FTWolf

BLT, Mercantile Wine Bar

Yesterday afternoon, Matt and I embraced the half day and went to Mercantile Wine Bar to sample their BLT w jalapeño goat cheese. It was delicious. The goat cheese was a wonderful addition to the sandwich, and it was just spicy enough without being overpowering. My one complaint is that there was not enough bacon.

First bite video

(Source: themercantilela.com)

heyitseva:

The list order is out the window. With just over one week until Jon moves to LA, we’re attacking the top of the list as much as possible.

….

These sandwiches were both very good. 

The wait for the Spotted Pig’s Cubano was extraordinary. Seriously some disappointing service. Blame it on the lunch rush. The Cubano sandwich was fantastic. The mustard, oh man. A nice mustard. Was there mustard on it? Tasted like mustard.

The Romeo from Alidoro was pretty great, too. The peppers made it special.

These were probably the last sandwiches from the sandwich adventure that I’ll have with Eva while I’m still a New Yorker. It’s a cryin’ shame that we never got around to finishing the top 50, but at least it’ll be something fun to do if when I come back to visit. 

heyitseva:

Hi everyone. So exciting/ devastating news- Jon is moving to LA in April!

Because of this unexpected delight/ tragedy, Jon and I are trying to house as many of these sandwiches as possible before he leaves town. The normal rules are off. We are still trying to go in order as much as possible, but no special scheduling treatment for seasonal menus, brunch-only items, finicky hours, locations in Queens, etc. We have a lot of food to eat, and a short time to eat it in. Watch ‘ol Bandit run.

#20 SLOPPY BAO from Baoguette
The Baoguette location we went to (there are two or three) was a super small, unassuming lunch place, with a normal officey lunch line, of people doing take out. The place was pretty crowded, and it seems like a pretty popular little spot. 

Because the store was so crowded, Jon and I got our sandwiches to go, and brought them back to the office to eat (first time since #50!). 

The delay in sandwich creation to sandwich consumption was kind of a ruiner here. The flavors were great- like a spicy Asian sloppy joe- but it didn’t stay that warm on the bus ride across town. I’d love to try it again, and eat it right away.

Overall, a fun, tasty, affordable lunch option that I probably would not have tried without this project!

#16- CONNECTICUT LOBSTER ROLL from Red Hook Lobster Pound
What a lovely lunch option for a beautiful New York day. The food truck from the Red Hook Lobster Pound parks only a few blocks away from our offices, so this afternoon, Jon and I walked over and had lunch on the Highline Park. 

Unlike the traditional lobster roll, the Connecticut Roll is just chunks of meat, dressed with butter, paprika, and some green onions. No mayo or anything. Delicious, simple, summery, and fun. 

The Meatball Shop sandwich we had in January felt like the perfect food for that day. The weather, the timing, the location. Everything about it made a certain sense. Today, this Lobster Roll was perfect.

Lobster Roll first bite video 

I’m moving to LA to be a Producer for CollegeHumor! How incredible!

Unfortunately, one of the things I forgot to put in my new contract was that I needed time to finish my sandwich adventure, so we’re trying to push through as many as possible before I never see Eva again in my life.

Copy Eva on the Sloppy Bao. Wish I could have eaten it there.

The Lobster Roll was fantastic. I wish it was bigger.

The High Line Park makes New York seem like the most magical place in the world. Then you walk downstairs and Chelsea is covered in dog poop.

Two sandwich blog time!

#27, Panelle Special, Ferdinando’s Focacceria

Bread, potato, ricotta cheese, and some other cheese make this a pretty bland sandwich. I would not order this again, and it really surprised me that it was on the list above some of the gems we’ve already had. Maybe I’m missing something?

First bite: http://vimeo.com/37558906

#26, Country Ham Biscuit, Egg

Holy smokes it took longer to wait for a table here than eat the dang thing. Clearly the inspiration for Brunchables. I thought the biscuit sandwich was pretty good, but not stellar. The jam or whatever on it was good, and the ham was tasty, but on the whole, I was disappointed. 

First bite: http://vimeo.com/37559898

I feel like getting two posts out of the way, so here goes.

#28, Chicken Shawarma, Karam

Incredible, edible shawarma at a hole-in-the-wall joint in Bay Ridge. This was a delicious sandwich, albeit a bit messy; the whole thing pretty much fell apart in my hands as I was eating it. Many a napkin were lost in pursuit of satiation. They deliver, so you have no excuse.

#31, Muffuletta, Fort Defiance

Defiant, indeed. This hip, on-the-line-of-being-too-smarmy-for-its-britches restaurant is in faraway Red Hook, and they didn’t make it easy for Eva and I to eat this sandwich.

The Muffuletta is only served on weekdays from the hours of 11 AM - 3 PM, which makes it a tricky sandwich to pull off if you’re not interested in taking a four hour lunch break at work (we had to wait until President’s Day for the perfect storm of schedule availability). We actually initially went to Fort Defiance on a weekend, and finding out the sandwich wasn’t on the menu after the long trip was one of the most disheartening moments of this whole sandwich project.

Two versions of the Muffuletta are served at Fort Defiance: pressed and unpressed. One tastes like any old panino, the other tastes more unique. I recommend the cold version and a Barbados Buck (their version of the dark and stormy cocktail) if you ever manage to get out there. 

heyitseva:

SANDWICH PROJECT PRESIDENT’S DAY WEEKEND DOUBLE-HEADER

After a few weeks off due to a busy work schedule, a brunch menu vs. lunch menu snafu, and a 7-10 mile hike through the woods, the sandwich project was in danger of falling seriously behind schedule. And we were in danger of seriously starving to death. President’s Day weekend was the just the opportunity we needed to stuff our fat faces and spend A LOT of time on the train.

#30- The Cuban from El Sitio
 Super authentic atmosphere. As soon as I got off the train, I noticed that almost everyone was Spanish-speaking. El Sitio is half lunch counter, half sit down family-type restaurant. The service was quick, but friendly. Not a lot of chit chat, even though Jon is an EXCELLENT Spanish speaker, as you can see in the first- bite video. 
The sandwich came out hot and melty, served without any kind of fanciness or pretension. This one reminded me a lot of the pork burger from Xian Famous Foods. Just simple, cultural, comfort food, served in a familiar, consistently delicious way.

First bite- http://vimeo.com/37157602

#29 BLT from Frankies Sputino
 An hour later, we got off the train in a totally different environment. Frankies was filled with a typical Brooklyn brunch crowd, and we enjoyed a DELIGHTFUL cocktail while waiting for a table. Frankies didn’t seem to have any back kitchen area, which was a pretty interesting choice. All the food was made in this almost apartment-sized kitchen setup, right next to the bar. 

Now, the BLT is one of my favorite sandwiches, and a frequent mention in the “if you could only eat one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner every day for the rest of your life, what would you choose?” game. And this BLT was pretty amazing. The bacon was cut super thick and meaty. The lettuce was crisp and the tomato was bright and had a super tasty sweetness and acidity. The bread on this guy is also really thin, so there’s nothing to distract you from getting at the real B, L and T here. The Frankies location we went to is right next door to Prime Meats, from the Egg on a Biscuit incident from last year. My overall experience at Frankies was very similar to Prime Meats- tons of places make a BLT, but almost no one makes one quite as good as this.

First bite- http://vimeo.com/37157476

In the (p)interest of time, I’ll just go ahead and agree with Eva on the points she made above, EXCLUDING THESE:

• I’m an okay Spanish speaker pero estoy practicando.
• The BLT from Frankie’s Spuntino was incredible. I could eat it everyday.
• These two days and actually the whole weekend really put the adventure in sandwich adventure. It wasn’t so much about fun, but rather doing work on this list. High fives all around.

#32 Turkey Leg Sandwich, Henry Public

Holy smokes this was a great sandwich. The listing describes it thusly: “Braising turkey legs in milk makes for a minor miracle.” Agreed wholeheartedly. I don’t know if you can tell from the pictures, but this thing was huge, easily the length of my outstretched hand and the width of one and a half of my outstretched hands. But because the turkey was never dry, I never grew tired of eating the sandwich. The bread was toasted perfectly; one side was close to burnt, but the other side was just the perfect amount of soggy with the delicious juices of the milk-braised turkey.

And the restaurant itself? Charming. A bit on the dark side, a bit on the smaller side, but very relaxing. It’s kinda out of the way in terms of public transit, but it’s a great spot for dinner if you can manage it.

heyitseva:

#34 Porchetta Calabrese, Salumeria Rosi

Often when I sit down to a nice meal, I’ll say some comment about “civilization”- “a little civilization is so nice”, or “Ah. I love being civilized”. 

A good meal can do that. We work hard. We eat bad food, and convenient food, and we settle all the time. We have to. But every now and then, a civilized meal can do a lot to remind you that there is a better way to live, and within reason, you can live it.

Yesterday, I had a lovely five dollar footlong from Subway with a bunch of nonsense shit on it (“…uh and put some of that chipotle sauce on there, I guess?”). Today, I had the Porchetta Calabrese at Salumeria Rosi. 

The restaurant is half specialty deli, half nice restaurant. The concept is “Tuscan tapas” or small plates. Everything comes out as soon as it’s ready. This sandwich was really something special. The first bite is like this subtle combination of warm richness, without being heavy. And as you eat it, you can slowly distinguish the individual flavors- quietly spicy, flavorful, expertly crafted in ratio and portion size. A real show of intelligence, quality, and restraint. Civilization and class, class, class.

We also got a cheese plate. 

This was definitely an uptown sandwich. Simple ingredients, put together elegantly…it was fantastic. It was the perfect kind of spicy; enough to give you a kick but not intensifying with each subsequent bite. It was enjoyable to feel the spiciness in my mouth.

I’m just not sure if I’d ever go here again. I’d need a very specific type of guest to bring to this restaurant, since it’s a very specific style of food and the taste is so unique. Also, the cheese plate was incredible.

EDIT: Wow this reblog is overdue.