, I get them at least once a week! We have come a long way.

The muffaletta is an Italian-American creation from New Orleans. Its so dependent on olive-heavy gardiniera that I've found vegan versions (with tempeh) quite good too.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1059/1114889661_281630d8bd.jpg

It's not the lack of pork that kills a true Jewish sandwich for me, it's the lack of cheese.

― go peddle your bullshit somewhere else sister (Laurel), Tuesday, March 29, 2011 10:43 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Most Jewish delis are happy to throw on a few slices of cheese for a gentile/heathen/infidel like me.

Cheddar & pickle (UK) - Pret 'artisan bread' version is the highest currently available form of this imo.

Real Jewish delis don't HAVE cheese on the premises, so no.

Cheddar and pickle is pretty great.

Real Jewish delis don't HAVE cheese on the premises, so no.

― go peddle your bullshit somewhere else sister (Laurel), Tuesday, March 29, 2011 12:17 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Yes, actually they do.

I wonder if France is being underrated here

Good point. Sometimes you go into a deli and ask for something simple like a ham sandwich, and they'll spend ten minutes selecting the right baguette, meat, cheese, and slicing up cornichons and all sorts - that's just about the best ever imo.

France is being underrated for sure. For all the lipservice for Banh Mi it's just a fusion Pain de Mie sandwich with ham/pate. Maybe it seems more exotic than "pate baguette avec herbes" or "bocadillo de jamon" to some folks?

jalopeno and cilantro make anything infinitely better though

"jalapeno" lol

also "cilantro".

which begs the question... "which country's immigrant population to your country (in some cases inspired by expat/colonists) make the best sandwich using local substitute ingredients?"

"...substitute ingredients inspired by other immigrant cuisines"

There's a food truck in LA called Phamish that makes great banh mi and instead of those sad doughy loaves you usually find, they have real French-style baguettes; light inside with a real crust. The betel leaf wrapped beef and the lemongrass pork were exquisite.

Spin-off question should be which state in the USA invented the best sandwich.

"jalapeno" lol

hope you're not truly laughing out loud at that one

There's a food truck in LA called Phamish that makes great banh mi and instead of those sad doughy loaves you usually find, they have real French-style baguettes; light inside with a real crust.

― exécutés avec l’insolence accoutumée du (Michael White), Tuesday, March 29, 2011 10:21 AM (3 minutes ago)

When's the next time you're going to San Jose? SF's banh mi scene is pretty awful.

xp when i write lol it's usually means "oh you poor thing" or "bless his/her soul"

yeah I'm such a charity case, what with getting jalapeno and cilantro on my banh mi

There's no way I can even begin to think of a best sandwich, though. From a perfect club sandwich to a Central Grocery muffaletta, a perfect and simple mixte in Paris to English tea sandwiches, from the shawerma with amba sauce at Sababa in Vienna to God only knows how many delicious panini I've had in Italy, and of course the list could go on for ages; to choose or even to begin to think about choosing one is like denying life itself. I want them ALL.

Id say anybody who is weighing in on a "which country has the best sandwiches" poll then its a sure bet that they are a fan of sandwiches. Though i am impressed by your ability to run down a bunch of them from exotic locations youve visited, you're not exactly breaking any new ground by saying this is tough.

"a great banh mi from an underground cottage on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. God, how am I supposed to ignore that"

2 of my favorites haven't even been named yet:

Pulled pork sandwich (Memphis, TN, USA)
Tri-tip sandwich (Paso Robles, Central CA, USA)

you're not exactly breaking any new ground by saying this is tough

No, of course not. I didn't mean to waste anyone's time. I just can't even begin start the triage on this one.

Both excellent, Steve. There's a place in Oakdale (iIrc) where we used to get to really succulent tri-tips. Is that a CA thing?

Central Coast.

They're all over the Valley now, though.

My experience with Jewish sandwiches has been at actual kosher places, is why I made that point at all. Carry on with your non-kosher Jewish delis, please.

Just cuz its kosher doesnt mean they dont have cheese. They just cant cut it with the same slicer. And im not talking about some ultra-orthodox deli, im talking about kosher jewish delis that are found all over NYC. Get your head out of your ass and carry on with your snobbery, please.

It's not snobbery, it's more resignation at having business associates who keep kosher. You'd like to have a nice sandwich sometimes, you know? But no.

See also: all the delis in my old neighborhood were run by Muslims. Who kept halal. So no ham on your egg and cheese, anywhere in like a 6-block radius.

Boccadillo with tomato and bellota...

http://youtu.be/kMFM4yVlDqg

if you are a meatlover meatloaf club at my friend maggie's restaurant is for you:

Meatloaf Club
Meatloaf, bacon, chipotle mayo, roast tomato & cheddar cheese

Notated thusly my sandwich of the moment is:

Rye/wheat sourdough
mayonnaise
baby leaf salad lettuce
roast chicken
homemade wild garlic leaf pesto
rye/wheat sourdough.

that's modern sandwich poetry right there!

I've been eating the wild garlic pesto on EVERYTHING recently. Yet another food invention made when I should be on a deadline; brought it to chef acquaintance around the corner and it gave him envy for not thinking of it himself, plus foodgasms.

bocadillos yo