What's On The Sandwich Board?

Greetings, Readers!

I hope the past week has brought you many delicious sandwiches at new places for you.

Speaking of new places, every time I visit Philadelphia, I am amazed at the amount of sandwich shops that have sprung up in my absence. It seems that the City of Brotherly Love is embracing the art of sandwiching past just their fantastic cheesesteaks and roast pork sandwiches.

Case in point: going on a suggestion from Visit Philly (thanks btw!) I stopped at a restaurant I had heard about in whispers for awhile: Jake's Sandwich Board. A few years ago, they had a Ghost Pepper Cheesesteak on the menu which I had wanted to try, but I also did not want my stomach destroyed for a few days on vacation and so passed on it.

This time though, I wasn't going to be swayed. While I didn't see the Ghost Pepper sandwich, there were a number of options that seemed incredible, creative, and daring.

Heading there on a frigid night in late December, Jake's Sandwich Board is a small shop in downtown Philadelphia, a great place to settle in at a table, eat great food, and catch up with friends before heading out to some great bars in that part of town. We headed there one night to catch up with a friend we hadn't seen in awhile, but during dinner we weren't able to do a lot of talking because of the food itself.

I eventually settled on the 50/50, which contained half shredded pork (from locally sourced farms), half bacon, Sriracha spread and shredded provolone cheese.

The pork was plentiful, juicy and flavorful. The sriracha spread definitely gave an incredible spice kick, and the provolone was heavily present. Almost so much that it overpowered the sandwich in some areas. I really love provolone, but maybe a little bit less would help accentuate the delicious pork rather than overpower.

The roll held together until the end and was well made. A definite killer sandwich that I would absolutely have again my next time in Philadelphia.

If you're downtown and looking for a great sandwich stop, I highly suggest you check out Jake's Sandwich Board. While I had a pork sandwich (and there are others), they also offer options with brisket, turkey and veggies. You will have an excellent selection of options before you there.

Until next week...

The 50/50
**** 1/2 Stars
122 South 12th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
http://www.jakessandwichboard.com/

One Last Night Into The Cold

Greetings, Readers!

I hope that those affected by the recent polar vortex have come out stronger on the other side it. I also hope that you took my twitter advice to stay inside and enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup as others tried to throw boiling water into the air to watch it freeze.

You obviously came out on top if you did. And with fewer burns.

When I was visiting Philly last month, it was a bit colder than I had become used to in Los Angeles, but still nowhere near what the weeks after my visit would be like. Regardless, there wasn't a better way to deal with the cold than a night out at the bar with friends for drinks and dinner.

We headed out to Kraftwork Bar, a place I had visited before on a prior trip. This time around, the bar was packed, but after waiting for a seat, we settled down and looked through their excellent dinner menu. I had gone back and forth between a few of the sandwich options, but the Beer Can Chicken Sandwich's call was just too strong to ignore. Paired with a heavy, dark beer we settled into our booth and all caught up with each other.

The sandwich came out shortly (service was excellent even with it being so busy) and looked like a challenge. The shredded chicken was piled high between the light fluffy bun. With every bite, the juicy and marinated chicken nearly dissolved in my mouth, it was that well cooked. Combined with fried long hot peppers, onions and smoky provolone, this sandwich was quickly consumed. A bit of spice, a bit of heat a bit of smoke, a lot of delicious.

The bread really was just there as a way to eat the meal, as whatever flavor it would have added to the sandwich was easily blocked out by the flavorful mash-up in the middle. The sandwich is heavy and plentiful so if you're hungry and looking to stay warm do the same as I did and pair this up with a dark beer like a porter or stout to complete your meal.

Add some old friends in and you'll complete your night.

Following Kraftwork we walked to Barcade and Frankford Hall, both of which we met up with more people, family included). I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with both of these bars as well and will plan a return visit on my next trip east.

Until next week, Readers...stay warm, and stay full!


Beer Can Chicken Sandwich
**** Stars
Kraftwork Bar
541 E. Girard Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19125
www.kraftworkbar.com

A Stroll through The Italian Market

Greetings, Readers!

This week, I am back in significantly warmer Los Angeles over the bitter cold that was Philadelphia last week.

During my week there, in between the snow storms, I visited the Italian Market with my family and stopped at Paesano's, a small sandwich shop tucked away on a quiet block of the market.

Despite its small size, this place is fairly well known. Recommended to me as well by the Philly Tourism Board, and visited by Bobby Flay and Anthony Bourdain, it was pretty obvious that this needed to be on my radar quite a bit earlier than it was.

Everything on the menu sounded amazing, and has a few choices for vegetarians, but the one that stood out to me the most was the Gustaio: House-made lamb sausage, sun-dried cherry mostarda, Gorgonzola spread, roasted fennel, and arugula.

This sandwich was excellent, but at first my taste buds were hit with conflicting flavors. The lamb sausage is delicious and very savory while the cherry mostarda hit with a definite sweetness that at first seemed so contradictory to the rest of the sandwich that it was...well, interesting. Each successive bite though allowed me to see how these two flavors blended so well together, giving a savory sandwich such bright spots and delicious contrast that it shone above many others before it.

The lamb sausage is delicious, did I mention that? Because it is. Seriously. It's amazing.

The arugula adds a great peppery flavor to the sandwich which was tied together in a delicious flatbread. Overall, the initial sweet/savory contrast may be intense for some, but I highly suggest you continue through and try this sandwich. It's honestly one of the best I've had in the nearly four years I've been writing this blog.

Thanks for the suggestions for Philly, more to come over the next few weeks.

Happy Holidays to all, I hope you get to enjoy many leftover sandwiches in the coming weeks.

Until next week...


Gustaio
**** 1/2 Stars
Paesano's Philly Style
1017 S. 9th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
http://www.paesanosphillystyle.com/