Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Sandwiches

Anyone who knows me well, is either groaning or wondering what took me so long to write about my favourite lunch food. I love a good Sandwich, however a GOOD sandwich is actually harder to find than you might think.

Three or four days a week, I go to the local Bagel place for turkey, tomato and cucumber on a bagel. They recently hired some new staff and I have given up trying to explain how to make my sandwich properly. They are intent on putting the mustard on the side of the bread next to the vegetables. This is wrong. Trust me. I come home and add my own mustard in the proper place. The basic order of sandwich preparation should follow these guidelines, with exceptions as noted below.

Bread
Mustard
Meat
Cheese
Vegetable
Salt and Pepper
Mayonnaise
Bread

Mustard does not complement vegetables. Mayonnaise does not complement meat. Why mix them up?
Cheese is complementary to both meat and vegetables, but not mustard or mayonnaise.
Butter is unnecessary unless you are grilling the sandwich, in which case it goes on the outside of the bread.
I enjoy a nice vegetarian sandwich on occasion, in which case there is no need for mustard.
If going for a lower fat content, nix the mayo but still only put mustard next to the meat. Spice up the veggies with salt and pepper.
Goat Cheese is a nice substitution for mayonnaise and is an exception to the cheese in the middle rule.
If making a Pita sandwich, substitute hummus, tzatziki, tahini, Italian salad dressing for mustard or mayonnaise.
Always use the best bread possible. It makes a huge difference.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Golly Mandy, mayo AND mustard on the same sandwich? Isn't that overdoing it a bit on the condiments? I usually go with one or the other.

There is a chain of really good sandwich shops here in California, called Le Boulanger. We're (un)fortunate to have one close to our house.

To clarify, we're fortunate to have one nearby, because they make really good sandwiches (and salads and even fresh bread for that matter). Unfortunate because we are on a bit of a budget down here.

indamanda said...

I usually only use mustard, but if you're going to use both ... they should be used properly. Mayo and mustard are nice when you've got a double decker sandwich because they're so far apart.

If only we had a place here that offered more than turkey, chicken salad, tuna salador egg salad.

Anonymous said...

So on a practical note, do you have any advice for making a sandwich the night before it's needed? Due to time pressures in the morning (I'm a slow riser) I've been having difficulty getting my act (and sandwich) together.

indamanda said...

What I would recommend is getting the bread and fillings together but leave off Tomato and condiments as these will just make everything soggy. If possible bring them with you and assemble the sandwich at the last minute. This way you can put it all together in your lunchbox the night before and still have a "fresh" sandwich the next day.

Hope this helps. :)