Cold Weather, Warm Sandwich (Part 1)

Greetings Readers and Sandwich Lovers!

I am back from my trip to the East Coast, but not all had gone as planned.

Originally the goal for the blog was to not only sandwich in Philadelphia, but also New York and Washington DC. I had hoped to build up quite a collection of sandwich outings that I had been researching for months.

Numerous roadblocks surfaced with that plan.

For starters, I caught a stomach bug that was going around in the Northeast which sidelined sandwiching as my stomach fought back against me for a number of days, and caused me to cancel my trip to DC altogether.

Secondly, the entire week was absolutely freezing. The day I was in New York the high temperature was only 27. So I had to cut my trip short, but not before I revisited a place I hadn't been for about 6 years.

Carnegie Deli.

This place is known far and wide, even by people who had never been there or even in Manhattan.

I'm sure if you live in or spend more time in the city you could find many other quality delis, but this is THE one of prominence and fame.

Years ago I had tried THE sandwich of sandwiches here: The Woody Allen.

This is a sandwich that is stacked about 6 inches high with pastrami and corned beef with only four small triangles of rye bread keeping the two halves of the sandwich together. It was a monumental task that, sadly, I never finished.

This time around I figured I would tone it back a bit to have a sandwich that would be much more manageable to eat by one person in one sitting. I simply ordered a pastrami sandwich on rye, something that I haven't had in a few days.

Or hours.

Though not as tall as the Woody Allen, this sandwich was still stacked about 4 inches high with freshly sliced, warm pastrami.

This meat was absolutely delicious. Slow cooked for an extended period of time with the slight bite of pickling spices. The flavor was complemented well with spicy deli mustard that I added, but besides the meat, there wasn't anything else on the sandwich.

So while I did love this pastrami sandwich, it was essentially like eating a pile of delicious sliced meat with four scraps of bread. I would have enjoyed some onions, pickles, cole slaw or even Swiss cheese to top it off and add a little textural contrast to the sandwich, because as much as I love pastrami, I like a little variety too.

My return to Carnegie was much more successful than my previous visit, and while many people will enjoy a plain pastrami and bread sandwich, I was hoping for something above and beyond the usual. While the meat was some of the best pastrami I have ever tasted, this sandwich left me wanting more.

And so ended my trek through the cold streets of Manhattan. Wanting to stay for more sandwiching adventures, but absolutely too cold to wander anymore, I left looking for my next place to review in Philadelphia.

Until next week, Readers...



The Pastrami Sandwich
*** 1/2 Stars
Carnegie Deli
854 7th Avenue
New York, NY
http://www.carnegiedeli.com

It May Be Winter, But It's BBQ Time

Greetings, Readers!

I must admit that only a few weeks into the new year, and I've already broken some of my resolutions.

Mainly the one with trying to eat more pork.

This past week I visited a place that has been on the back of my mind ever since they went under renovations last year: Kansas City BBQ Company of North Hollywood.

Now I know you may be skeptical. How could any place in North Hollywood create BBQ as good as the city it's named after, which itself is a bastion of delicious BBQ?

Well, bear with me for a moment here, because you may be surprised.

Back to my breaking of resolutions...

When I arrived at Kansas City BBQ, I had planned to order the sliced pork sandwich and it was on the tip of my tongue when I was asked for my order, but at the last moment I ordered the sliced beef brisket sandwich (hey it's listed as one of their most popular items!).

The sandwich is impressive in size. A double-decker sandwich with three slices of standard white bread, the sliced brisket was delicious. Cooked in their barbecue sauce for twenty (yes TWENTY) hours prior, this thinly sliced meat falls apart in your mouth with each bite.

The brisket is full of smoky (from hickory wood) and spiced flavors (a secret combination of in-house spices) that just permeate your being. The white bread isn't even a factor in this sandwich really. It holds together, but its true function is just to serve as a vehicle for the brisket to be eaten.

So does it live up to the standard of true Kansas City barbecue? Well, I'm sure that if you sat down to a traditional barbecue place in that area, you'd find some pretty amazing restaurants, but honestly The Kansas City BBQ Company does an amazing job at creating delicious barbecue sandwiches far away from the area generally associated with the style of food.

For sides, definitely get some of the baked beans (full of smoky flavor and shredded beef) as well as the potato salad (a mildly spicy mustard based style). You won't be disappointed.

So Readers, I'll be wrapping up for a bit here in Los Angeles, as I will be back east next week and sandwiching in Philadelphia, New York and possibly DC. I have some ideas picked out, but if you have any suggestions, I would gladly take them.

Until next week...


Sliced Beef Brisket Sandwich
**** 1/2 Stars
Kansas City BBQ Company of North Hollywood
10863 Magnolia Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91601
http://www.thekansascitybbqcompany.com/

Sandwiches....For Breakfast?

Greetings, Readers!

I realized the other week not that sandwiches can be for breakfast (as I've done that numerous time), but I realized that I rarely review them on the blog.

So this past weekend, while out wandering The Grove in Hollywood, we sat down to brunch at the French inspired Marmalade Cafe.

A sunny, open and airy little cafe along the main drag in The Grove, Marmalade Cafe was made to have brunch in.  Not only the atmosphere but their selection of breakfast/lunch hybrids is excellent.

Deciding to pass on the tempting Colorado Lamb Burger, I went with Bobby's Breakfast sandwich: two fried eggs, applewood smoked bacon, crisp lettuce, a slice of tomato and pepper jack cheese on toasted sourdough bread.

With a side of roasted potatoes this is an excellent brunch offering.

I may have also had it with a blood orange margarita (I totally did. I love blood oranges. Love).

The eggs, cheese and bacon provides the typical breakfast offering with crisp and fresh lettuce, as well as a non-mealy tomato that combined added a clean tasting contrast to the fried eggs and bacon.

Though don't misinterpret me. The eggs were perfectly cooked and the bacon had a crispness without being overcooked. Combined, they were delicious.

The sourdough bread as well, was toasted to perfection and held together until the end of the meal.

Overall, this is an excellent entry in anyone's brunch repertoire and you should definitely visit Marmalade Cafe if you ever stop at the grove.

But somehow I forgot until after we ate that Gordon Ramsay's The Fat Cow is also located at The Grove, a place I have been wanting to visit since their opening a few months ago, but this was at least a very enjoyable replacement experience.

Next time, Chef Ramsay!

And until next week, Dear Readers...


Bobby's Breakfast Sandwich
**** Stars
Marmalade Cafe
The Grove
Los Angeles, CA

New Year's Resolutions

Greetings, Readers!

Hopefully 2013 finds you well so far and that you finished celebrating the holiday season in style.

But now it's back to work.

I've decided that there are a few things that need to be accomplished here at The Danger Sandwich in order for me to improve my sandwiching abilities.

1.) More vegan sandwiches. Why, you ask? Did I decide to go vegan for the new year? Not a chance, but I do enjoy vegan meals quite often as an occasional substitution from my love of bacon and other meats. Also, it seems as if I'm just tempting my non-meat eating readers here with all of my delicious, delicious bacon stories.

Speaking of which...

2.) More pork sandwiches. Why? Why not? I'm not talking pork bacon but any type of pork product sandwiches. I've done a few, but not quite a lot.

3.) Get outside of Los Angeles....more. I've been to a few other cities to review sandwiches, but I think now is the year to really step up the travelling game for sandwiching. Which cities are you in readers? Is there a sandwich that I should come to town to try?

So those are my ideas to step up the sandwiching game this year. What other suggestions do you have Dear Readers?

I eagerly await your constructive and helpful criticism.

The Twelve Days of Sandwiching

Greetings, Readers!

I hope that the holiday season has left you in high spirits without completely bankrupting your wallet.

Because otherwise, how would you afford even the most inexpensive sandwich?

Having finished my holiday shopping early (actually in record time this year) Charlene and I decided to stop in for a sandwich on Saturday afternoon to enjoy our relaxing weekend before Christmas.

Again, this is a record first for me.

Spending time in downtown Burbank we decide to stop into the Market City Caffe at the Corner of Palm and San Fernando. This spacious Italian bistro was surprisingly empty for a Saturday at lunch, but all the better for us as we were seated and enjoying their delicious breadsticks in no time.

Looking at the menu, my eyes went directly to the Panini section and stopped at the Panini Salami: goat cheese, imported salami, arugula, olive oil, baby lettuce and tomato on a French roll.

Hearing the word "panini" though I half expected this sandwich to be grilled or warm, but it was not. This was not a disappointment, but actually came as a pleasant surprise. The sandwich tasted fresher than it would have been after being grilled with butter or oil on the bread.

There was a nice amount of salami on the sandwich without being too overpowering for the other ingredients.  The arugula and lettuce added a little bit of crunch as well as fresh green flavors. The goat cheese was a great complement of strong flavor to the salami but was also not overpowering of the greens.

The French roll it was served on was lightly toasted on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and as delicious as the amazing breadsticks the Market City Caffe serves as an appetizer.

I can also guarantee that the sandwich is still delicious as leftovers hours later.

So what about you, Readers? Have you enjoyed any sandwiches over the holiday season? Is there one in particular you are looking to try before 2012 comes to a close?

Until next year, Dear Readers...


Panini Salami
**** Stars
Market City Caffe
164 E. Palm Avenue
Burbank, CA 91502
http://www.marketcityburbank.com

Meals on Wheels

Greetings, Readers!

As you know from reading this blog, I love sandwiches.

What I love even more is when a sandwich is delivered to me at my doorstep.

Enter, The Melt.

The other week here at my day job, we were given lunch from The Melt truck, which just so happens to be a tech-lover's dream as well.

In the front door of the truck sits a screen showing you the process of each sandwich ordered. It's a fun thing to watch, but also hard to tell which sandwich is yours as they weren't taking names on the day that we had our lunch.

Which lead to confusion later as sandwiches were being handed out to the wrong people.

Ah well, but was the sandwich delicious?

I ordered the Italian Job combo which included a Fontina and Provolone grilled cheese with a side of chips, a pickle and Italian sausage soup.

Oh, and of course I added bacon to the sandwich. Like that wasn't going to happen.

The sandwich itself had the perfect amount of cheese. Very melty, with the complementary flavors of Provolone and Fontina, but not too much that that I was choking on the sandwich with each bite.

The bacon added a bit of crispness along with the grilled bread to complement the softer insides.

Also, the sandwich was grilled after being covered in garlic and red pepper flakes giving it a nice dose of spice to the mix.

Overall, the sandwich was delicious and well made without overdoing any of its ingredients. My main complaint is just the process of getting sandwiches to customers, which in a large group it became quickly apparent that without taking names the order delivery became a bit confusing.

Not something that should keep you away, but one of the very few ways in which the truck service could improve.

Until next week, Dear Readers!


The Italian Job Combo
**** Stars
The Melt Truck
https://themelt.com/menu

Straight From the Kitchen

Greetings, Dear Readers!

Recently I sat down for dinner at a local Italian restaurant, Maria's Italian Kitchen.

Now, the funny thing about this restaurant is that I have been here, or ordered food from here numerous times in the past, but having arrived for dinner I realized I had never written a review for any of their sandwiches before.

Which made me think I should change that this time around.

Of course, I usually show up and order some pasta dish, because well, that's what this place is exceptionally good at making.

So having decided to go with a sandwich this time, I picked the Hand Rolled Meatball sandwich. Made with their own house-ground pork and beef meatball, this sandwich is compact, but stuffed with the generously portioned meatballs and topped with a healthy dose of marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

The meatballs were absolutely delicious. Tender and filled with flavor, I could easily eat an entire plate of these alone if I was so inclined (there's an appetizer of just that, BTW).

The marinara sauce is a bit tangy and thoroughly covers the meatballs, without being overpowering or turning the crisply toasted Italian roll into mush.

The mozzarella cheese is something that could have severely affected this sandwich negatively. When you have a lot of cheese that is melted on top of a sandwich, you can easily make it too chewy, becoming a severe choking hazard.

Despite the amount of cheese topping off this sandwich though, it's easy to bite through and adds its nice baked cheese flavor to finish off the sandwich.

Even though the meatball sandwich is something that has been done at almost every Italian restaurant or shop, the one made at Maria's Italian Kitchen has a slight edge over previous ones I've tasted (even this one from Little Toni's).

Until next week, Dear Readers...


Hand Rolled Meatball Sandwich
**** Stars
Maria's Italian Kitchen
13353 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
http://www.mariasitaliankitchen.com