Ode to My Fav Food: The Sandwich

"I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich."- Harry, When Harry Met Sally

Like Joey on "Friends", sandwiches are my ABSOLUTE favorite food. If anyone ever needs a favor from me, all they have to do is bribe me with a sandwich and I'm usually game. Nothing beats them, and, to me, they never get old. I'm a fan of all sorts of sandwiches, subs, hoagies, burgers, wraps...you name it!

I did a little research on the sandwich, (gotta love Wikipedia and its hopefully factual information) and its origins date back as far as the Neolithic period! The concept of the "wrap" came about during these times, when lamb was said to have been wrapped with bitter herbs in flatbread during Passover. The notion of the "open-faced sandwich" occurred during the Middle Ages. But, the type of sandwich that we are most familiar with seems to have gotten its origins in the Netherlands around the 17th century and was popularized around the late 19th-early 20th century when the working class needed fast, portable, inexpensive meals. Pretty interesting.

So, what makes up a great sandwich? For me, it's fresh veggies and cheeses piled high on delicious bread. Top or pair that with a delectable sauce and it's pure heaven.

Here are my Top Ten Favorite Sandwiches.

1. Salami Sub from Blimpie
Blimpie is my absolute favorite place on earth to eat. I never get tired of it and I could literally order a sandwich from there and eat it every day. When I was in college, I nearly did. Blimpie seriously puts Subway and other fast food sandwich shoppes to shame! If everyone who has a Blimpie nearby would try it the next time they're in the mood for a good sandwich I guarantee they wouldn't go back to Subway again! The closest Blimpie to me is in Valdosta--which is a hour and a half away. I have driven to Valdosta on more than one occasion for the soul purpose of getting a Blimpie sub. You may be wondering what makes Blimpie so much better than all the other fast food sub restaurants. The answer is simple--fresh ingredients. Unlike Subway, most Blimpie chains slice their meats and cheeses when you order your sandwich. Their bread is ALWAYS fresh, and the same goes for their ingredients. Most importantly, the tomatoes they use are actually ripe and taste the way a tomato should taste! What I order at Blimpie is very simple, and I never get anything different. I always get a foot long JUST salami sub on wheat bread with provolone cheese. I have this dressed with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, extra pickles (their pickles are fantastic!), onions, and oil and vinegar. Blimpie also offers to cut your sandwich in quarters for you, so it's easier to eat! If you've never eaten at a Blimpie restaurant before, you must go. If what I get sounds disgusting to you, go and get what you would normally order at Subway. I promise it will not disappoint!

2. Boar's Head Italian Sub at Publix
Publix is, by far, my favorite grocery store. They have so much delicious food for sale! It's a big girl's dream come true! Not only that, their deli is awesome. Their ingredients are always fresh. The best part about a Publix sub, though, is the bread. Their bread is amazing! It's dusted in these delicious parmesan-type cheese sprinkles. I love Italian meats and cheeses, so it's no surprise that I get the Boar's Head Italian sub when I go to Publix. I order my sandwich whole on white bread with provolone cheese. The meats featured on the Boar's Head Italian are ham, genoa salami, and capicola. On the sub I get mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, extra pickles (their pickles are also delicious!), onions, and oil and vinegar. And Publix puts so much good stuff on their sandwiches that when they're finished making them the sandwiches don't even close! On top of everything else, your experience at Publix is sure to be a delightful one since they pride themselves on keeping the customer happy!

3. Three-Way Tie For 3: Jersey Mike's, Larry's Giant Subs, and Jimmy John's
As I am sure is already apparent, my favorite type of sandwich to get is an Italian. Very rarely do I stray from the italian meats and cheeses. Jersey Mike's Subs, Larry's Giant Subs, and Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches all tie for third place. At Jersey Mike's, The Original Italian is delicious. It has ham, proschiuttini, capicola, salami, pepperoni, and provolone cheese. Mike's Way has lettuce, tomato, onions, oil, vinegar, and spices. And, I add chipotle mayo for an extra kick! The best thing about Jersey Mike's though--they deliver! I used to get subs delivered to my apartment all the time when I lived in Atlanta, and I loved it! Larry's Giant Subs is also great. Their subs are huge, hence the name! I get Genoa Salami on white bread with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, mayonnaise, Italian dressing, and I add pickles. They also throw in a pickle spear with your sandwich, which is always great.Finally, Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches also comes in third. The Vito, is a great version of the Italian with salami, capicola, provolone, onions, lettuce,tomato, and an Italian vinaigrette. If you love spicy food like me, add hot peppers! Like Jersey Mike's, Jimmy John's also delivers...and the best part...they have giant whole dill pickles! If you love pickles, this is the place to go!

4. Schlotsky's Turkey Original-Style
Now let me put out this disclaimer--Schlotsky's Turkey Original-Style definitely trumps Jersey Mike's, Larry's Giant, and Jimmy John's. However, I have to drive too far to get one! 98 miles, to be exact. Nonetheless, the sandwiches at Schlotsky's are absolutely scrumptious.The Turkey Original-Style has smoked turkey breast and Genoa salami toppedwith melted cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayonnaise, and Schlotsky's signature dressing on homemade toastedsourdough bread. Hold the olives, though, for me! Schlotsky's also makes their own potato chips which are kettle-cooked. The jalapeno are my favorite!

5. Miami Subs Italian- Cold
Another disclaimer--the Italian at Miami Subs also trumps the third place trio. Again though, I have to drive too far to get one--Tampa, Florida! And there's only one Miami Subs in Tampa--which I wouldn't be surprised if they closed soon. Therefore, Miami Subs comes in at number 5. I always order my Italian at Miami Subs cold--though you have the
choice of hot or cold. It includes salami, ham, hot ham, swiss and american cheeses, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, sweet and hot peppers, mayonnaise, and House dressing. They put all this on a freshly toasted sub roll, which is absolutely delish! My only complaint--I have to drive at least 5 hours to get this sandwich! Not cool!

6. Firehouse Subs Italian
I also am a big fan of Firehouse Subs. Their Italian is different from my usual Italian in that its served hot--and I am usually a cold sub fan. However, I do enjoy a good warm Italian from Firehouse on the right occasion. Their Italian has Genoa salami, pepperoni, ham, provolone cheese, and italian seasoning. I get on white bread "Fully Involved" minus the mustard, which includes mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and onion with a pickle spear on the side. You are all probably thrilled to know that the Italian sub section that comprised over half of my top ten list is finally complete! Now for some variety!

7. Gordo's Cubano
If any of you are familiar with Tallahassee, Florida and the FSU campus, you likely have tried Gordo's. It's an authentic cuban restaurant in Tallahassee with an awesome college atmosphere. My spanish class at Bainbridge College (which consisted of me, one other male student, and the instructor) came here for a field trip. I fell in love! The Cubano has ham, seasoned pork, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard all on pressed fresh cubanbread. Check out their website: http://www.gordoscubanfood.com/.
By the way, the word gordo means fat in Spanish! :)

I should probably take time here to mention other noteworthy cuban sandwiches. The Lunch Box, a tiny local restaurant in my hometown of Cairo has a great cuban. The ingredients are always very fresh, and it is nicely pressed.

This past weekend I went to Atlanta to see my best friend Carrie. I have been meaning to get up there for the past year and I finally was able to do it! On Saturday, after we shopped til we dropped, she took me to an authentic cuban restaurant in her hometown of McDonough called Papi's Cuban & Caribbean Grill. It was delicious! I ordered the Authentic Cuban Sandwich. Filled with smoked pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, and mayonnaise--it was quite possibly the biggest cuban sandwich I have ever seen! Additionally, there was a delicious mango-pineapple vinaigrette at our table that I generously poured all over my sandwich! The fried plantains were worth mentioning as well! I was really impressed with this place. Not only was the food great, but the service was outstanding! Our waitress named Jennifer went out of her way to make sure we were satisfied. She even went so far as to ask me if I wanted something to dip my french fries in like ranch dressing, and to ask if we wanted to-go drinks. If you are in the Atlanta area you should give them a try: http://www.papisgrill.com/.

8. Granddaddy's Barbeque Pulled Pork Sandwich
There is a local barbeque restaurant in Thomasville, Georgia--one of Cairo's neighboring town--which has an awesome barbeque sandwich. To me, a good barbeque sandwich has tender pulled pork and delicious barbeque sauce. Granddaddy's definitely has both. I like to mix the mustard-based sauce with the hot and spicy barbeque sauce on my sandwich. I should also mention that Grandaddy's also has really good hand-cut french fries and great fried green tomatoes with a really good ranch-type dipping sauce.

Since I mentioned barbeque I should tell about The Sow Bellies, a barbeque place in Trent's hometown--Hawkinsville. Although I have only eaten there twice, the brisket sandwich was the best I've ever had! If you're in Hawkinsville for the harness racing I highly recommend this sandwich.

9. McDonald's Filet-O-Fish Sandwich
Okay, don't judge me for putting this on the list--but I absolutely love it! Nowhere else can I find a tartar sauce that I love so much, and as I said earlier--a great sauce makes for a great sandwich.

Also worth mentioning are the fish snacker sandwiches at Captain D's. I love the little sub rolls that they come on, and something about the generic foil paper they're wrapped in makes me happy!

10. Cheri's Scramble-Style Patty Melt
I love a good patty melt! My boyfriend and I shared a patty melt one drunken evening, and that was the first thing we ever ate together. Sadly enough, we stole it from my good friend Kelly. Needless to say, she was not pleased. Although the Huddle House has a pretty good patty melt, I think mine is better. This is a totally original recipe that I hope y'all enjoy! You should purchase your hamburger meat in the same quantity to make these patty melts as you would if you were making regular hamburgers.

Cheri's Scramble-Style Patty Melt

1 small package of ground beef
1-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
3:2:1 mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard ratio
Claussen sandwich stacker pickles or Vlasic Dill Pickle Relish (depending on your mood)
1 small onion
butter
salt
pepper
cheyenne pepper
chili powder
white bread

Directions:
Saute chopped onion in butter in a medium saucepan until tender. Set aside. Crumble and cook ground beef over medium heat until browned. Season ground beef while cooking with a little salt, pepper, chili powder, and cheyenne pepper to taste. If you don't like spicy stuff, omit the chili powder and cheyenne pepper. Drain. While ground beef is still quite warm, mix in shredded cheddar cheese and stir. Lightly toast two pieces of white bread--or more if you want to make more than one sandwich. Combine mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard in a 3:2:1 ratio. If you want to add dill pickle relish use this ratio: 3:2:1:1 mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, relish. Spread sauce mixture onto both sides of toasted bread. Spoon ground beef and cheese mixture onto one piece of bread. Spoon sauteed onions on top. If you didn't add dill pickle relish to your sauce mixture top with two Claussen sandwich stackers. Place other piece of bread with sauce on top. Smush down with your hand or a spatula. Slice sandwich into triangled halves. Enjoy!

Other Honorable Mentions:

• Zaxby's Kickin Chicken Sandwich- buffaloed chicken strips with ranch dressing on two pieces of texas toast
• Pickle Patch Deli's Wine & Cheese Sandwich- local Cairo restaurant--turkey and provolone cheese topped with lettuce and tomato on a kaiser roll with special wine and cheese dressing
• My Poppy's Egg Sandwich- I don't eat egg yolks, so my Gigi (my grandmother--pronounced Gig-gy) separates the yolks and whites on two large eggs. Poppy (my grandfather) then deep fries the whites in bacon grease, flipping once the whites are large and slippery-done. His are great because the egg whites are always thoroughly cooked and have several crispy brown egg bubbles on top. This is then served on Harvey's white bread--the kind that is shaped like a perfect square. This makes for a perfect stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth sandwich.
• Trent's Mom's Chicken Salad Sandwiches- I don't know what she does, but her chicken salad was delicious!

And that's all folks! I promise I won't go off on another mile long food tangent for a while! :)