It’s Sandwich Week here on TedQuarters. Why? Several reasons:
1) There’s no real baseball for the next three days, and I generally find the All-Star Game pretty boring. (Notable exception: When Pedro Martinez struck out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Jeff Bagwell over two innings in 1999.)
2) The last several posts about sandwiches have been popular, and I give the people what they want.
3) I’m already certain I’m eating a sandwich for dinner tonight, so, you know, one post in the bag.
4) Why do I need to give you so many reasons why it’s Sandwich Week? Sandwiches are awesome. Leave me alone.
Anyway, basically the format of Sandwich Week is as follows: I eat a bunch of sandwiches and then write about them here.
I’m partly using the New York Magazine list of Top 101 Sandwiches in New York as a guide, even though I’m certain that list is a bit pretentious. I’m also seeking recommendations — Alex Belth provided tomorrow’s sandwich destination already — so if you know of any notably awesome sandwiches please say so. The only qualification is that it has to be somewhere reasonably accessible to Midtown Manhattan or Central Westchester. I don’t have all day to travel for great sandwiches. That is my dream, though. Someday…
Anywho, here goes nothing:
The Sandwich: Chacarero Completo from Barros Luco, 300 1/2 E. 52nd St. in Manhattan.
The Construction: Thinly sliced steak with string beans, mayo, white cheese, avocado and a banana-pepper/cilantro sauce on fresh-baked Chilean bread. The sandwich comes with tomatoes, too, but I ordered mine without them because they’re not my cup of tea.
Important background information: Barros Luco the eatery is named for the “Barros Luco,” a popular Chilean sandwich that is in turn named for former Chilean president and mustache hero Ramon Barros Luco. The Wikipedia doesn’t make his presidency sound particularly notable, but obviously the man should be celebrated for popularizing steak-and-cheese sandwiches in Chile.
While he doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as the great John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich and inventor of the sandwich, clearly Ramon Barros Luco was a smart dude and venerable statesman.
What it looks like:
I pulled off a half a slice of bread for the purposes of the photo. It was a complete sandwich, obviously.
How it tastes: This was a good sandwich, but not a great one.
The big innovation the Chacarero Completo offers is the use of string beans on a sandwich, which I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered before. But while I like string beans on their own, they were a bit overpowering on the sandwich, which didn’t have a ton of flavor otherwise. In fact, the hot, fresh-baked bread should have been the best part of the sandwich, but even on its own it just tasted like all the string-bean flavor it soaked up.
Still, the sandwich was moist throughout, the smashed avocados were creamy and delicious, and the melted cheese was, well, melted cheese. The steak was a bit tough and entirely lacked seasoning, which wouldn’t have mattered, I don’t think, if I tasted more of the aji verde (banana pepper and cilantro sauce). A closer look at the menu revealed that I could have ordered the sandwich with the slightly spicier aji rojo sauce, and if I find my way to Barros Luco again, I probably will.
There was a bottle ketchup on the table, so I tried dipping the sandwich in some. That helped a lot; it added a little sweetness to what was a pretty salty sandwich. Maybe the tomato would have balanced out the sandwich a bit, but like I said, I’m no fan of that fruit/vegetable/whatever. I like tomato-based products but not the thing itself. Weird texture, I think.
What it’s worth: I haven’t decided exactly how to rate sandwiches in Sandwich Week, and I may come up with something better, but I figure a good way to measure a sandwich’s excellence is to compare it with the cost. For the Chacarero Completo, I walked about a half a mile and spent $8.
The price was more than reasonable — I am still very full and I ate the sandwich nearly two hours ago. Worth the walk, though? I’m not sure. Like I said, this was a solid sandwich, but I don’t think it was a destination sandwich. If you happen upon Barros Luco, by all means, check it out. But I wouldn’t go too far out of my way for a Chacarero Completo. It was certainly interesting, with the string beans and all, but not outstanding.
Tedquarters 
Gnocco fritto sandwich at Via Emilia (21st Street off Park Avenue South– prosciutto or salami, with fresh mozzarella, in fried dough.
That sounds incredible. Is it only available with dinner though?
I’m pretty sure you can get it at lunch.
Ha, “destination sandwich.”
I should probably pitch the Food Network a show called “Destination: Sandwich.”
this is probably too far out of the way but the Millburn Deli in Millburn, NJ is famous (sort of) for their Sloppy Joes which DOES NOT involve hamburger buns and beef chili, but instead a delicious layering of coleslaw, provolone, russain dressing and your choice of meat on rye bread. These sandwiches are like crack to me and I can’t recommend them enough. If you want something a little more exotic or gimmicky, th deli also serves a Gobbler, which is Thanksgiving Dinner in a sandwich (so turkey, cranberry, stuffing, etc). Also their home made iced tea kicks ass.
if you’re near penn station there is a Mid-Town Direct NJ Transit train that leaves every hour that will stop a block away from the deli. the whole trip can be done in less than 2 hours.
so maybe thats too far away but to give you an idea of demand they actually deliver to colleges during the school year because people can’t get enough. i would say this sandwich will change your life but then again you are an experienced sandwichman so i don’t want to over sell the taste sensation given the commute involved. but i will say that eating a sloppy joe will be the best thing youve ever done in your entire life. so theres that too.
I don’t know if this particular deli does something special to thiers or not, but the idea of the “sloppy Joe” deli sandwich is not unique to this deli. You can get them just about anywhere. I was in Kings grocery store today and they sell pre-made turkey and roast beef sloppy joes. That said, they are very good and I love them.
yeah there is at least one other deli in south orange that also sells ‘real’ sloppy joes but i’m not aware of any others. i would be interested if you, or anyone, knows if any other places (to get them fresh, that is, not the pre made nonsense). i have no real evidence nor am i about to go googling for any but i’m also 100% positive that the Millburn Deli came up with this sandwich. or MAYBE some other deli came up with it first, but probably, no, definitely not.
I was just using the pre-made one I saw as an example of how readily available sloppy joes are. I would never eat a pre-made one because with all that Russian dressing and slaw juice, the sandwich would be a mess. As for where else to get a fresh sloppy joe, like I said, many good deli’s have them on the menu. I have encountered them all over the place. And if a deli doesn’t have it right there on the menu, any decent deli would surely know what one is and make it for you upon request.
Per Wikipedia:
In parts of northern New Jersey, sloppy joe refers to cold, deli-type of sandwich.[3] There are a handful of variations depending on the deli, but it usually includes one or more types of sliced deli meat, such as turkey, ham, pastrami, corned beef, roast beef, or sliced beef tongue, along with coleslaw and Russian dressing, served on rye bread. Sometimes they are made in a “foot-long” variety and sliced individually.
So maybe this is just a northern NJ thing, which could be the case since I’m from northern NJ and don’t spend much time outside of it. As for where it was invented, unfortunately wikipedia does not say, but it very well could have been in Millburn.
Wow, I’m so on board with Sandwich Week!
Somehow I’ve never been to Millburn Deli despite growing up a couple of towns away, maybe it’s worth a trip next time. I wonder if it’s a Jersey thing that a “Sloppy Joe” is a sandwich with cole slaw and russian dressing and various meats (often in triple-decker form), rather than with chili, because I’ve seen that at a number of places in the Jerz. Very tasty. The cole slaw gives it a nice crunchy texture, but it can also soak the bread and then the sandwich falls apart.
The turkey dinner sandwich is a great concept, but you don’t need to go out to Jersey to get it; Lenny’s (various places around NYC) makes a pretty good version. They also make a very good meatloaf and bacon sandwich (although is there really such a thing as a BAD meatloaf and bacon sandwich?). I like it with extra hot peppers to cut the richness of the meats.
I highly, HIGHLY recommend a trip to Defonte’s (the Red Hook original has more personality, but the Gramercy outpost is just as good). The hot roast beef with fried eggplant and fresh mozzarella is PHENOMENAL. Expensive, but you could easily make two meals out of it.
This is making me hungry. I think it’s time to call it a night!
Ted ~ Try an authentic Cuban Sandwich. Roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, dill pickles on Cuban bread. The bread must be cuban bread, not french, not italian. It must be buttered lightly and the whole sandwich must be pressed to melt the cheese properly.
I no longer live in NY, but I think these places are still around. They were good.
Flor de Broadway in Harlem at Broadway & 138th St.
El Sitio on Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside.
Las Vegas Restaurant in Long Island City. 21st st. I think it’s one stop on the subway away from Manhattan.
Are you planning on bulking up and adding power to your game?
In 06 I traveled to the city from NC to take in Game 1 of the NLDS. My cousin brought me a sandwich from somewhere near Battery Park. A muffeletta-but not the olive salad mess. Cappocola, salami, fried eggplant, fresh mozz, gardinera, and mayo. Its like the holy grail of sandwiches. I have tried valiantly, but will never be able to duplicate this masterpiece. Ugh