I ride my bike to work as much as I can throughout the year, which means I've got to carry clothes, lunch, and various other things in my backpack. Sometimes my lunch can leak, so I put it in a plastic bag. (You're wondering where this post is going...)
This morning, I pulled this bag out of the pile under the kitchen sink -- and I smiled.
The Market Basket is a great deli in Wyckoff (my home town in New Jersey)... which means this particular plastic bag traveled all the way from America to New Zealand with me last June! The sight of it instantly made my mouth water.
The Market Basket makes the best sandwiches in Wyckoff including my favorite, the "STJ" (smoked turkey with Jarlsberg cheese on a croissant -- melted). Yum.
And then there's my second favorite Market Basket sandwich, the Reuben (corned beef with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on rye).
Non-Americans please take note of the size of these sandwiches!
So far, I haven't come across a country that makes sandwiches anywhere near as well as those found in America. A particularly poor example of a sandwich is the English cucumber sandwich which usually consists of very fine slices of cucumber on buttered white bread. It's one of the few sandwiches in the world that has less calories in it than those burned by creating the sandwich itself (pathetic!).
While the French baguette, German Broetchen, and Italian panini may pass due to quality of bread, cheese, and ham, the American sandwich far surpasses its foreign competitors in terms of variety of meats and cheeses -- and of course by sheer size.
Systematic Sandwich Sampling -- European journey 2012
As for New Zealand sandwiches... nothing to write home about I'm afraid. But most of the time they'll get you through the afternoon.
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what happened to the turker??
ReplyDeleteHere in USA we are expecting a blizzard. And of course we all have to go grocery shopping for milk and bread. I of course went to the Market Basket and so did everybody else in town! The deli counter for these yummy sandwiches was really busy. We will be snowed in but well feed! My favorite is the forrester.
ReplyDeleteDad's favorite is the the decker delight and the boston cream donut. Now this is a topic for another day....dessert!
Love,
Mom
ok, Ms. Blogstress, we need to chat. Or hang out someday over lunch. Maybe it's because I'm a vegetarian, but I was left out of most sandwich fun in the US, and only rediscovered the glorious beast since moving to NZ.
ReplyDeleteAllow me to first touch on the fact that every workplace kitchen in Wellington that I've encountered has a sandwich press, allowing for endless possibilities: the panini, the egg sandwich, the grilled cheese (toastie, whatever)! All without even leaving your floor. I love this.
Second, there are these great roasted vegetables and other veggie salad concoctions sold at the groceries. I have often gotten a few varieties, and some of that red stinky soft cheese (though any camembert or brie will do too) and stuffed it all into a fresh soft bun from the same grocery for delicious sandwich time.
Finally, there's my old standby, which I also discovered here: Castello Blue cheese, avocado (salted, of course), and Ploughman's chutney, on fresh french bread. Or any bread, really. I get instant amnesia when I down one of these, and will sometimes end up making more than one to compensate.
Well, that's my two cents. I've also heard that the cheap Mr. Bun meaty sandwiches are a godsend, but I can't vouch for cheap meat sandwiches here, or anywhere.
Call me!
Hahaa thanks for your thoughts on sandwiches in Wellington! I cannot disagree with you on the sandwich toaster point. I do love toasting my sandwiches (veggie or meat!) in the toaster at work. Generally speaking though I prefer sandwiches with meat and cheese -- although we are reduced meat eaters so often have just veggie sandwiches. The good old cheese toasty with tomato and mustard (or hummus) is quite good too.
DeleteYum! I love eating.
How long have you been in NZ? Perhaps we should meet up for sandwiches one time :)