Best sandwich ever - recommendations

[TO73074E]

I'm sat here reading this thread while eating a tuna salad just torturing myself, but I digress.

Best two I have ever had:

Manchester - A small Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown named Pho Cue. A Banh Mi with a pot of curry to dip it into. Absolutely awesome.

San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy - Aim for the Gelateria Dondoli and right next door is a small sandwich shop that sold traditional schiacciata sandwich. I got one with pecorino, porchetta, salami and truffle oil, absolutely massive it was. I cannot decide if it beats the Banh Mi but it's amazing.

I've not seen them mentioned yet but if anyone has been to Porto, have you tried a Francesinha and are they as good as they look?

[mikef]

My young one studied at the Universidade do Porto and described Francesinha as the worst thing she has ever eaten anywhere

[Mobile Chicane]

Hot salt beef brisket on rye with pickles and mustard takes some beating.

Sod the American ste with 'Swiss cheese' and sauerkraut, just the meat and mustard.

[Fastchas]

Antony Moxey said:

Crisp, with ready salted only. On cheap white bread.

Stick banana on that - the crunch and salt of the crisps complement the squidgy 'nana. Heaven.

[blearyeyedboy]

About as healthy as 80 ciggies a day but...

Freshly baked white baguette.
Clotted cream and really good strawberry jam (eg Bonne Maman).

You'll thank me later. Your coronary arteries won't.

[matrignano]

Pork Banh Mi
Philly Cheesesteak
Ruben on rye or bagel
Brie and ham toasted ciabatta, bit of mustard

[nikaiyo2]

Baffled Coffee in Southsea/ Old Portsmouth, the best Rubens this side of the Atlantic.

Viet Populair in the Arcade Food Hall in Soho do an epic Banh Mi, its almost Saigon level.

[cookie1600]

Grated vintage Cheddar stacked high, with Heinz ketchup on thickly buttered white or brown fresh bloomer. Then immediately get a cholesterol reading.

[Legacywr]

captain.scarlet said:

Shaoxter said:

Legacywr said:

Chip butty, white bread, proper butter.

Haven’t had one for years

And people wonder why British food has a bad reputation...

A nice roast dinner or a cottage pie on a winter's evening would, personally speaking, sit better than a curry, or some Italian / flavour explosion Thai etc food.

IMO there's the comfort aspect to certain simple dishes, which extends to things like a humble sandwich that 'hits the spot' and is easy to enjoy and savour thanks to the simplicity of it and its filling. E,g, a chip butty.

Additionally, craving something, having not having had it in ages, makes it taste better.

On that note, an egg mayo is my default sandwich of choice!

Chip butty’s are fantastic, simple, and very British.

Fish finger sandwiches too, with proper, thick, ketchup

[RichFN2]

Only have this as a treat, but I do love a good breakfast sandwich:

White sourdough bread
Bacon, sausage & egg (normally 2 each)

Using good quality sausages is important, brown sauce and your good to go for hours. Also a strong cup of tea goes down perfectly afterwards.

[AlexC1981]

Best hot sandwich: Unsmoked back bacon and fried tomatoes in crusty tiger bread. Bacon must be cooked on a high temp grill to crisp up the fat without making the bacon tough. Use real butter on the bread. No sauce.

Best cold sandwich: Homemade egg mayonnaise with crispy smoked bacon in granary bread. Don't go overboard with the mayo and the bacon must be crispy. Chop up bacon and mix into the egg mayo. No butter.

Add salt and pepper as required to both.

Honourable mentions:

The salt beef bagel with gherkin, mustard etc.
Beef and horseradish.
Ham and sweet pickled beetroot.
Lightly spread cream cheese plus cucumber with lots of black pepper.

[fttm]

Currently eating a Montreal smoked beef sandwich with ketchup and mustard on freshly baked white bread , simple and delicious .

[dontlookdown]

mikef said:

My young one studied at the Universidade do Porto and described Francesinha as the worst thing she has ever eaten anywhere

Yes they are generally pretty disappointing IME.

Not as bad as the Philly cheese steak I once had though, in Philadelphia, too. Maybe I just picked the wrong place to get one but it was a big let down. Epically greasy and properly unpleasant. I only had a couple of bites.

[Another project]

The best sandwich I've had was a breakfast baguette near Hadley wood train station , sausage, egg , bacon, hash browns, onions and brown sauce. It's bloody huge and absolutely lovely. By far the best breakfast sandwich I've ever had

[mikef]

If we’re also doing least appetising sandwich, a Michigan coney dog (they claim it’s the original) is a hot dog served in a white sauce made of beef heart. A once-only experience for me

[sunnygym]

There’s a Vietnamese place called Keu that does Banh Mi and the baguettes are hot and crispy. They do a few different meats but the pork belly is my fav.

[tr7v8]

Hol said:

We had a US Themed sandwich shop in Chatham (i agree that sounds made up for Chatham) back in the 90’s that used to mimic the quality of higher end London establishments, by using quality ingredients. You chose a sandwich from a menu, based on its name, not the filling.

Blueberry Park? Used to be our go to place when I worked for Lloyds TSB Mountbatten House. Shame it closed. As a Food place we use Cafe Nucleus opposite Iceland these days. Fantastic food but not cheap.

[RC1807]

In the U.S, pastrami on rye or a Reuben

At home, as mentioned by someone else, the Boxing Day sandwich : turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sliced pigs in blankets, or, fish fingers with ketchup and sauce tartare.

[ATG]

A good BLT is a very fine thing, but requires that rarest of things in the UK; a ripe tomato.

Grumbleoak already nominated a tomato and black pepper sandwich, and that simple combo is also great, again, so long as you have a good tomato (ripe beefsteak tomato, for example).

Sadly the overwhelming majority of tomatoes that you can buy in the UK are flavourless even if they manage to turn red. And it is a source of great national shame.

[Waynker Renee]

ATG said:

Sadly the overwhelming majority of tomatoes that you can buy in the UK are flavourless even if they manage to turn red. And it is a source of great national shame.

Also the very reason why you can’t make a decent Greek salad or Caprese here.

My special treat sandwich is a mayonnaise mix (recipe stolen from a local sandwich bar). Pastrami,crumbled blue cheese and jalapeños on a rye or brown bread.