Spam Sandwich

Welcome to the debut of the online version of The Sandwich!

I am very pleased to finally have this site up and running. I just ask that you bear with us during the initial growing phase. I would also like to thank all of you who contributed to this endeavor, both in physical contributions and in moral support. You know who you are.

As this site is primarily food/cooking-oriented, I felt that the debut article should be food/cooking related. After that, pretty much anything goes…

The Perfect Sandwich

20 January 2000

As I sit here, fat, middle-aged, and sipping cheap scotch while trying to belt out something witty and creative for this, the debut article of the online Sandwich, I find myself reflecting on a life full of travel, excitement, adventure, and a modicum of danger on occasion. I look back and say to myself, "Self, you’ve lived a fairly interesting life."

I then realize that I have had opportunities that none but a few cooking enthusiasts ever get to experience. I have actually sampled cuisine in its native environment and form in over 20 countries on five of the seven continents and in all but four states in the US (if you must know: Idaho, Oregon, Minnesota, and Wisconsin). From Ugali in Kenya to Bulgogi in Korea, Beriani in Saudi Arabia to Burros in Mexico, from…well, you get the idea.

Anyway, wherever I went, whatever exotic and tasty food I sampled, one thing I inevitably missed was a sandwich. Once, while staying in a 5-star hotel in the Middle East, I called room service and pleaded with them just to send up a good old-fashioned hamburger! I considered this and decided that I had been looking for something all my life that I just couldn’t put my finger on. There it was. It was so simple! So the search was on. The quest for The Perfect Sandwich had begun.

I traveled high and low, looking from the finest restaurants to bars where I felt my life was in danger just by being there. And, in all those travels, only three places stand out for truly GREAT sandwiches: Boston, New York, and the souk (open market) in Abu Dhabi. It was sub sandwiches in Boston (Italian Cold Cut Sub) and New York (Meatball or Sausage Sub), while the souk holds a special place for its Shwarma. A giro-like sandwich consisting of pita stuffed with lamb (or sometimes beef) or chicken, vegetables, and a yogurt dressing. Mmmmm…shwarma. I guess I’d also have to include Monterey, California in my Top Five list. Those of you who have ever been there know that perhaps the best sandwich in town is at Campagno’s Hilltop Market on Prescott Street.

But the search continued throughout the years for the sandwich that would stand out as "Numero Uno," the best of the best. And, while sitting here reflecting, it hit me.

Bologna and cheese on toast served with a nice hot bowl of tomato soup on a cold Bangor winter’s day. Served up in a way that only a mother could. I realize now that I have always known where it was. The Perfect Sandwich will always be a wonderful and cherished memory.

Thanks, Mom. For everything.

And that’s this Sandwich. Eat hardy, folks!