Regrets, I've Had A Few

Greetings, Readers!

I hope this past week finds you sandwiching well. I've been taking quite a bit of time in working on my novel for National Novel Writing Month and haven't had as much time to do sandwiching on my own, but all is well.

Or is it?

The problem is that, even had I actually gotten out to have another sandwich, one recent stop left such a sour taste in my mouth that I thought I would give it a quick mention in regards of what most sandwich places should really try to avoid.

Frozen burger patties. Flat, lifeless burger patties. And even worse, the combination of both.

Having stopped between drinks at The Bruery, I was reminded again that the combination of the two is horrific. If you're going to be an established restaurant, and you're not trying to be McDonalds or other fast food chains, don't use this atrocity of meat (if it really is even meat). If you're trying to be a restaurant that is a local, family owned hot spot, please go the extra mile and make a standout burger. The change in the patty on my melt could have made a huge difference.

As you can see in the photo above, even one slice of the bread is thicker than the patty itself.

While this visit (which will remain nameless, unless you ask) might have disappointed and really only served to act as a buffer for more Bruery beer, it did have one positive outcome in that it reminded me of places to avoid.

Until next week, Readers!

Autumn, Here We Come

Greetings Dear Readers!

Can you feel it yet? Can you feel the cool Fall weather?

If you live in Los Angeles, the answer is probably "no" but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the flavors of fall.

What I'd really like to do in this week's blog is really discuss some of your favorite fall flavors and establish what types of sandwiches I will be looking for as the weather cools down on our road to Winter (aka 70 degrees and still barbecue weather in LA).

This is the season in which hearty soups become increasingly more acceptable as a pairing with your favorite sandwich.

No more cool avocado and green onion cold soups to pair anymore. Now the ones you should start considering are the gourd soups: pumpkin and butternut squash. Both are a bit thicker, with smooth flavors that in their own right can be a standalone meal.

But what could be better than pairing one of those hearty soups with a sandwich to dip into it.

Which leads me to one of my favorite sandwiches, and one that I will be on the lookout for in the coming months to review.

Grilled Cheese.

Such a simple sandwich whose first enjoyment goes back to my childhood, but one that can be made even better by upgrading your ingredients and adding some extras (which typically will then qualify it as a melt).

Some of my inspirations have come from the excellent food magazine Bon Appetit (if you haven't checked them out before, you absolutely should). They have an amazing article on how to make the perfect grilled cheese (here) and some recipes for taking your grilled cheese game up a level (here).

And of course, while you're sitting down, enjoying the cool fall air while you eat your grilled cheese sandwich and butternut squash soup, make sure you finish it off with some pumpkin beer. Shipyard's Smashing Pumpkin (which I've added cinnamon to in the past) is a great pairing as is Dogfish Head's Punkin' Ale. If you want something to warm your insides more with a higher alcohol content, The Bruery's Autumn Maple Ale substitutes yams for pumpkin (and kicks it up to 10% ABV).

So what about you, Readers? What are some of your favorite fall sandwiches and flavors? Leave a comment  and let's explore some fall flavors together.