Is there a sandwich more capable of exceeding the sum of its parts than the meatball sandwich? There was nothing special about any of the individual ingredients of this sandwich. The meatballs lacked any sort of texture, the sauce was standard-issue, the cheese, onions, and peppers were all present but hardly worth a song. Together, though, together they are a meatball sandwich. And a meatball sandwich is something special. I had developed a craving for such a sandwich a few weeks back and had held off, knowing that the longer I waited the more satisfying the eventual sandwich would be. The parameters of what makes a meatball sandwich are fairly narrow, and this is to its advantage. Any place you find with a pizza oven can serve you up exactly what you are expecting to get, exactly what I needed to satisfy my craving. It was a meaty, zesty sandwich, bound together by oozing cheese and a crispy roll. It wasn’t the best possible meatball sandwich, but it was exactly what I needed.