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Eating Like An Earl - Talking Time's Top Sandwiches

I didn't vote for any, I think, but I love me a veggie burger, which I consider more of a category than a specific sandwich. There's so many cool things that you can make burgers out of! I'm not a big fan of portobello mushrooms, but I love a good black bean burger, or falafel, or cauliflower, or lentil, or chickpea, especially if you punch it up with some breadcrumbs or nuts. And we cook with Beyond Meat at home all the time (although, admittedly, more typically in pastas than sandwiches).
 
I'm not a vegetatian, but veggie burgers (and other meatless goods) can be very tasty.
 
Yeah, I could easily have put Beyond burgs, they’re a staple of our at-home meal rotation. Lately I’ve been frying them up in avocado oil and it’s worked well.

Honestly I’d take a Beyond over a bland fast-food beef patty any day.
 
#7
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pulled pork

179 points, 7 votes
Staunchest Sandwich Supporters: nataeryn, RT-55J (#2)

Tour Location: Lexington, North Carolina​

Pulled pork is another American barbecue dish that is made by using various methods to cook tough pork shoulder until it is tender. The cooked shoulder is then shredded or chopped and is often used to make sandwiches. Different rubs and/or sauces are used (or not) by different regional barbecue cuisines. Sometimes the shoulder is mixed with other cuts if a whole pig was cooked.

@nataeryn prefers a specific regional style - North Carolina. But that doesn't actually narrow things down since there are two different traditional styles within North Carolina. One of the hallmarks of either NC style is that they add coleslaw to their pulled pork sandwiches. So I think this is what he meant but I'm not sure:
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@RT-55J @Johnny Unusual @Lokii @Issun @JBear
 
It's funny, I hated coleslaw until the pulled pork sandwich. I still don't like to eat it on it's own but I saw what made it work as a compliment with pulled pork, particularly a vinegary slaw with a BBQ sauce pork.
 
I'm on the west coast, but I've always added coleslaw to my pulled pork as well.
 
Way back in the day my dad often used to make pulled pork (which was slow roasted but not smoked) for town fundraisers. There were often leftovers which we would have over the next few days. I do like a good pulled pork no matter who made it but adding coleslaw was never my preference.

RT-55J said:
I'm on the west coast, but I've always added coleslaw to my pulled pork as well.
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I assume this is another case of a practice spreading across the country from where it originated.
 
We've had a lot to eat already but I think we have room for a little bit more - the Eating Epoch Extra! So let's create a signature sandwich to add to our menu. I'll be revealing the ingredients for our sandwich throughout the week. Let's start the sandwich with two solid and reliable toppings.

ingredient #1 - cool crisp lettuce
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ingredient #2 - slices of juicy red ripe tomato
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Eating Epoch Extra - signature sandwich ingredient #3

We have a good start but the sandwich needs more. Let's add some cheese. I think we should go with a choice that's a little bit special but not too unusual - fresh mozzarella
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The only sam I can think of that uses mozarella is the caprese but that doesn't have lettuce. Nice hot weather treat it is, though.
 
Love me some fresh mozz. Yum.

As for the pulled pork …. as a transplant to the South, I’ve taken to plenty of southern foods like hush puppies and sweet tea, but I never developed a taste for the way they do bbq down here. Probably a deep-seated conflict with my midwestern upbringing. If I’m BBQing pork, I want it sweeter and smokier like the smoked rib tips I voted for earlier. Likewise, despite enjoying other vinegary things like pickles and shrubs, I could never get into the vinegar bbq sauce, nor the Carolina style of slaw (I prefer something more German). So I’m just kind of up a creek at your typical NC cook-out. But more power to ‘em, I know a lot of places around that do it really well, it’s just not for me.
 
#6
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meatball sub

196 points, 7 votes
Staunchest Sandwich Supporter: Johnny Unusual (#3)

Tour Location: New York City
​
Here we have another sandwich of murky origins. Cultures and cuisines all over the world have some form of meatball and also put them on bread. So there are many different possible meatball sandwiches but almost everyone* referred to them as subs so I assume we mean the ones that are part of American and Italian-American cuisine. I can't find any evidence but I assume this sandwich was created when Italian immigrants brought their meatball recipes to the US, embiggened their balls with cheap abundant meat, and placed them in the long rolls of the new sub sandwich.

*I redundantly called this an 'italian meatball sub' while @RT-55J had 'meatball sandwich' on his list. I assumed that he meant the same thing.

@Johnny Unusual @Issun @Lokii @nataeryn @Alex

On a side note I think this sandwich and our last entry place highly in the messy sandwiches competition but neither can quite match the reigning champion - the sloppy joe.
 
Torz, yes your picture there is exactly what I'm talking about. I absolutely love BBQ in all its forms. I love smokey flavor and tangy sauces with a kick of spiciness. The slaw I am a bit picky about. I want it to provide some crunch to the sandwich, so i don't want it to be shredded to oblivion. The only downside to this food combo in sandwich form is that it can get rather soggy. For that reason, if I'm not eating it immediately, i prefer to order the sandwich "broken down" so i can assemble myself.

Meatball sub was #10 on my list. If i'm at a sub shop, I often feel like I'd rather order a hot sandwich and before they all started buying the MerryChef quick convection ovens to toast sandwiches, the meatball sub was the go to hot sandwich. I would definitely rank meatball sub as one of the most dangerous to a white dress shirt right up there with the sloppy joe.
 
Meatball subs are so good but as nataeryn said, it is very easy to end up with a meatball in your lap.
 
I didn't vote for meatball subs, but I do like them. They feel kind of exceptional, though? Like, if I walk into a sub place and order a meatball sub, it feels like I have opted for a meatball sub instead of a sub.

Anyway, you're all monsters: just eat the sub carefully like an adult and there shouldn't be any unnecessary mess. I would actually say that it is less messy than most sandwiches, since it's typically just meatballs and a bit of sauce with plenty of cheese to hold things in place. Not even in the same time zone as a sloppy joe, or even your average overstuffed pub burger. Just pinch the far end closed, keep the close end slightly raised, and take care to bite through the meatballs. I have eaten one while driving, and would again.

(My propensity to eat while driving and my fiancés distaste for that practice is an entirely separate discussion.)
 
While researching the different sandwiches I found this interesting fact which I have condensed and paraphrased from a passage in the book America Eats Out (written by John Mariani):
Pizzerias may have been among the first Italian-American eateries, but even at the turn of the 20th century distinctions were clear-cut as to what constituted a true ristorante. To be merely a pizza-maker was to be at the bottom of the culinary and social scale; so many pizzeria owners began offering other dishes, including the hero sandwich.
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I don't have any strong opinions on the meatball sub, but I was just at a place with a lot of tasty sandwiches so I thought I'd post it...
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(In this instance I went with my Italian combo stand-by and got the Sinatra. Was tasty.)
 
Man, when I got my first meatball sub? Revelation. Became my go-to sub. I will say we have a Firehouse Subs here and I think their subs taste good but their take on meatball is a knife-and-fork affair and to me that goes against what I love about chowing down on a meatball sub.
 
Eating Epoch Extra - signature sandwich ingredient #4

A good sauce or condiment can really bring a sandwich together. Let's continue the theme of a little bit different but not too out there with our next ingredient - honey mustard
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JBear said:
Just pinch the far end closed, keep the close end slightly raised, and take care to bite through the meatballs. I have eaten one while driving, and would again.

(My propensity to eat while driving and my fiancés distaste for that practice is an entirely separate discussion.)
Click to expand...

There is no way I could eat a meatball sub and drive a car at the same time. That is legitimately impressive to me.
Anytime I make or eat a meatball sub, i end up with the bun wanting to split on the bottom side, or the meatball wants to sqeeze out of the top.
 
Eating one without a mess is definitely contingent on having a very structurally sound bun, that’s for sure.

Also, I am always in favor of honey mustard. Looking forward to this mystery creation.
 
Loosen your belts everyone - we have quite the overstuffed entry today.

#5
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category breakfast

197 points, 9 votes
Staunchest Sandwich Supporter: Torzelbaum (#7)

Tour Locations:​
Natchez, MississippiJuneau, AlaskaNew York City
Portland, OregonHouston, TexasCharlottesville, Virginia
Plainview, TexasPembroke, New HampshireTulsa, Oklahoma
Rocky Mount, North CarolinaClarksburg, West VirginiaPark City, Utah

Morning can be a busy and hectic time of day so it's no surprise that people like the convenience of having their breakfast in sandwich form. Now we all agree that this is the most important sandwich of the day but we all liked some different variations.

I like the classic biscuit breakfast sandwich (but I often prefer mine without cheese). @nataeryn likes a sausage egg and cheese biscuit. @Johnny Unusual just likes breakfast sandwiches in general.

@Kirin likes an open-faced sandwich for his breakfast since he voted for Eggs Benedict and egg toast.
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@Issun likes a simple fried egg & cheese sandwich.
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@RT-55J likes breakfast sandwiches but seems to have a preference for the combo of a sausage patty and eggs.
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(He might have been thinking of a different 'bread' but I wanted to include some variety.)

And @Alex likes both the McGriddle from McDonald's and croissant sandwiches*
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*Which can be eaten outside of breakfast but I feel like they are most often associated with breakfast. And if I didn't put them in this category then they would have been left out of the Top 50.
 
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