The rise of the platonically perfect sandwich may well be a reflection of the economy.
Sitting down for a proper meal of an appetizer, an entrée and sundry side dishes can easily run $50 and more in these hard times. But a sandwich — sublime and filling, heaven between two slices of very good bread — will run you under $20, and perhaps quite a bit less.
There are sandwiches of exceptional flavor and heft at local favorites like the branches of Bread Head in Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach (where they bake their own bread in-house), Bodega Park in Silver Lake, Bub & Grandma’s in Glassell Park and sundry branches of the Italian import All’Antico Vinaio.
Grabbing a sandwich for lunch or dinner is no longer an exercise in satisfying your hunger. Today, it’s a gateway to culinary joy. Given a choice between some takeout lo mein and a creation of smoked meats and curated cheeses, the lo mein seems sad indeed.
Credit for the invention of the sandwich is often given to John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century English aristocrat who would eat meat and cheese twixt bread while he played cribbage. It was just so much neater and more elegant than eating the meat with his bare hands.
But a careful study of culinary history (which is often not reliable) indicates that the notion of eating meat and bread pre-dates the 4th Earl by several centuries. Indeed, the first proto-sandwiches probably hew all the way back to the 1st century B.C., to the small “sandwiches” of matzoh and bitter herbs eaten at Passover.
At Boneyard Bistro in Sherman Oaks, sandwiches are on the menu every day, including a Philadelphia steak sandwich and a Paso tri-tip. Wednesdays are the “Which Sandwich” day. (Photo by Merrill Shindler) Italian beef sandwich at Boneyard Bistro in Sherman Oaks (Photo by Merrill Shindler) Show Caption1 of 2At Boneyard Bistro in Sherman Oaks, sandwiches are on the menu every day, including a Philadelphia steak sandwich and a Paso tri-tip. Wednesdays are the “Which Sandwich” day. (Photo by Merrill Shindler) ExpandAt Boneyard Bistro (13539 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; 818-906-7427, www.boneyardbistro.com), there are sandwiches on the menu every day, including a Philadelphia steak sandwich and a Paso tri-tip sandwich.
On Wednesdays, this Sherman Oaks smoked-meat emporium goes sandwich wild. They call it “Which Sandwich Wednesday.” And over the past few months, the sandwich of the week has included a Cubano, a smoked Wagyu beef with Hatch green chilies, a house-cured, thick-cut bacon Club, a Philadelphia roast pork, a BLT, and a smoked turkey.
I dropped by for the Classic Italian Beef — an iconic Chicago dish that competes with the hometown pizza — and came away with a shirt dappled with the aftermath of eating a sandwich “baptized” in smoky juices.
Actually, baptized is one of the three choices. You want the Turano roll — a hefty French-style flown in from the Windy City — totally immersed. On one surface, it’s “wet.” With the juice on the side, it’s “dry.” That’s for wimps. I went with it Chicago Bear style.
The sandwich is stuffed with thinly sliced Italian beef, jammed with hot giardiniera and sweet peppers. It’s a mouthful. Add on slabs of provolone, and you can feel the wind blowing off the lake. It’s a fine sandwich.
And it may or may not ever return. Which Sandwich Wednesday adds life to the dread hump day. The kitchen is restless at Boneyard. You never know what’s next.
Ghost Sando Shop, with locations that include Burbank, is a mini-chain that stands apart from the Subways of the world with its remarkable bread, says restaurant critic Merrill Shindler. The Pastrami Mami at Ghost Sando Shop in Burbank comes with pastrami, bacon, avocado spread, mustard and mayo. (Photo by Merrill Shindler) Show Caption1 of 2Ghost Sando Shop, with locations that include Burbank, is a mini-chain that stands apart from the Subways of the world with its remarkable bread, says restaurant critic Merrill Shindler. ExpandGhost Sando Shop (173 N. Maple St., Burbank; 747-283-1302, ghostsandoshop.com) is a small chain that stands apart from the Subways of the world with its remarkable bread. They serve their 22 sandos on a Dutch Crunch Bun — which lives up to its name. I ate half my sandwich in their shop. I ate the other half for breakfast the next day. After a night in the fridge, it was as crunchy-crisp as it had been some 18 hours before. That’s admirable. And very tasty, too.
They serve five breakfast sandos, including The Classic with chive cream cheese spread, black forest ham, bacon, an egg and melted sharp cheddar; and The Wrong Side of the Road, with sundried tomato spread, seasoned avocado spread, pastrami, an egg and melted cheddar.
There are 10 served hot; try the Santa Monica with “Melrose” spread, mayo, pastrami, roasted turkey and bacon with pepper jack; or the Pastrami Mami with pastrami, bacon, avocado spread, mustard and mayo.
There are seven cold; tuna goes ballistic with mayo, Havarti, red onions, minced pickles, celery, mustard and mayo.
They’ve got Dirty Brand potato chips on the side. And a chocolate chip cookie.
Cavaretta’s Italian Deli — which has been creating monster heroes on Sherman Way in Canoga Park since 1959 — is one of the great old school Italian takeouts in the LA area, says restaurant critic Merrill Shindler. (Photo by Merrill Shindler)We all need an Italian deli in our lives. And here in the SF Valley, it’s Cavaretta’s Italian Deli (22045 Sherman Way, Canoga Park; 818-340-6626, www.cavarettasdeli.com), which has been slicing meat and cheese, and creating monster heroes since 1959.
At Cavaretta’s, they refer to their Italian sandwich as, simply, “sandwiches.” In various parts of the country, they’re submarines, hoagies, footlongs, po’boys, wedgies and (mysteriously) spuckies.
But at Cavaretta’s, they’re just … sandwiches. And darned good ones, too.
If you’re putting on a party, you can order them in a 3-foot or a 6-foot size. But at the counter, they’re more modest — though far from less than heroic.
There are 12 meats to choose from; I like peppered turkey, and spicy salami. There are six flavors of turkey (including turkey pastrami), and four of chicken.
The sandwiches all come with lettuce, tomato, onions, mustard, mayonnaise, Italian dressing and cheese. Though for me, it’s the spicy mixed peppers that make this an edible work of art. It doesn’t hurt to get an antipasto salad on the side; love those marinated artichoke hearts.
And if I’m really hungry, they make killer meatballs — and exceptional lasagna sold for $9.95 a slice, like it’s a very thick pizza. The sausage and peppers are a walk through my youth on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx — a Little Italy that survives to this day.
Oh, and don’t forget the cannoli — so crisp, packed with a filling that’s obscenely good, and impossible not to inhale. No matter how full you may be with a sandwich, meats, cheeses, salads, lasagna or meatballs, there’s always room for cannoli.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
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