Nom Nom Nom

Welcome back Seekers of DANGER!

The time we spend apart not discussing sandwiches feels like an eternity!

And here we are again! Wednesday and more sandwiches for our pleasure.

This time around, I visited the Nom Nom Truck, which serves Vietnamese food, specifically the Banh Mi Sandwich.

If you've been reading for awhile, you may remember that I trekked far from the Valley out to Alhambra to sample one of these delicacies (A Five Freeway Adventure, 9/8/10).

But now, I find that I can have those sandwiches closer to me, and on wheels?

Sign me up.

Waiting in line outside of my work (Nom Nom Truck is very popular in LA), I decided I would get the same Banh Mi I ordered before, in order to compare the sandwiches. Receiving my sandwich, I quickly opened it to sample the goodness.

I was greeted with a flaked french roll. Perfectly baked, light and fluffy on the inside, it is such a great choice for this sandwich, and this roll shined through with excellence.

The pork was subtly sweet and very flavorful. It was very delicious, and my only problem with the shredded pork is that a few bites were a little more chewy than is necessary. Maybe cooking for a longer period would reduce the fat content a bit more and allow the meat to fall apart easier, but as it stands, is ot as good as the pork from Banh Mi My-Tho.

The part of the sandwich that I was most disappointed with was the salad on the sandwich. Carrots, lettuce, onions and cucumber, the vegetable I missed the most was the sliced jalapenos.

As I discussed before with my last Banh Mi, the jalapenos had their spicy parts removed, leaving a smoky, mildly spicy flavor behind instead of piercing heat. This flavor is a great contrast to the sweet pork, but sadly was missing here.

The cucumbers on the other had added a great refreshing flavor to the sandwich. And while I didn't enjoy them as much as I would have jalapenos, they were a great choice to partner with the pork.

The competition between Nom Nom and Banh Mi My-Tho was stiff, but in the end I believe Banh Mi My-Tho has the better sandwich.

And so you may be sitting there at work, or at home, dear Reader and imagining yourself sampling one of these delicious sandwiches.

And I ask, why haven't you?

Google Banh Mi in your area and head to a local place to order one today for lunch.

Go ahead. I'll wait for you.

Until next week...D-A-N-G-E-R!

Pork Banh Mi Sandwich

**** Stars

Nom Nom Truck

Los Angeles, CA

And The Drum Roll, Please...

Dearest of all Readers. Yes, you.

Today's entry will not be the usual sandwich review to stimulate your tastebuds.

No, today's entry is to announce something very special.

I've been mentioning our new mascot for the last two weeks, and I am very pleased to introduce him to you now.

He's equally delicious and badass. He tastes like harmless Pastrami, but could take you down with Clint Eastwood style fury.

He is THE DANGER SANDWICH.

Many thanks to reader Charlene Cowler for her numerous great designs. It was very hard to whittle them down to this one, and I hope you are all pleased with the decision.

Because very soon, I will be having promotional giveaways of buttons, business cards, and even t-shirts. So stay tuned to find out how to earn some DANGERous Swag.

But for now, let's take some suggestions on names for our new mascot. Leave one in the comments section.

Until next week, Readers, when i'll be back with another exciting Sandwich Review.

Tell your tastebuds I said hello.

Fun Times in San Diego (Pt. 2)

Another day, Another Sandwich in San Diego ladies and gentlemen of DANGER.

This time, my adventures took me to a corner bakery in Ocean Beach: Charlie's Best Bread. A little shop on a street corner with a very small town square feel. I liked the atmosphere of the neighborhood, but would this highly recommended shop make waves with me this week?

Walking into the shop, I was overwhelmed by the smell of bread. Every bit of bread used in this place was freshly baked that day.

After spending a significant amount of time narrowing down to one sandwich from a seemingly endless list of deliciousness, I settled on the pastrami sandwich.

Ah the pastrami sandwich. My friend, and sometimes my biggest letdown.

For me, when there is a sandwich you revere so much, one that truly possesses the talents to achieve the status of Danger Sandwich, it is all the more disheartening to find one that is a let down.
First and foremost, the positives: The bread really was spectacular. A rye bread that was incredibly fresh, and doughy, with a perfectly even rye flavor It really showed that this had been hand crafted by someone who worked there and not delivered in a bag by some unknown megaconglomerate.

Although, I still feel as though it could have been better for the sandwich overall if it had been toasted.

This sandwich had two types of cheese: swiss and bleu cheese. Both excellent choices. The swiss with its smooth and mild flavor played well with the pungent dry taste of the bleu cheese. I enjoyed these two so much that I didn't even taste the pastrami at all.

No, really, seriously. You couldn't taste the main attraction at all.

I had to tear a piece off of the sandwich just to be able to taste it.

And I should have just left it alone. The meat wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. It lacked a definite taste and I could have been eating plain old ham for all I knew.

Maybe that's why they packed on so much cheese.

So, dear readers, I am asking you now for some recommendations for San Diego.

Have you ever been there? Have you heard of a great sandwich that needs to be tried out? Let me know, I'd like to hold onto hope that my next trip there will be devoid of subpar sandwich tastings.

Until next week!

*** Stars
Charlie's Best Bread
1110 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, CA 92106

Fun Times in San Diego (Pt. 1)

Salutations DANGERfans!

Last weekend I made my way down to San Diego to celebrate the marriage of two friends of mine (congrats Eric and Wendy), and like any true Sandwichologist, i used this excursion to seek our new delicious sandwiches far from my base of operations.

Scouring the internet for the word on the street, I happened to find stellar reviews on a place called the Brown Bag Deli.

The Brown Bag Deli is truly a local hot spot.

Because you seriously need to be a local to even know where this place is.

After driving back and forth a few times, it was finally spotted, tucked into a corner of a strip mall on an major street in Ocean Beach. The inside of the deli lacked windows and any flair. Obviously it needed no pizazz to attract locals.

A promising sign, indeed.

I ordered the Turkey Bacon Avocado Sandwich with the works on Foccacia bread. This sandwich was piled high with the fixings and was quite a challenge to even take the first bite.

Seems to be a pretty great sandwich already, right?

Well, let's discuss what went wrong.

The bread is really the main culprit here.

Focaccia should be a golden colored bread. Maybe even a slight crisp on the outside with a nice soft interior. It should be able to support a decent sandwich without being too tough.

The focaccia at Brown bad was still doughy. It's as if someone took it out of the oven ten minutes early. No golden color, no flavor, and practically raw. Disappointing at best.

The turkey was bland, a bit too moist, and too thickly cut for being deli meat.

The "works" were the only bright spot in this sandwich. Lettuce, onion, banana peppers, avocado, jalapenos, mustard, and mayo worked for this sandwich and really gave it the only life that the sandwich had.

If the turkey and bread had been better, this may have been a delicious sandwich, but sadly, it was not meant to be.

Next week though, I tackle another sandwich from my time in San Diego, so be sure to return for more DANGER!

Until next time...Dia De Los DANGER!

* 1/2 Stars
Brown Bag Deli
1912 Rosecrans Street
Point Loma
San Diego, CA 92106

Phast Phood Philly Style

Dear Seekers of Danger,

I must apologize in advance if this week's blog disagrees with your developed and refined palates. It is only because of my quest to search every delicious nook and cranny that I would even consider to review Fast Food on this blog.

Early on, I reviewed the double down, and I have been known to partake in the McRib when it is available locally, but please do not think that suddenly my tastebuds have become crude and uncouth. It is only by tasting everything, that we can fully tell what is good and what is bad.

With that being said, I figured there was one fast food monster burger that I should try, as the commercials for it have called out my name on numerous occasions.

The Carl's Jr. Philly Cheeseburger.

Yes, you've read that correctly.

While I plan to continually review cheesesteaks on this blog in order to find the best one, not only locally but in the world, this was not something I ever expected to hear about, let alone try.

So after seeing the burger shop guys with terrible "Philly" accents discuss this strange amalgam of meat, I saddled up and ordered.

First of all, like all fast food, the sandwich does not look like it does in the commercial. Whereas in the advertisement, the chopped steak meat is piled high atop a juice burger.

When I opened mine, I was surprised to see no steak at all. It wasn't until after I bit into the sandwich that I discovered the cheese formed a pocket on top of the burger, containing copious amounts of meat, fried onions and green peppers.

Out of all of the fast food places, I find Carl's Jr. to have the most flavorful and delicious meat. It's light years beyond most other fast food places. Even the steak here had more flavor than some of my previous cheesesteak experiences.

The onions and peppers though were too mushy. Almost soggy.

The bun, like most fast food places is a standard white bread bun. Nothing special.

I did enjoy the fact that this cheesesteak burger was made with provolone cheese and not the Communist supporting cheese wiz.

Just saying.

Overall, is this worth seeking out?

Like my previous review on the double down. It's neither good, nor bad. If you're at Carl's Jr. and you're interesting in trying out a good fast food sandwich, by all means, go for this one.

If you have to drive any sort of distance to try it (East Coasters can look for a Hardees...if they're still around), then I'd say it might not be worth your time. Try looking for something that is truly DANGERous.

Not just something that your heart finds DANGERous.

** 1/2 Stars
Philly Cheesesteak Burger
Carl's Jr.

and for your enjoyment...

A Little DANGERous Competition

Welcome back, readers of DANGER!

In order to further my quest towards the elusive Danger Sandwich, this past weekend I decided to throw a dinner party where every guest would bring their own special sandwich to share with the group.

And I was lucky enough to be the judge.

Imagine that!

The sandwiches ranged from Savory to Sweet, but everyone of them was delicious.

But since you were all not able to attend this delicious expedition into the soul of a good sandwich, I will provide you with a quick guide to our entrants and their sandwiches:

1.) Strawberry Morning (May Wong) - delightfully sweet, and refreshing. Perfect for breakfast. Whipped cream cheese, strawberry preserves and diced organic strawberries on a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel.

2.) Spicy Chicken Sandwich (Charlene Cowler) - Spicy Chicken nuggets in a sweet hawaiin bun with honey mustard and a dill pickle. The fun and deliciousness of a trip to Chick Fil-A miniaturized!

3.) Peanut Butter and Jelly Cooked (Mischelle Vreeman) - Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches pressed into hot pockets in a sandwich press. The Peanut butter and jelly mix so well together when warm.

4.) Bet On Black Turkey Sandwich (Nate Anderson) - Black Pepper Turkey, Pepper mayo spread, munster cheese, and alfalfa sprouts on toasted sourdough. An excellent blend of ingredients, and the sprouts add a nice contrast in flavor.

5.) Hunka Hunka Fried Up Love (Yours Truly) - my homage to the King of Rock and Roll. Just like Elvis enjoyed them: butter fried sandwiches filled with creamy peanut butter and sliced bananas. Dusted with a sweet sprinkle of powdered sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon.

6.) Sloppy Jenna (Jenna Freyenberger) - smokey, spicy sloppy joes packed between two delicious slices of garlic bread.

7.) Italian Beef (Melanie Folk) - Slow cooked Italian Beef with onions, peppers, and provolone cheese in a hard Italian roll.

8.) The Giant Phillie (Chris Lightbody) - east meets west in this Bay Area inspired take on the Philly Cheesesteak. Roughly chopped steak with provolone, onions, red pepper aioli stuffed into a thick sourdough roll. Philly native approved.

After we had all sampled the sandwiches, I asked that everyone in attendance vote on their favorites. After the votes were tallied, here are the top three audience favorites:

1.) Italian Beef Sandwich

2.) Sloppy Jenna

3.) Hunka Hunka Fried Up love (thanks for the votes, everyone!)

But you have come to this blog to read what I have chosen to be number one!

As you may have read above, all of the sandwiches were very delicious, each with a different flavor. So it was very hard to narrow down, but I think I agree wholeheartedly with my fellow voters.

The Italian beef sandwich takes first place. The beef was incredibly tender, full of flavor, and fell apart in your mouth. the combination with onions, peppers, and melted provolone cheese added with a italian roll made this an excellent treat, and eating the leftovers the following night was just as delicious.

The Sloppy Jenna came in a very close second. I'm a big fan of sloppy joes, and this sandwich had the right combination of BBQ flavor, smoky taste, and the garlic added from the garlic bread was a nice contrast that really brought this sandwich to life. Make it for yourself at home!

Well, that is all for now followers of Danger. I hope that the sandwich entries above inspire you to try to replicate one of these or to create your own concoction. Either way, be sure to leave comments below about your ideas, and wish the winners well!

Until next week readers...Ciao, DANGER!

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