Anyone want a Sandwich?

It is that time again. Friday afternoon late and time for the Frog on Friday. This is when I like to just start a conversation about anything that has no relevance. There are so many people here I thought it would be interesting to hear about where people live. What better way than what they eat. Sort of like a Alton Browns road trip on cable.

Being that this is a pub and good pubs should have something to chew on, I thought I would start a topic about sandwiches. Being from the eastern seaboard, I traveled up and down frequently and everywhere you go there is a sandwich that seems to have itself rooted in the culture of the region. Let’s start in Maine where the lobster rolls and clam rolls rule. ( I should say lobstah.) Then down to Massachusetts where their long roll creation is called a grinder. When you reach southern Connecticut and Westchester County NY it becomes a wedge which evolves into a submarine or sub by the time you reach New Jersey. It is also called a hoagie or a hero. Hero which must have evolved from Gyro,( pronounced yero in Greek) that totally delectable Greek creation of seasoned and shaved ground lamb and beef served on a pita with a yogurt cucumber sauce called tzatziki. As you pass the Jersey Shore you will find that pork roll is a staple in the diet of the locals. Served on what they call a “hard roll” which is not really hard at all. Do not ask for that anywhere else though.

Now we have reached the Mid Atlantic where the blue claw crab is king. You can’t go to Baltimore’s inner harbor without having a crab cake on a toasted bun of a soft shelled crab sandwich for the more adventuresome. Now you keep moving south and the barbeque war rumblings begin. North Carolina with its vinegar mopped pulled pork sandwiches are to write home about. South Carolina has its own as does Georgia, all excellent and all with regional flare. Then you see signs that say “ you’ll love our gizzards!” Sorry I am not that adventurous.

Now I have arrived in sunny Florida where signs abound that say “hot pressed Cubans.”
No it is not an immigrant labor protest. It is another form of the long roll sandwich that was started by the wives of the farm workers from Cuba in the cane fields. It is a slice of roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickle slices with mayo on one side and mustard on the other. There is salami if you live in Tampa but never in Miami. The whole thing is pressed in a machine that looks like it belongs in a dry cleaners but the result is 15 inches of warm melted toasty goodness. I am not going to touch the panini thing. It is way too café chic to belong in a pub. Who wants to continue down the road to the other coast? Yummmm!