sandwich Archives - Hungry Travelers

sandwich

Dining in the Dior fashion in Paris

Posted on May 1, 2024May 1, 2024 by Pat and David

We'll never rise to the style of Mathilde Favier, the focus of the lovely new book Living Beautifully in Paris (Flammarion, $75). It's really no surprise that Favier, PR manager for Dior Couture, has cultivated a unique sense of style in her wardrobe and home and surrounded herself with talented, chic friends. The book is filled with photos that capture the grace and allure of the City of Light. It's all we can do not to book two tickets for the next available flight. And it's encouraging to know that whatever our sartorial deficiencies, we could eat like Favier in Paris. At least some of the time. Her friends may include Michelin-starred chefs (below, at left), but she's also fond of simple, honest bourgeois French...Read More

Going to see the inventor of chopped cheese

Posted on December 29, 2023December 29, 2023 by Pat and David

This year being the semi-official 50th anniversary of hip hop, we're reminded how certain deeply embedded bits of culture are actually not all that old. Take the NYC bodega lunch counter special, the ‶chopped cheese″ sandwich. We admit that when we enountered a bodega in Chelsea that advertised the ‶best chopped cheese in New York,″ we had to ask what it was. But we didn't feel that ignorant. No greater local food expert than Anthony Bourdain was also infamiliar with the culinary phenomenon synonymous with the Manhattan neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights and the nearby South Bronx. The name of the sandwich appears to be short for ‶chopped cheeseburger.″ Foraging freely on the web, we converged on the generally accepted birthplace of the chopped...Read More

Chicago-style Italian beef springs up near Boston

Posted on August 5, 2023August 5, 2023 by Pat and David

Like many food-crazed Americans, we were mesmerized by the Hulu TV show, The Bear. We even recreated the act-of-love boursin omelet in episode 9 of season 2. (The critical element, we learned, is not putting the beaten eggs through a sieve. Crumbling sour-cream-and-onion crinkle-cut potato chips on top makes all the difference.) Okay. We could do that. And did. And even made our own boursin substitute with goat cheese, Greek yogurt, grated garlic, and chopped chives. It was every bit as good as the original. But there was no way that we were going to experience the show's Italian-American Chicago beef sandwich without an expensive road trip. Or so we thought, until Devra First in the Boston Globe tipped us off to Culinary Delights (229...Read More

Who could pass up a hot salami sandwich?

Posted on April 19, 2023April 20, 2023 by Pat and David

We made an exception of scheduling only dinner at James Beard American Classics when we discovered an irresistible deli/sandwich shop in a city we'd be passing around noon. Besides, it was only a 10 minute detour from the interstate to enjoy lunch in a historic Italian American neighborhood in St. Louis. How could we possible drive past? Gioia's Deli (1934 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, 314-776-9410, gioiasdeli.com) has anchored a corner of “The Hill” in St. Louis since 1918. It sits across the street from Berra Park in the Italian American neighborhood. Although the park is not named for Yogi Berra, the Yankees catcher and manager did grow up here and locals are happy to point you to his house. We like to imagine that...Read More

Getting a well-designed sandwich at Cheapside Cafe

Posted on October 15, 2019September 20, 2019 by Pat and David

Selecting the single best sandwich in every state is a pretty tall order. But when People magazine published its list in May of this year, they made a great selection for the state of Ohio. First of all, Cheapside Cafe (326 East 8th St., Cincinnati; 513-345-6618, cheapsidecafe.com) is not an obvious choice. The stylish little place, with a long counter made of wood from an old paper mill, sits a bit off the beaten path in a design-oriented neighborhood. It's open every day, but for breakfast and lunch only. Jon Mouch and his partner Joseph Creighton opened Cheapside in May 2014. “We've been offering the same menu since day one,” Mouch told us when we stopped in for breakfast. Chief among those menu items is...Read More

Sentimental Journey: Old neighborhood tastes of Mile End

Posted on June 25, 2018June 30, 2018 by Pat and David

Sometimes we pine for the old days of Montreal tribalism. Living on Le Plateau meant you spoke French at home and ate feves au lard every Saturday night. Growing up in Mile End meant you spoke English at home (with maybe a little Yiddish) and were by birth an expert on bagels. Mind you, the two neighborhoods are so close that Montreal Tourism lumps them together. Mile End extends east from Parc Mont-Royal to boulevard Saint-Laurent, and north from boulevard Saint-Joseph to the railroad tracks. Through most of the twentieth century, it was home to aspiring immigrants, including many Central and Eastern European Jews immortalized in the novels of native son Mordecai Richler (The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz). Nowadays, it's pretty cosmopolitan, filled with good...Read More

Costeaux proves one cannot live on wine alone

Posted on December 26, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

The most famous of Persian poet Omar Khayyam's quatrains suggests that “paradise enough” consists of a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and his beloved beside him in the wilderness. Healdsburg has dozens of potential wine suppliers to the paradise picnic, but the loaf have to come from Costeaux French Bakery (417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-433-1913, costeaux.com). We were already well-acquainted with Costeaux's breads before we ever stepped foot in the downtown bakery and cafe. Honor Mansion makes most of its breakfast goodies from scratch, but there's no homecooked substitute for the Cinnamon Walnut loaf from Costeaux. (We know. We tried and failed to get the recipe.) It's a hand-rolled eggy bread dense with chopped walnuts and aromatic cinnamon. Sweet icing glazes the top...Read More

Fall River has grip on wacky sandwiches

Posted on May 9, 2017May 8, 2017 by Pat and David

In its heyday, Fall River, Massachusetts, was a factory town par excellence. And that's just the sort of place where the need for economy meets the imagination of restaurateurs to produce some of the most innovative and inexpensive casual eats. Just as ballplayers of old seemed to spring full-formed from the soil of America's farms, some of the wackiest contributions to American handheld cuisine spring from the creativity of grill cooks and chefs of the country's lunch counters and diners. And Fall River has some great ones, as we detailed this past Sunday in the Boston Globe's travel section. (Read the story here.) It doesn't spoil the fun to hint at the menu. It includes the chouriço and fries sub at Nick's Coney Island Hot...Read More

Indulge at Rashers with all bacon, all the time

Posted on October 18, 2016October 12, 2016 by Pat and David

There's something to be said for doing one thing and doing it well. Rashers opened in Toronto's Leslieville neighborhood in 2012 with a laser focus on the bacon sandwich. Owners John Clark and Richard Mulley firmly believe that bacon is more than a trendy garnish or a handy meat for foodie experimentation. In the Rashers universe, bacon is a culinary building block. Not just for BLTs anymore, bacon is the foundation for a whole range of sandwiches. It is a new standard under which hand-held cuisine can march forward into a gastronomic future. The Leslieville storefront (948 Queen St. East, 416-710-8220, www.rashers.ca) is as minimal as the menu. Hardly more than 20 feet wide at the street, it consists of a few high stools lined...Read More

Peameal bacon shows the salty side of Hogtown

Posted on October 15, 2016October 12, 2016 by Pat and David

“The peameal bacon sandwich is Toronto's most unique food,” says Robert Biancolin, who runs Carousel Bakery at the St. Lawrence Market with his brother Maurice. “It's like what the Philly cheesesteak is to Philadelphia.” The Biancolin brothers' bakery is one of the busiest spots in the bustling market. Most customers wait patiently in line to place their orders and then walk away with peameal bacon sandwiches wrapped in shiny silver foil. Those with big appetites might also order one of Carousel's melt-in-your mouth butter tarts, another Toronto specialty. Robert and Maurice have been serving peameal bacon sandwiches in the market for 40 years. During a lull in business, Robert (at right) enthusiastically relates some of the history of Toronto's signature style of back bacon. He...Read More