THEATER: Featuring a four-piece orchestra with original score, the eclectic and humorous theater troupe Banana Bag & Bodice is celebrating its 10th anniversary with A Very Sandwich Christmas. The show’s a festive reworking of their alt-theater hit Sandwich, and is described as a “playful, provocative, horrific musical that examines the art of eating and the blind act of consumption during the festive holiday season.” Always innovative, relentlessly imaginative, and sometimes frustrating, Banana Bag & Bodice has definitely helped make the theater an exciting place to visit, and they promise this one will “make you laugh while forcing you to smell the burning flesh surrounding your merry little soul.”
8 p.m. // Abrons Arts Center [466 Grand St] // $20

Courtesy of www.gothamist.com

So I scooped up a wedge of brie, swung around from some carr’s water cracker, and enjoyed this delicious snack in my bed while googling lady gaga videos. (I can’t believe I just put that on the Internet).

I have been putting off going to the grocer store for approx two weeks and the situation was getting dire and I was running out of excuses to eat every meal out when I am supposed to be watching my pennies. I went with the intention of picking up just enough to last the week, and some things I could eat my brie with.

I chose turkey from the deli counter, a Toufayan flatbread, and a granny smith apple. Then I grilled the turkey and the brie in the flatbread until the bread was toasty and the brie was melty, and then I removed it and slipped in a layer of thinly sliced granny smith apple and a couple of squirts of honey mustard. This was delicious.

I initally began eating this sandwich after a recipe in Self magazine…I had never thought of grilling the brie before, and the did it in a wrap, which is what I did before this flatbread adventure. In some ways, the wrap was advantageous to the recipe. It didn’t involve quite as much brie because it can’t hold that much. It was easier to eat the apples in the wrap than on the flatbread, because they weren’t slipping out.

On the pros for the flatbread side…it made a heartier sandwich for a hungry girl (or guy!). It was also very visually appealing, because in the flatbread you could see the brie all dripping down the sides and stuff which was kind of hot. I wanted to take a picture, but m camera is missing. I am like 95% sure its in my room somewhere but I really can’t seem to locate it. Basically, I would make this sandwich either way in the future.

Another variation I used to order at lunchtime when I was employed was the ‘Alice’ sandwich from NYC sandwich shop Toasties (it’s a chain). This was served on a think multi-grainish bread (I can’t remember exactly) and featured turkey, cold brie and extremely thinly sliced apples, honey mustard, maybe some like sprouts or something? I might be confusing it with another sandwich but I don’t feel like googling it right now. The best thing about this particular version were that someone else was making it, and the paper-thin slices of granny smith apple. I have poor knife skills and am consistently unable to replicate such a thing.

I’d be interested to see if any readers have any other sandwich variations they would suggest…one caveat is that I am not fond of fruity jellies in any way, shape, or form and those are often paired with brie.

Also: TAKE MY FIRST POLL!

Against abortion? Then don’t get one (and stfu)

And here, the op-ed that inspired me to reiterate the feelings of anger, and says the above much more intelligently: The Ban on Abortion Coverage

So, at brunch on Sunday, I ignored the many things on the menu that I would have ordered had I been my usual ravenous self. I do remember that there was a chorizo sandwich that also included avocado and monterey jack and a peppercorn ranch dipping sauce that sounded delicious. If I go back and feel healthy, I’ll get that.

As far as being unhealthy, I could only conceive of eating very simple flavors. On the suggestion of a friend, I ordered the chicken salad. It was quite good, but very very simple. There was toasted sourdough, lettuce, and tomato. I would have liked a cheese, obviously.

Today, I was at home at “brunch” time and I’m trying not to spend any money, but I reallllly wanted a sandwich so I manned up and bought a baguette from the corner store. The only choices I had at home for filling were chicken salad, tuna salad, or just plain sliced cheddar. I opted to make the chicken salad, which was interesting because I had recently consumed it and it is something I haven’t made in a couple of years.

Mixing it with the limited amount of mayo I had left (I sooo ran out), a little bit of spicy mustard, and some red onion chunks, in addition to the slightly toasted baguette, the melted cheddar and the dill pickles I felt it was clear that I could create a chicken salad just as good as anyone could.

That said, there’s was still much more moist and I totally ate the second half of my sandwich in penn station.

Pictures up shortly.

Michelle suggested that we try one of the places mentioned in the article – Banh Mi Saigon Bakery, which is incidentally located in the back of a jewelry store in Chinatown, giving it that extra feeling of food adventure. However, due to a particularly engrossing cleaning binge, I was a half hour late and the bakery was closed (7pm on a Friday) so this may be more of a lunch destination. Not willing to let this setback keep us from our sandwiches, we headed down the street to Paris Bakery, where I decided to order the roasted park banh mi for $4(!!!), an amazing sandwich price in NYC.

The actual sandwich was on a longish crusty baguette that was still perfectly soft. The roast pork was flavorful, with a surprisingly spicy a little kick. The first two bites overwhelmed me with their heat but after that, it was much more tolerable and even delicious. The hot pork (that’s what she said!) was nicely set off by the pickled vegetables in the sandwich which made it kind of sweet and tangy.  I felt that what the Times article said about it having the same pleasures of a great BLT was very true – I like the hot and cold contrast in the sandwich, but it also included a very distinctive Asian influence.

Overall, my experience with the banh mi was delicious and satisfying, and I can’t wait to try another one!

*not my actual banh mi, but you get the idea

More details on our day of fun after the jump…

 To that end, we scheduled an afternoon rendezvous at Havana Alma de Cuba, to sit in the garden, soak up the sun, eat delicious Cuban food, and drink margaritas.  To start with, we ordered the highly recommended shredded pork empanadas and croquetas de jamon (that’s ham!)

Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to experience what is traditionally known as the Cuban sandwich, because of a strong aversion to swiss cheese. (see facebook group entitled I Like All Cheese Except for Swiss).Ever since a trip to Barcelona in 2003, I have been devoted to chorizo. What can I say, I love a spicy meat (that’s what she said). For my entree, I chose the Choripan sandwich – chorizo, onions, mozzarella, paprika, and red wine sauce.

mmm...chorizo!

As expected, this sandwich was delicious – with a crusty bread, smooth mozzarella, the tang of the onion and paprika, and of course that spicy, greasy goodness known as chorizo! YUM.

If I went back, I think I might order the following: Pan Con Bistec sirloin steak, panca glace, roasted peppers, red onions, manchego cheese, baby arugula. I’m not much of a steak-orderer, but I loooove me some manchego cheese.

Les chanteuses bebes aime les sandwiches!

by Amy

Bonjour! C’est moi, one of your trusty sandwich reviewers reporting
from the south of France. While on vaca, I had a bunch of delicious
sandwiches – although most consisted of regular ingredients you can
have at your friendly neighborhood deli in the US, they were far
superior to American sandwiches simply because of the bread.
Seriously, America? You need to get on the baguette bandwagon. So much
better than a sesame roll.

But anyway, I digress. So one day it was quite cold and rainy,
unseasonable weather for the region, and I had spent most of the
morning wandering around the Palais des Papes in Avignon with my
fiancé and future in-laws. We were all cold, tired, hungry, and more
than a little cranky after learning about popes all morning.  There
was only one cure for our lunchtime blues: croque madames!  I’ve had
croque-monsieur before, but this has the added bonus of a fried egg on
top.  Basically it is a hot ham and cheese (gruyère) sandwich, coated
in a Béchamel sauce, with a fried egg on top.  Not approved by Weight
Watchers but helpful in awkward situations when you have run out of
things to say in French to your fiancé’s family (just eat it and say
“c’est très bon!” while rubbing your belly).

Although this is basic pub fare in France and not at all fancy, it
totally hit the spot and revived us for some more sightseeing.

Ooh la la, le sandwich!

yours truly,

girlofsandwich

I begin with the Boca brand spicy “chicken” patties…. while I am by no means a vegetarian, I am a big fan of Boca products because of their relative healthfulness and ease of preparation, plus I never have to deal with the grossness of touching raw meats.

After I microwave this sucker for 1 minute, I top with a slice of delicious cheddar cheese

I have been known to experiment with the cheese/sauce/bread combinations here, but cheddar is always a winner and something that I usually have in the house, so this is probably one of my most-eaten combinations.

Then I slather on some buffalo sauce, because I think everything is better with buffalo sauce

Disclaimer: I have never used this Jesse James brand, but the ghetto brand I buy does not have a picture on the Interwebs

After that I top with my favorite – Claussen Dill pickle sandwich slices – the ONLY pickles I ever buy:

the best pickles my money can buy

100 calories of awesome!

SUBWAY IN A SUBWAY

When you have no choices

you get a 6 inch turkey on wheat

then upgrade to foot long for just a dollar more

provolone

lettuce & tomato

onion & pickle

honey mustard

add a diet coke so you can pour beer in the cup later

and some baked doritos for later, on the subway

it’s still a sandwich.