A little field research...

It's summer and and scientists around the world are out in the field, doing important research. I've been doing my best to sample some of the fantastic sandwiches on offer around the Twin Cities.
Oh yeah.
That's the Bangkok Blucy. It's a recent addition to the menu at the Blue Door Pub. It's got coconut milk infused mozzarella inside the burger, then lightly pickled carrots and cucumber on top and curry peanut dipping sauce on the side. You must sub the deep fried green beans for the fries. They are crying to be dipped in that curry sauce. The burger was great. Savory and sweet. The pickled veggies were great and the sauce had the perfect amount of heat. I really love how the Blue Door is running with the whole cheese stuffed burger thing. No one can beat Matt's for the classic Jucy Lucy, of course. But if you want a fancy Lucy, this is your best bet! You will also be happy to know that they have moved the Merriam Park Blucy onto the permanent menu. That one is definitely a keeper!
There's a new Vietnamese sandwich shop in Stadium Village called Bun Mi. They serve an awesome classic banh mi with roast pork and pate. They also make some more unusual kinds like curried mock duck.
This sandwich was crazy delicious. The other thing that's great about Bun Mi is that they really stuff the sandwiches with all the goodies. They cost about twice what you'd pay for a banh mi elsewhere but you get twice as much filling. They do great bubble tea, too.
And finally, I've been back to Cheeky Monkey a few times and I have never been disappointed. I met former intern there last week and I ordered the pot roast sandwich for myself. It has pot roast, pickled red onions, arugula and horseradish cream. I was so busy devouring it that I forgot to take a picture of it until the very end. Whoops! I hope you aren't too grossed out to see a half eaten sandwich, but I think this shot captures the true glory of this fantastic sandwich.
Up next on my field research will definitely be the cemitas at La Fonda in St. Paul. My friend Karen has been raving about them. Can't wait!

More news from our travelling correspondent

Beth has been faithfully sending me pictures of sandwiches she has been eating across America. It's about time I posted some of them, right?

This is a turkey sandwich from the White Turkey Drive-In in Conneaut, Ohio. She visited with the owners and declared this sandwich "fantastic" and "Yummmmmmmy." (Yup, that's a quote.)

Another sandwich highlight came in Missouri or Kansas with the "famous Naked Piggy."

I believe that's high quality ham with provolone cheese. She had many good things to say about it.

She was able to get a famous Nu Way loose meat sandwich in Wichita, as well.

You can tell how good it's going to be by the grease on the bag!
I know I have some beef on weck taste test contenders from her trip though western New York. I'll post them when I find them!

My Happy Tuesday present!

My health insurance plan has an online wellness information site which rewards you with gift certificates if you participate. Every so often I read a few articles, get points for it, and then get to go shopping. Not bad, huh?
I turned my latest wellness knowledge into a very awesome sandwich cookbook, 'wichcraft by Tom Colicchio. Oh, the irony. I've been reading about low fat this and whole grain that and now I have a book with recipes for sandwiches like "roasted pork loin with prunes, dandelion greens, and mustard" and "roasted pumpkin with mozzarella and hazelnut brown butter." Yowza! Happy Tuesday to me!
I think this book demands a Sandwich Night, don't you? Details to come!

One last Paris sandwich update

I hate having lots of foreign currency left when I leave a country, don't you? This time I ended up with about 20 Euros by the time I got to my gate at Charles De Gaulle airport. Luckily I was in the fancy new 2E terminal so I had a wide variety of shops waiting for me to blow my remaining wad. It didn't take long to locate the beneficiary of my unwanted cash.
Shining, jewel-like, in a way that said you are going to pay through the nose for the fancy sandwich you are about to buy, was an outlet of Miyou. Miyou is an upscale "sandwicherie" from a famous chef, Guy Martin. The shop was almost Japanese in its sleek minimalist design. There was a lighted display case set in a shiny black wall with a handful of fancy sandwiches in stand-up clear cellophane ziplock bags. It looked more modern art installation than restaurant, that's for sure. I was faced with some tough decisions. I knew I should go all out, but would it be with the foie gras and mango baguette for 15 Euros or with the prawn and pink grapefruit baguette for 8 Euros? In the end, I decided that the mango didn't look quite ripe enough so I went with the prawns. Nice choice! They were perfectly salty with a good snap. The pink grapefruit played off them well and there was baby spinach and butter to marry it all together. (I wish I had a picture to share with you, but I borrowed my mom's camera for the trip and had already given it back.)
Plus, it left me with enough money to blow on sudoku and ken ken books and candy bars for the plane. I left France with 25 centimes. I'm so proud of myself and my wanton spending habits!

Nuit du sandwich

I hosted a Sandwich Night for my family while I was in Paris. I combined my two favorite Parisian sandwiches for a little buffet of deliciousness. I purchased five sandwiches from a bakery. If my memory serves me correctly, they were, ham and emmental, chicken and mozzarella, tuna and mozarella, four cheese, and lardons (like bacon) and goat cheese. On top of that I picked up two falafel sandwiches from Chez Marianne.
I cut them all up so people could sample them. My aunt May made a lovely salad. And we washed it all down with French wine, of course. So yummy! Now I'm craving a baguette sandwich.