Author Archives: Pete

Pork Shoulder & Mojo Sauce – Made at Home

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pork-shoulder-final

There are a range of possible reactions when one bites into a sandwich. For example, one can be satisfied or pleased. You might express the former with a simple exclamation of “mmmmm” and the latter by pointing frantically, trying to motion to an associate that the combination of this spread with that meat is simply sublime. On the other end of the spectrum you might be disappointed in a sandwich, letting loose a puzzled “hrmmm” as you wonder what went wrong. These are fairly average reactions and as you dine on a wide range of sandwiches I’m sure you’ll find yourself expressing these reactions and more. Beyond that range of average reactions, dear reader, are truly rare sandwich related feelings, and it is my hope that you will one day dine on a sandwich that makes you feel as this one made me.

I took one bite and could feel my shoulders turn inward as my head slumped down. I cursed and was instantly disappointed. Not in the way that you might assume, the sandwich itself was amazing. I was very, very disappointed in myself for a very simple reason: This was the only pork shoulder sandwich I had and the odds that I would soon have another one were not good. This, friends, was so fine a sandwich that before the conclusion of the first bite I was angry I did not have another.

I wish that I could impress you with my sandwich ingenuity, but the beauty of this sandwich is that I did no more than millions of my fellow sandwich enthusiasts do every night. I reheated some leftovers, split a roll, added mustard and there it was. I am simply lucky in that I was starting with some very good leftovers. Earlier in the week I had roasted a pork shoulder with a wet rub of garlic, cumin, orange juice and other spices. It was served with a sauce of olive oil, orange juice and garlic. So later in the week when I found a few slices of pork shoulder in the fridge I went to work. A few tablespoons of leftover mojo sauce went into a pan where they were soon joined by some onions. Once the onions softened the whole of it was set aside, and into the pan went 2 or 3 slices of pork shoulder, making sure to include plenty of the flavorful crust. Once the pork was hot it was laid onto a grilled roll, the onions and sauce laid on top of that, and finally a thin layer of mustard went onto the top half of the roll. I took a quick picture with my phone and retired with my sandwich to the living room, where I sat down and experienced the most profound disappointment of my gastronomic life.

The pork was tender and moist, the crust flavorful and just chewy enough. The sauce presented a mellow garlic flavor that paired well with the mustard as well as a tang amplified by the sauteed onions. If the Bánh Mì suggests the idea of sandwiches as a religion, this simple sandwich I pulled from my fridge is a vision. Truly, it was a very fine sandwich.

Bistro Club – Safeway Deli, Santa Clara, CA

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Bistro Club from Safeway

“Life,” I was once told, “Is simply a matter of basics and details. Rely heavily on one, hope the other comes together and you should be all right.” In sandwiches, as we have seen time and time again, as in life.

The Safeway Bistro Club is a sandwich that gets the basics right. The sandwich is an herbed focaccia bread bread with a hearty layer of chicken, a few slices of bacon, an avocado spread and a piece of lettuce. Chicken is the building block of a great many sandwiches, and far too often at fast food establishments it does not measure up. It is cold and tough, long ago chopped up and parceled out into the portion for one sandwich, regardless of the type. The Bistro Club, however, features large chunks of tender chicken, specifically selected for how well they would fit on my sandwich. It was put in the oven for a full minute, ensuring everything was heated through. I was so impressed with the quality of the chicken that I enquired as to whether it had been grilled on site, and I was surprised when I was told it wasn’t.

As well as the most important element of the sandwich is done, the details are not all there. The avocado, smooth and creamy, is a nice presence but has little in the sandwich to play off of. The avocado is a fine, fine ingredient for a sandwich and it saddens me when I see it merely included, instead of featured. The sandwich resists the urge to pile on extraneous ingredients, but I cannot help but wonder what the avocado might have been. In spite of this, well executed basics carry what is a surprisingly good sandwich.

Grilled Jerk Chicken Sandwich – Primo Patio, Townsend St, San Francisco, CA

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Jerk Chicken Sandwich

Before I get to the sandwich, I’d like to talk about Jerk for a moment. Jerk seems to me to be terribly underrepresented in America’s ethnic cuisine scene. Chinese food is of course ubiquitous, with Japanese restaurants doing their best to keep up. Italian and Mexican are both big time players, with enterprises ranging from your finest neighborhood Taqueria to the Olive Garden. Indian food is the little guy, but any area with any real population density is sure to feature its fair share of Indian restaurants. The same cannot be said of Jerk. Jerk is not going to present itself to you; Jerk must be sought out.

Jerk is a matter of balance. All cuisines are a matter of both ingredients and technique, but rarely are both halves so equally important. The jerk rub is a thick brown paste of allspice, peppers, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, brown sugar and ginger. The mix is too robust to be called delicate, but I assure you too far in the direction of either heat (Scotch Bonnet peppers are no small matter) or sweetness will ruin everything. The cooking must be equally nuanced, with the meat grilled over low, indirect heat, with as much smoke as one can muster. Calling it grilled is almost a misnomer. The smoke mellows the rub, slowly coaxing out the layered flavor and bringing the sweetness and the heat to their perfect meeting point.

You can find Jerk marinades in any supermarket. I have tried them. They are….they are not so good. They contain things like corn syrup, and even if you grill your meat at home, your grill is going to be too hot and not smoky enough. That much sugar and that much heat is the Jerk equivalent of treating a high wire like a diving board. It makes a big mess and it’s going to ruin every one’s appetite. It’s best to leave Jerk to the professionals.

Primo Patio understands Jerk. The chicken sandwich fell apart as I ate it, the connective tissue having been eaten away by the steady but careful application of heat. The flavor was aggressive, the allspice so-very-close to overpowering, brought back by the brown sugar and the cinnamon. It was not as spicy as some rubs, but the peppers let you know they were there. The roll was soft, which ends up being rather important. A hard or even crusty roll would not serve the tenderness of the meat. No one wants to grind away at a roll while the meat is long since gone. This was jerk done right; When one orders a jerk sandwich one runs the risk of getting something that just sits in a marinade before going over a gas grill for 4 minutes a side, and I cannot tell you how pleased I was that this was not the case. Primo Patio gets it, the investment required for proper jerk, the equal parts that must be weighed, considered, and laid in their proper roles. This is a fine sandwich.

Bánh Mì – Bánh Mì Saigon, Grand St, New York, NY

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We should start, then, with perfection.

This is a bánh mì from Saigon Bánh Mì, and it is the best sandwich in America. Now, I have not eaten every sandwich in America, and I do not aspire to. The conclusion that this sandwich is the best was not reached by poll, not by formula, not by proclamation. It simply is. The #1 from Saigon Bánh Mì is not an appeal to reason, it is an argument for sandwiches as a religion.

The namesake sandwich at Saigon Bánh Mì is listed as #1 on the handwritten menu board, and if we’re being completely honest here it is similarly inscribed in my heart. The sandwich is not complicated, and it is the pursuit of perfection of a classic formula that seems to raise the sandwich above its competitors. A baguette grilled to a crunch holds seasoned, diced pork grilled to chewy perfection. Cilantro makes its distinct mark, shredded onion and carrot join cucumber to contrast the pork with a bit of fresh snap, and a slice of pork roll and a bit of mayo smooth things out, bringing it all together. It is everything a sandwich should be, it is flavorful and complete. Rather than merely holding things together, the bread accentuates the overall sandwich.

Saigon Bahn Mi is located in the back half of a jewelry store. After you order your sandwich you can stand there as the jewelry store employees stare at you, no doubt long tired of people who take up space but don’t buy any jade Buddha pendants. I have always felt it a little bit awkward, but before long you surrender your four dollars and leave holding the crowning achievement of the entire sandwich industry. This is the finest sandwich.

A place to speak on sandwiches.

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I believe sandwiches do not get what they deserve. As an entire category of food confined largely to a single meal, sandwiches get neither the respect nor the study they deserve. Not too long ago I thought about this and decided that something should be done. There should be a place where someone can look between two pieces of bread, examine what is there and ponder what ought to be. A place where each ingredient is considered on its own and in its relation to the larger piece. A place where someone can speak on sandwiches.

And so here we are.