Banner Sandwich Day

Today was quite the sandwich-o-rama.
First Tony (my pest control guy and frequent SIHL commentor) took me the the famous Gopher Bar for Coneys. These are REAL chili dogs!

They use hot dog rolls, rather than buns, and they grill them so the outside is greasy and crispy and fantastic. The dog is just a normal dog and the chili is quite simple. They spread mustard on top of that, then smother the thing in chopped onions and shredded cheese. I'm not a huge fan of raw onions, but in this application, they rocked. Dare I say, gestalt!

Plus, I admired the sheet of wax paper and the fork the server dropped off before the coneys came up. Just right for catching all the inevitable drippings. I'm not even going to start on the ambiance of the place. Just go there--it's an original.

For dinner tonight I made roasted vegetable sandwiches. I roasted portobello mushrooms, red peppers, zucchini, and red onions. Then I stacked them on olive oil rosemary bread with some goat cheese. I put them in the oven to melt the cheese and settled in with my honey to watch Kitchen Nightmares. Why? Because they were at a restaurant less than a mile away from where I grew up. And because it was the most profanity filled episode ever filmed. A 47 minute long bleep fest. For the record, the sandwiches were awesome and we're never going to eat at that jerk's restaurant.

Next Sandwich Night!

Monday, November 12.
French Dip.
Be there.

Happy Halloween!

No sandwich news. I've been too busy creating this.

Just like Scarlett O'Hara and Maria Von Trapp, I made it out of old curtains. Crazy scary curtains from my friend Marcia's crazy scary new house!

Monday is for Sandwiches, even when it's not

Sorry folks, no Sandwich Night tonight. We are reviewing the availability of some of our favorite sandwich guests and will post the date for the next night--FRENCH DIP!--soon.

So let me reminisce about recent sandwiches I have loved, to fill your sandwich yearnings. I got a great one at the Holy Land Deli:The Falafel Combination. A big pita bread, stuffed with falafel, fried cauliflower, zucchini, and some other delicious things. I got it with tahini. It was so big that Beth and I ended up sharing it for dinner. Yum! Plus I got the bonus cultural experience of seeing the place packed out with people enjoying the dinner buffet for Ramadan. Beth and I went back a few days later and had the buffet and it was fabulous. Not sure if it's as extensive after Ramadan....that will take another trip!

Which takes me back to one more sandwich memory (bear with me--I could give my whole life history in food.) When I studied in Senegal during college, I participated in the Ramadan fast for most of the month. It seemed like the right thing to do, plus it gave me a better understanding of how people feel after they've fasted all day. My host family had a daily small meal to break the fast that started with dates (just like Mohammed is said to have done) and Swiss cheese sandwiches on French bread. Just super fresh baguette, spread with butter, and topped with a couple slices of Swiss cheese. Light. Delicious. And it totally holds you over until the real feasting begins at supper! I'm not a huge Swiss cheese fan, but one taste and I'm back at the Ndiaye family house in Dakar gratefully sucking down ice cold water and cheese sammies at the end of a hot day. The dates were pretty awesome, too.

Coolest super power EVER

I know this isn't sandwich related, but how cool is the newest super power revealed on Heroes? The girl who can do anything she sees on TV? How cool is that?

In other news, Kate's coming over to watch America's Next Top Model tonight. The menu has not been set, but will definitely be takeout. Sandwiches, perhaps? Pizza most likely? Do two pieces of pizza faced together and eaten crust-side out form a sandwich?

Holy Chili Dog Batman!

We had a quiet night with our chili dogs. Since no one was able to join us, just Beth and I hunkered down with our cheesy greasy treats.
Which is a bummer since I made a huge vat of chili (is there any other way to make chili?) I got the recipe at the State Fair from some corporate food exhibit. It looked interesting, had ancho chilis and a secret ingredient, Coca Cola. The end product, even though it was full of chilis and jalapenos, was surprisingly bland. I spiced it up which helped. It was chock full of ground beef and pork, though. That made it a good thick greasy consistency for pouring over a hot dog. (But not the kind of thick greasy consistency you would find at Tommy's in LA. Which is scareee, but addictive.)
The dogs we got from Everett's. Of course. If you get hot dogs from Everett's, be sure to ask for the "coarse ground wieners." They are fantastic. The texture is a little chewy, so you think you are actually eating meat (which you are, since they make them right there.) And they have natural casings that snap when you bite into them. Yum.
We took a pretty conventional approach to the chili dogs. Cheddar cheese, chili, chopped onion, hot dog, bun. They were alright. We had them for leftovers last night and I added sliced avocado to the mix, which was pretty good. I think pickled jalapenos would have been the perfect accompaniment. Next time!

Chili Dogs it is, then!

The readers have spoken and Chili Dogs win in a close race.
I know Eric was rallying folks at Homeline to vote for gyro...better luck next time, my friend. Because gyros are also delicious.
So Chili Dogs. Monday, October 8. (which is also Columbus Day, you know old Chris loved him some chili, cheese and onions on a hot dog, right? Nice break from hard tack and all.)
Be there!