Reports from the Road, North Carolina edition

These are Beth's first two sandwich finds from North Carolina. Both feature pulled pork, naturally. I just have pictures and quick verbal assessments, but Beth does promise reviews in the future!
The pulled pork panini from Island Bistro in Avon, NC. She said it was strangely tasteless, except for the awesome pickles. BBQ beef (left) and Pulled Pork (right) from Currituck BBQ in Coinjock, NC. Apparently, this was the sandwich she had been looking for in North Carolina. That macaroni and cheese in making me hungry as well.
For her next assignment, she'll be driving back to Minnesota with our friend Amy. I'm going to find some places for her to try, I swear!

I am an SIHL travelling correspondant myself

I drove down to Chicago over the weekend and noticed a new roadsign for Beef A Roo in South Beloit, WI. This just so happens to be the same Beef A Roo that Kate raves about visiting everytime she's home seeing her parents. Serendipity? I think so!
We managed to stop on our way home in a lovely sleet storm. It was a good driving break and the recommended menu of roast beef sandwich, cheddar fries and jamocha shake hit the spot. The sandwich was sliced roast beef (like Arby's, but better) on a soft sesame bun. The place was lacking in condiment variety, but I made do with some horseradish sauce.

Sandwich Night Monday April 6!

We planned this one a while ago and the date really sneaked up on me. Kate will be hosting the next Sandwich Night with her gentleman friend Rhys. Rhys will initiate himself into the Sandwich Night tradition by coming up with the sandwich himself! It is a suprise, but I heard a rumor it may involve beef tenderloin. I would heartily endorse that.
Let me know if you are interested in attending Monday the 6th at 7:00ish.
No pressure, Rhys!

First attempt foiled

My first sandwich assignment for SIHL traveling correspondent Beth was met with failure. Beth is starting her cross country bicycle ride this morning from Wilmington, NC. I scouted out sandwiches for her to check out on her car ride from Minneapolis to Wilmington and came up with Stamey's in Greensboro, NC. It sounds awesome-pork barbecue, available on a bun, with coleslaw. Unfortunately, I neglected to give her directions to Stamey's and her super duper G1 phone was sadly out of commission in Greensboro. So after some fruitless searching, Beth gave up and had an unsatisfying sub sandwich. Boo!
Better luck next time, my sweet! And I'll make sure I include directions as well.

Senegalese Hamburgers are deeelicious

We had a Sandwich Night for Beth on Tuesday night. She's getting ready to ride her bike across the country so she needed something hardy to sustain her through 8000 miles of riding. She wisely chose the Senegalese Hamburger. The Senegalese Hamburger is a doozy. It starts with a giant bun, stuffed with French fries, a fried egg, the patty, Gruyere cheese, fried onions, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. I encountered this beast when I studied abroad in Senegal when I was in college. Can you locate me in this picture from my going away party? Hint: I'm the one in the dorky hat. I mean very stylish hat. It was a gift from all those fine ladies.
It's funny. I looked for a picture of a Senegalese hamburger in my photos from that year and I don't have any pictures of food. I guess my sandwich photography IS a recent hobby!
Anyway, back to the burgers! The defining characteristics of the burger are the French fry stuffed bun and the fried egg. That's about all I remembered. After some internet searching, I came up with the rest of the ingredients: garlic mayo, Gruyere, Dijon mustard, fried onions, ketchup. I seem to remember there being shredded lettuce but I didn't find any reference to that online. (Granted, there aren't many web pages devoted to this lovely sandwich. I might have just rocketed to the top of the list.)For an extra kick, I added some Rooster brand hot sauce as well. Fantastic! These burgers were even better than I remembered. They are a little labor intensive, but totally worth it.
For company we had Angie and Kate. For entertainment we had the classy film Bandidas. What could be bad about a bank robbing buddy film starring Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek? Our friend Eileen came over later for a burger but missed the movie. And, sadly, Karen mixed the night up and missed this extravaganza. Which means we will have to do it again soon!

Next Sandwich Night!

Little Bethy is getting ready to embark on a grand adventure as a travelling correspondant for Sandwiches I Have Loved. She will ride her bicycle across the country over the next few months, reporting on sandwiches she eats along the way.
With that in mind, I gave her total creative control for the last Sandwich Night before she leaves. She has chosen the Senegalese Hamburger as the sandwich. Entertainment is TBA.
What is a Senegalese Hamburger, you may ask? I will base them on hamburgers I ate while in Senegal in 1993. They are gigantic affairs--stuffed with French fries, a fried egg, Swiss cheese, mustard, tomato sauce, mayonnaise, maybe some onions--and a hamburger patty, of course.
We will be serving them up on Tuesday, March 24 around 7:00 PM. Come on over!

Oh baby!

Beth and I were out enjoying the fantastic weather (66 degrees!!!) last night when we decided that the perfect end to the evening would be a delicious burger. We headed over to the Blue Door Pub where I tried out the special: the Merriam Park Blucy.

That's a burger stuffed with blue cheese, garlic and bacon, then topped with red currant jelly. Holy mackerel! What a doozy! I washed it down with a pint of Surly Furious. It was a lovely way to end a lovely day. Try it before it goes away!