Big Ass Sandwiches Delivers A Birthday Bomb

My brother's birthday is imminent so we thought an appropriate gift would be a sandwich.  Of course, right?

The trouble was that I live in NYC and Jon lives in Portland, OR.  Thanks to some inside information, I learned that Big Ass Sandwiches might be up to the challenge.

The result: a two pound custom Jrbobbles special delivered on time and by bicycle, no less.

Can't wait to try one of those myself.

Birthday sandwich purchased from NYC for PDX delivery. Our instruction? HUGE, $15-$20. Done. This beast, $16.50 twitter.com/bigasssandwich…
— Big-Ass Sandwiches (@bigasssandwich) March 8, 2013

It has roast beef, turkey, ham, bacon, sausage, double cheese, grilled onions & mushrooms, jalapeños, aardvark & fries. #brotherlylove
— Big-Ass Sandwiches (@bigasssandwich) March 8, 2013

Jrbobbles eats a birthday sandwich. vine.co/v/bwZFvEiFVal
— David Runyan (@DWR_no13) March 8, 2013

Introducing the Sultan of Sandwich Official Seal

The Sultan Of Sandwich at Rest

We've seen a lot of great sandwich joints over the years, each deserving of the coveted 'Sultan of Sandwich' designation.

Going forward, each will be marked with the seal below, our own Enter Sand(wich) Man spiritual advisor, the Sultan himself, Sam the Sham-wich Man.

Official
Sultan of Sandwich

Hoagie Haven, Princeton, NJ, USA

Official
Sultan of Sandwich

Sandwich Man is back!  Haven't had any good sandwiches to note lately.  Until now.

My friend MK, who is involved in some work at the Institute for Advanced Studies, invited me down to Princeton, NJ to catch up and bum around.  I've always liked Princeton  -- a town that MK described as the "Walled Garden in the Garden State".  If you have a little extra cash lying around, be sure to send your kid to college there.  As for me, to do this I would have needed to start saving for my kids' college fund when I was myself 3 years old.

Despite the fact that we had eaten a couple of 6-egg omelettes only a couple of hours earlier, a trip to Hoagie Haven was not to be denied.  This venerable institution is as cherished by the surrounding community as the university itself, and it was in fact my boss, upon learning about my trip to Princeton and totally unprompted, strongly urged me to visit this hallowed space.  

"Truthfully, the biggest disappointment in my life is knowing that my 
time in Princeton will not overlap that of Hoagie Haven's."

Faculty housing at the IAS was about 2 miles away but we decided to hoof it to better whet the appetite for what promised to be a Sultan's delight.  After a walk past Einstein's house and a moderate walk down Nassau St., the unassuming store front was in view.  And no line!  Dozens of options were available, and I decided to throw caution to the wind and get the most unorthodox item on the menu: a Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak hoagie.  MK, after I told him that New Jersey was the eggplant capitol of the world, was tempted to get eggplant parmesan but instead got a Fried Flounder hoagie.  In the spirit of the University and the IAS, both choices were made in the spirit of inquiry and experimentation.

These sandwiches are long, more than a foot for sure and a couple of pounds each.  It's not often that I'm intimidated by a big sandwich, but in this case I felt very sure that I was in over my head.  The BCCS sandwich had hot peppers, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle, blue cheese dressing and hot sauce.  The FF had tartar sauce among some other standard fixings.

Wasting no time, we sat on the bench directly outside and went to work.  I must say the the bread is the best I've had on any sandwich.  Everything worked together.  I realized a little too late that there was in fact White American on the sandwich, to its detriment (I much rather prefer Provolone on a steak) but everything else was good enough to mask this fact.  You gotta say yes to another excess, so I finished the sandwich, to both MK's and my amazement.  In competitive eating parlance, I'm happy to say that there were no reversals or other unpleasantries.

MK seemed happy with his fish sandwich but wisely stopped at the halfway mark.  Later I learned that the full Wolf Moon inspired him to finish it off later.  The 2 mile walk back to the Institute Housing helped let it all settle down, despite a brief stop at the brewpub.  

No question: Hoagie Haven is a Sultan of Sandwich.

http://www.hoagiehaven.com/

Park Italian Gourmet, New York, NY, USA

This place is next to my place of employment in midtown. Every now and then, when I need a break from the work cafeteria, I'll head over here. In addition to hot and cold sandwiches, they have a full counter of hot Italian specialties like veal and chicken parm, ziti, manicotti, lasagne, etc. and all of it hits the spot. At lunch time, this place is full of dudes in suits in search of gut-filling red sauce Italian. Just grab a plate and sit down in back.

From the hot counter, I've just had the chicken parmesan sandwich, and it's a damn good one. The bread is to my liking and similar to the chicken parm at Torrisi Italian specialties (though not quite as good), every bite tastes a little different. Sometimes you get a taste of a standard chicken parm and then sometimes a flavor over-ride takes place and it really sings. I've had meatballs on the side when I get the ravioli there and I'm sure the meatball hero is up to par.

From the cold counter, the Italian combo is a great choice. Not as good as Graham Avenue Meats' Willie Italiano but there is a quality to this sandwich that makes you want to tear into it and eat it as fast as possible while using a Limonata as some kind of grease.

Everyone here wears paper deli hats, even the older Italian gentleman behind the register along with a casual sweater. There will be a line of ten people but they will have to wait if he needs to make a point in Italian to an espresso-drinking friend. My co-workers warn me not to get him worked up as he will stop ringing people up if he has something to say. He also gives change somewhat randomly, mostly in your favor. Always a "Grazie...Ciao" from this guy. Obviously, this man is awesome.

Side note: I saw some union guys carrying two four foot sandwiches out of this place so it's good to know they can cater a bar mitzvah or Denver Broncos Superbowl party.

Graham Avenue Meats, Brooklyn, NY, USA

Official
Sultan of Sandwich

Some friends of mine live over in Greenpoint but it took me about 3 years to realize that Graham Avenue Meats is actually two blocks from their house. The blogosphere has already had its way with this place so I'll keep it short: I have to tell you that the Willie's Italiano is the best italian combo I've had. You know you're in good shape when asked if you want the sandwich 1) hot 2) mild or 3) sweet. Who knew that there were such options?

I'm not sure what Millie told Willie. Perhaps the difference in this sandwich may be the pepper oil and the thin slices of the smoked provolone that go along with a minimalist offering of the big 3 of italian meats. Whatever it is, this place nails it. The guys are fun to talk to as well.

I also got a roast beef and mozzarella, super good also.

The Captains of Wordpress are right on this one: mind-numbingly delicious and an inspiration, much like the spirit of Christ to an organist.

JoJu, Elmhurst, New York, USA

I went here based on a recommendation from a friend from work, who knows the Jackson Heights/Elmhurst area well since she grew up here. Banh Mi is genre of sandwich that is hard to go wrong with, you just gotta make sure the bread is good and you're halfway there. Even the cafeteria where I work serves up some Banh Mi from time to time with success. JoJu goes far beyond your typical Banh Mi fare with some amazingly creative sandwiches.

Being the glutton that I am, I actually ordered three for takeout: 1) the classic 2) pork belly and 3) beef bulgogi. And they had black milk bubble tea which was about as refreshing as the spring rain.

These sandwiches, at least for me, are exotic. The classic had ham, pate, and head cheese. Interestingly, the ham was as offal-ly (?) as the headcheese, and even the Breslin would have a hard time mimicking that good old nose-to-tail gut-check. I have to admit I had to take a breather here and there. The pork belly was pure melted pork fat, and it was delicious when combined with the crispy baguette. Unlike any sandwich I ever had. The bulgogi was the most mainstream tasting of the three, which was delicious also but I didn't get that full Korean flavor from the meat.

A great place if you're feeling in the mood to break out of the cycle of standard Banh Mi offerings. I'd like to go back soon for the Lemongrass Chicken.

http://www.jojuny.com/

Pork Soda

It's quite likely that I'm not going to be able to make it down to Philly before the end of the year to get a Roast Pork sandwich so I was thrilled to learn that we got a big bunch of broccoli rabe from our farm share. Two words that are as soothing as a children's lullaby: pork sandwich.

I went to the store and got a 5 lb. whole pork shoulder and caked it in a crust of rosemary, garlic and coarse salt. I threw it in the slow cooker with a cup of water for 6 hours and could barely contain my glee. Next, I blanched and sauteed the broccoli rabe with some red pepper flakes, garlic and oil.

The roast was pulled from the cooker and I pulled it off the bone and separated out the fat. Assembled it all on a long roll with some provolone. I ate it watching football and couldn't move. Suffering with comfort!