The 100th Post - A Look Back

Dearest of all Dear Readers!

Hello and welcome to the 100th post here at The Danger Sandwich!

100. What a number. Truly crazy that I have gotten this far, but it is because of your support that I have been able to do so. This little blog keeps getting more and more hits every month, so I thank you for pursuing your love of sandwiches along with me.

100 weeks of sandwiching with friends, exploring cities, and finding out what it takes to make a delicious sandwich. It has been an experience that I have thoroughly enjoyed, and I am looking forward to the next 100 entries.

As I mentioned last week, I thought there was no better way to celebrate 10squared than by looking back at my top 10 favorite sandwiches on the first part of this sandwichology journey.

Problem is that I originally came up with about 35. So it took me a bit of time to whittle it down.

Each sandwich name will be clickable to take you back to the original post. Enjoy!

10.) The Winter Chicken Melt (Melt, Cleveland, OH) - My first stop in Cleveland was also rewarding on the sandwich hunt as this chicken melt warmed its way into my stomach.

9.) Mediterranean Madness (HyMart, Noho Arts District, CA) - Grape leaves stuffed in a wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, olives and hummus. What isn't good in this sandwich?

8.) The Stray Dog (The Wien, Los Angeles, CA) - a hot dog truck with high end vision for their dogs? This place is an awesome addition to any warm summer night in LA.

7.) The Schmitter (Citizen's Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA) - At one of my favorite places in the city, this new Philadelphia staple is the perfect complement to a night at the ballpark.

6.) Banh Mi Sandwich (Banh Mi My Tho, Alhambra, CA) - it may be a trek to get to this shop in a strip mall, but the banh mi makes the drive worthwhile...and the price can't be beat.

5.) Hammer and Pickle (The People's Sandwich of Portland, Portland, OR) - A random find in Portland turned out to be the best sandwich I had in the town. An amazing cubano that will knock your socks off.

4.) Lavender Duck Confit Sandwich (Sweetsalt, Toluca Lake, CA) - The only sandwich I've reviewed thus far that uses duck, this sandwich is delicious, and doesn't fall victim to the usual duck problem: greasiness.

3.) Oinkster Pastrami (Oinkster, Eagle Rock, CA) - I talk about a lot of pastrami on this blog, because frankly it's one of my favorite sandwiches. Notable mentions are Brent's Pastrami in Northridge, CA and Paty's in Toluca Lake.

2.) South Street Steaks Cheese Steak (South Street Steaks, Burbank, CA) - No it's not from Philadelphia...technically. This shop, owned by two Philly transplants, is a great dose of home near the studios in Burbank. The best cheesesteak in town.

1.) The Cubano (Porto's, Los Angeles CA) - It's not the only cubano on the list, but it is the best (though not by much, Portland!). This is the sandwich I always go back to whenever I want something good for lunch. It is the standard by which all are measured.


What do you think of the list? Did some entries surprise you? Which of my reviews would you have put up in this list instead?

Eating My Way Through Portland, OR (Part 2 of 5)

Welcome back, Dear Readers!

One of the things that stood out to me while in Portland (especially coming from Los Angeles) was the apparent lack of food trucks at first.

Here in LA, you can't go anywhere without seeing a handful of these trucks driving around, and so I thought with Portland having such excellent food, they ought to have some great food trucks, right?

Well imagine my surprise one night while wandering the city we found an entire parking lot (one square city block) that had food trucks lined all four sides.

Not on the street mind you, inside the parking lot so that you could peruse the food samplings without the trucks blocking traffic.

Excellent idea, but the problem became the fact that there were too many options now.

On my last day in Portland I wanted one last sandwich to really leave a lasting memory, and so while out on a walk we passed by one of the parking lots filled with trucks.  It took me about 20 minutes, and two laps around the perimeter of the lot but I finally decided to eat at a truck called "Eat This".

Simple enough.

What really drew me in was the lead sandwich on their menu: A flatbread sandwich filled with garlic mashed potatoes, Black Angus meatloaf and grilled Walla Walla onions. What could make this sandwich even better? Oh, maybe the fact that the flatbread was handmade to order.

one side of the food truck square

Each flatbread was rolled out when you ordered, and slightly grilled before being stuffed with the ingredients. The bread was fresh, soft, warm ad delicious and wrapped nicely around the ingredients.

The Black Angus meatloaf may have been the best part about any of the sandwiches out here. It was soft, tender but with a slightly grilled outside and a strong Black Angus beef flavor. Even this meat had to have been made in the morning. No day old ingredients at all. The onions were nice and crisp too even after being grilled.

If you haven't guessed by now, I devoured this sandwich. It was amazing and bursting with flavor. If I hadn't been stuffed, or eaten all weekend long, I might have gone back for another.

But for now, I'll just keep it in mind for my next weekend visit.

Join me again next week, for MORE PORTLAND.

Until then, Readers...



Handmade Flatbread with Braised Black Angus Meat Loaf with
Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Walla Walla Onions
**** 1/2 stars
Eat This!
On 9th Avenue between Washington and Alder
Portland, Oregon

Eating My Way Through Portland, OR (Part 1 of 5)

The coolest logo ever.

Hello, Readers!

This past weekend, I made a trip up to the northwest for the first time since my 2009 trip to Seattle. This time I stopped in the city of Portland, Oregon, which is a city I've always wanted to visit since I fell in love with the northwest on my last trip. Coincidentally, this trip was also my last state on the West Coast to visit (and 31st overall).

But what is one to do in the city of Portland? Besides visiting a few historical and sightseeing spots, Portland is well known for its food and beer. Breweries and restaurants are on every corner, and it made the selection of sandwiches for this blog so difficult.

This may be why it'll be a five part series.

Prior to my trip, I had planned out a few spots that I wanted to visit and review for the blog, but today's entry came from a chance wandering through the north part of the downtown area. Passing by an awesome sign with a sickle and a hand holding a sandwich (akin to the former USSR logo), I decided I had to stop into The People's Sandwich of Portland.

Being drawn in by the awesome logo and posters outside, the first challenge of the weekend came in choosing which sandwich to eat. Each with its own cool name, I decided to go with the Hammer & Pickle.

Why you ask? The Hammer & Pickle is a cubano sandwich, and we all know how I feel about cubanos.

I frequently reference the cubano at Porto's in Burbank as being the top sandwich I have eaten since starting this blog, so this sandwich from TPSP had a lot to live up to.

The sliced ham and pork loin were grilled and joined with melted Swiss cheese, crisp pickles, homemade mustard (all condiments are made in house) and mayo (made with organic eggs) and pressed in a french roll on the grill.

The ham and pork loin were tender and delicious. The Swiss was melted throughout the sandwich lending a delicious smoky/savory flavor. I think one of the best surpsises in the sandwich came from the homemade mustard which reminded me a bit of horseradish with that slight burning feeling at the back of your nose.

Note: I love the taste and feeling of horseradish. It is always a good compliment, and that mustard-y feeling is present here in all its delicious glory.

So you stack all of these delicious ingredients into a french roll that's pressed on a grill with a crispy, flaky and golden outside with soft and fresh insides and you have...

The best cubano I have ever eaten. Hands down. All of the flavors blended together incredibly well and were each prominent on their own, contributing their portion of deliciousness.

Oh yeah, and they even threw in a tiny tootsie roll for after your sandwich.

Sorry Porto's of Burbank, you had an excellent run as the top sandwich of the blog, but I will now find other reasons to visit Portland, just to have this sandwich again.

Part 1 of my trip to Portland ended on an incredibly high note, could my other stops live up to the hype?

Until next week...

Hammer & Pickle
***** Stars
The People's Sandwich of Portland
53 NW 1st Street
Portland, OR
sandwichofportland.com