New Site, Same Great Sandwiches

My Dear, Dear Readers.

You have made this job of sandwiching so much fun over the past few years, and I thank you for joining me on this amazing journey through food.

But now it's time for a change. It's time for a revamped blog, something that can add so much more to the experience while I stick to my life mission of finding fantastic sandwiches.

So next Wednesday, I will be launching the new version of this blog at www.thedangersandwich.com, no more blogspot, no more extended web address, just straight shootin', Tex.

I am able to keep this blog going because of you, and because of that I will need your help in spreading the word of The Danger Sandwich. So, I hope you'll come, check it out and spread the word.

I hope you're as excited about the coming changes as I am.

Until next week...

Next Evolution Barbecue

Greetings, Readers!

I write to you after surviving the onslaught of food and beer that I was subjected to in the great state of Colorado.

But I am not complaining. What I did find out firsthand this past weekend is that not only does Colorado have numerous fantastic craft breweries, but their food is also worth the trip.

While I did not find any sandwiches I would say were specifically from Colorado, I did find two excellent places that I would revisit in the future.

The first stop, which came after a day of driving through the Colorado countryside and visiting three breweries (New Belgium, Odell, and Grimm Brothers), was Smokin' Daves BBQ and Taphouse in Estes Park.

After an exhausting day of sampling 12+ beers at each stop, we all took our time with the menu and relaxed in the atmosphere of this barbecue joint in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. A  I had a hard time deciding between all of the great options, but our waiter easily put the issue to rest.

"So what would you recommend? The Texas Beef Brisket sandwich or the Pitmaster?" I asked, and without hesitation he responded:

"The Pitmaster. It's got three meats." As if the choice was self evident.

Well, good enough for me.

The Pitmaster comes on a fresh hoagie roll and is packed with Carolina Pulled Pork, Texas Beef Brisket and Elgin Cheddar Jalapeno sausage. It's just as intense as it sounds.

Despite the three different meats, the barbecue sauce, and the tangy barbecue mustard I added to it, each bite showed off the three different meat flavors. The overall sensation was filled with tangy, spicy and smoky notes with the savory combinations of the brisket and pulled pork and the kick of the jalapeno sausage.

The roll was a standard hoagie roll that held together well until the end, but it wasn't entirely a noticeable part of the sandwich, not because the roll is bad, but because the barbecue was so good. It was a collection of balanced flavors, textures and smells.

It's also a pretty hefty sandwich, one large enough to help cure a hangover, though you'll probably be taking some home in the end for your next hangover. Now, if you're not huge on barbecue, this may not be the sandwich for you, as it is truly the next stage in the evolution of barbecue excellence.

But then again, if you're hanging out in Colorado for the weekend, why not go for gold?

Our first sandwich excursion in Colorado turned out to be an incredible success, and I think all of us would agree it was a great way to wrap a day of exploring Colorado's beers, but could next week's entry from Boulder top this delicious barbecue offering?

Until next week...


The Pitmaster
**** 1/2 Stars
Smokin' Daves BBQ and Taphouse
820 Moraine Avenue
Estes Park, CO 80517
www.smokindavesq.com

Turning Up The Heat With Some BBQ

Greetings, Readers!

Hopefully you all had an excellent Labor Day weekend of pool parties, relaxing, and barbecues.

And maybe a little less heat and humidity than us here in Los Angeles.

It's a rare day indeed when escaping north to Santa Clarita means a break from the stifling heat that was in LA, but this past weekend I went to meet with my friend Justin for a day of comic booking and sandwiching in his hometown.

With the Labor Day holiday in mind, we headed to Rattler's Bar B Cue, a local restaurant with a deep love of good, home-cooked barbecue food.

Everything on the menu looked appealing and I even originally thought I would order a plate of Tri Tip instead of a sandwich, but I finally settled on a good ol' BBQ standard: a Pulled Pork Sandwich.

The thin strands of pork were so incredibly tender and juicy that every bite just melted in your mouth. The barbecue sauce added was exceptionally flavorful with contributions of smoky and tangy flavors. You can tell good barbecue when there is a wide range of flavors attacking your taste buds. Hidden beneath the smoky and tangy flavors, there were light sensations of sweet and spice as well. All blended together for an excellent experience..

Every table is also equipped with a jar of more barbecue sauce that can be used to douse anything you want. In my case, the Fire Fries were covered in the sauce, as well as my sandwich halves.

Let's be honest with ourselves: you can really never have enough barbecue flavoring, right?

I also ordered the sandwich Southern Style, which included a helping of sweet cole slaw on top of the piled-high pulled pork. The crunchy and sweet slaw contrasted well with the tender and smoky pork to create a wonderful experience of competing flavors. I'm sure the sandwich tastes well enough without it, but the addition of cole slaw makes it top notch.

While the French bread roll isn't anything to write home about, it did stay together well until the end, and was an excellent tool to soak up more of the table-side barbecue sauce.

The Fire Fries also come as advertised. I had imagined some spice would accompany this side because of the name, but I was fairly surprised by how much heat each fry provided. If you plan on eating the entire side, I recommend that you be someone who truly enjoys some heat.

Overall, my experience at Rattler's was an incredibly enjoyable one. The meal was top notch BBQ, and the delicious table side garlic rolls and drinks in mason jars added to the enjoyment of the meal.

So that was my Labor Day sandwiching adventure with delicious barbecue. What sandwiches did you have at barbecues this holiday weekend?

Until next week, Readers...


Pulled Pork Sandwich
**** Stars
Rattler's Bar B Cue
26495 Golden Valley Road
Santa Clarita, CA 91351
http://www.rattlersbbq.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/

So long Summer, So long Ohio

Greetings, Readers!

This post is a little bit bittersweet, as it contains the review for the last sandwich I had on my Ohio trip this time around.

Like I had mentioned in the first post of this trip, I was in Ohio for a wedding which took place at Mapleside Farms in Brunswick, OH.

If there's something I miss with living in Los Angeles, it's living closer to apple orchards (the closest ones are more than an hour and a half east of here), so it was great to not only visit one, but to witness a wedding there. I can only imagine how gorgeous the trees would look in late October, but for today is was sticky, hot and humid.

But luckily, no rain.

Sitting down in the cool air conditioning at Melrose Grille after the ceremony I was looking for a good summertime sandwich. The Beef brisket sandwich stood out to me immediately.

I figured with the summertime coming to a close, this might be the best way to end my summer sandwiching adventures.

The thick sliced brisket starts off by being smoked by applewood from the orchard's trees. After being slow cooked in the house barbecue sauce, the brisket is piled onto a bun and topped with cheddar cheese and cole slaw.

The brisket was excellent. The apple smoke gave the brisket a nice smooth smoky flavor, while the barbecue sauce gave a strongly tangy flavor to the sandwich creating an excellent contrast. The cheese also played into the smoke flavor with its own mild and smooth contribution while the cole slaw added a slightly sweet flavor to the mix. All of this contrasting and complementary flavors played off of each other to create an amazingly delicious summer sandwich.

The bun could have been a bit better as it tended to be soggy towards the end, but it did its job for the most part thought it had nothing spectacular in the way of flavor.

It's just a shame that this place is so far removed from Cleveland that it's not actually easy to get to, unless you happen to be in the area.

Ah well.

On our last night in Cleveland we stopped at a highly recommended bar called The Beer Engine in Lakewood. This place is a beer lovers heaven. The menu is thick both with beers on tap as well as bottles/cans. The first one to stand out to me was a beer that I had been wanting to try forever, Southern Tier Brewing Co.'s Pumking Pumpkin Ale.

This beer smelled like warm pumpkin pie and tasted like it too, with just a hint of vanilla.

Definitely a great way to end a trip to Ohio, and definitely a great way to begin the transition to Autumn food and drinks.

So now with the Fall officially beginning this weekend, what sandwiches are you looking forward to having the most to get you in the mood for the season?

Until next week...


Beef Brisket Sandwich
**** 1/2 Stars
Melrose Grille
294 Pearl Road
Brunswick, OH 44212

Let's Talk About Burgers

Greetings, Readers!

This week I figured I would do something a little different here on the blog. Something I've never done before really.

So, let's talk about burgers, shall we?

I have reviewed a lot of burgers here at The Danger Sandwich, and with it being the summer I've talked about them a lot too.

But I've never written about how I actually prefer to make my own on the grill.


I like to start by getting about a pound to a pound and a half of either ground sirloin or ground chuck. These two meats have some definite differences though.

I've been on more of a health kick lately, so I've been reaching for ground sirloin more as the fat content is a lot less. The problem with this can be a less flavorful, less juicy burger compared to the chuck, but does this in no way imply that you will have a tasteless slab of meat. Sirloin is delicious, and so is chuck. It becomes a personal preference, so test both out and decide which you like more.

I'll toss the ground beef into a mixing bowl and grab some seasoning: Kosher Sea Salt (the grains are much bigger than table salt), black pepper, garlic and a dry rub mix like Grill Mates Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning (totally not being paid to say that).

When the spices are fully mixed into the meat, I'll grab a canister of grated Parmesan cheese and about about a quarter to a half cup of that to meat and ground it in.

Now another option I've done with cheese in the past is making a central pocket of melted cheese. While building your patties, you can make a depression in the center, fill it with your favorite type of cheese (feta for me though it doesn't really melt) and then cover it up with more meat, making for a delicious center. The other option with I also enjoy is using your favorite cheese and mixing it in along with the Parmesan so you have cheese mixed in throughout the burger. Either way has turned out to be excellent, again it's up to you.

Lastly, something I've only done very recently employs my favorite meat of all time: Bacon.

This is something to do for those of you who are looking for a true meat bonanza. Take strips of thick cut bacon and wrap your burger patties in it.

Yes. Do it.

Just make sure that you spray down your grill or pan with a bit more non-stick spray so that the bacon doesn't stick and peel off of your burger. The bacon will help keep some of the fat of the burger from escaping, while also blending its own juices into the burger. It's really an amazing, and decadent addition.

Cook until medium-rare to medium. I prefer a little bit of pink on the inside, but you want to make sure that bacon is a little crisp so it adds some texture to the patty, especially if you've made patties nearly 1/2 pound in size.

And that ladies and gentlemen, is how I make my favorite home made burger patties.  

If you try this out, let me know what you think.

But also, how do you make your favorite custom made burger patties.

And you vegetarians/vegans, do you make your own burgers too? If so, how?

Until next week, Readers...

A Desert Oasis of Sandwiches

Greetings Dear Readers!

For this week's post, I contemplated not even reviewing the sandwich so as not to give away one of my favorite remote places in Los Angeles county, but realizing that I have a job to do (and that most people won't make the 45 minute trek) I decided it was okay to blab.

I took a trip this past weekend out to Littlerock, CA, a small desert town near Palmdale in LA county.

Littleorck is a very small town with lots of area of open desert straddling route 138, but along this tiny road is an outpost of delicious treats, and excellent sandwiches.

Appearing out of the hot desert sands is Charlie Brown Farms, a general store with a deli counter, a wine tasting room, toys, games, kitsch, locally grown foods, and so many more things it's amazing they all fit it into one building.

Your first time here though, you could probably spend about a half hour trying to decide which sodas you may want to take home (note: a lot of the ones here are made with real can sugar and not corn syrup. dig it.)

The sandwich that I had been craving was the BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich, and I decided that it was time to make the trip out again to enjoy it.

Readers beware though, on a typical day you will wait about a half hour for your food, but it really is worth it.

For this pulled pork sandwich, the fine folks at CBF really love to stack as much of the meat on as possible, which is perfectly fine with me, because the pork is delicious. It's slow roasted until it's so tender that it just falls apart.

You may get a few pieces of pork that are slightly more well done than others, but it's still great. The smoky flavors added from the more well done pieces really stand out and I feel like it makes them even more delicious.

On top of the pork, they pour two healthy doses of barbecue sauce. So much so that the bread really does not hold up to this sandwich. By the time I got to my table, the bread had already soaked up a good portion of the bbq sauces and started to fall apart by the third bite. But this didn't stop me.

Even if I happened to be wearing a pristine white shirt.

I know that I really push the importance of good bread, and I don't want any of you to think I'm retracting my statements on that topic, but in this situation, it really serves its purpose by holding the sandwich together as long as possible before you start to use your fork.

That being said, I wonder if this sandwich would get the five stars if the bread were a better selection.

Regardless, make the drive out to Charlie Brown Farms, preferably before the summer heat as it'll easily kick up to 115 degrees out there, as this sandwich really is worth your time.

Until next week Readers!

**** Stars

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich

Charlie Brown Farms

8317 Pearblossom Highway

Littlerock, CA 93543

A Delicious Find

Dear Readers!

There is something you should know:

Sometimes in life, when we are not even in search of the Danger Sandwich, a potential candidate will find you. Sometimes those instances can lead you to greatness, even when you don’t expect it.

Could this be ones of those surprises?

Recently while on a trip to Torrance in search of home brew supplies, I was greeted with an unexpected surprise. After drinking a significant amount of homebrew with the shop owners, I wandered across the street and found The Red Car Brewery.

While not particularly special looking, I did enjoy the idea of some microbrews with great pub foods. I also needed a sandwich that would help me back into a state in which I could drive again.

And boy did I find a great pub sandwich. A wonderful BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich.

The BBQ pork had been cooked to perfection. The pork easily fell apart in my mouth and almost melted away.

The only detraction from the pork was the sauce. While it was delicious, smoky, a bit spicy and really an excellent pairing with the pork, there was just a little too much BBQ sauce added to the pork and the sandwich. Some bites were almost overpowering because of the strong flavor. A little less sauce would have been spot on.

The roll was very well prepared. Lightly grilled on the inside, It added quite a bit of support without being too tough. The problem that you can have with sandwiches like this is usually one of two things: 1.) the bread is too soft, and it falls apart because of the sauce and heavy filling; or 2.) the bread is too tough or thick and detracts from the tender insides.

This roll managed to walk the line between the two.

The side of garlic fries were an excellent addition to the sandwich as well. Crispy, golden brown on the outside with a soft and warm inside, these fries would be delicious on their own, but when you add a ton of grilled garlic on top, it can’t be beat.

Overall, the sandwich was delicious and was a nice reminder of the summer months on a cool autumn day. Is it worth driving the 40 minutes from Los Angeles just to eat? Probably not, but at least I’d try to find some other things to do in Torrance to make the trip worthwhile.

Until next time, FOLLOWERS OF DANGER!

*** ½ Stars
Red Car Brewery
1266 Sartori Avenue
Torrance, CA