Slow Roasted Brisket Sandwich at The Red Rabbit, Stratford

Satisfying, but not a sandwich. 

Recently my wife and I found ourselves in Stratford, Ontario, a short stop on the way from St. Thomas to Toronto.

We'd visited at a coffee roastery in St. Thomas, Las Chicas del Café at 750 Talbot Street, in the beautifully restored red-brick Canada Southern Railway Station. (St. Thomas was once known as the railway capital of Canada. Now they have a craft brewery called Railway City Brewing Co. Try the Dead Elephant IPA.)

If you're anywhere near St. Thomas, stop in at Las Chicas and say hi and pick up a couple bags of beans, roasted on site. The proprietors, Maria Fiallos and Valeria Fiallos-Soliman, gave us some cherry-infused cold brew they'd made that morning, noting that they didn't sell cups of coffee on site, only bags of Nicaraguan beans from obscure varietals. They noted that their coffee was served at cafés throughout Southern Ontario, including Revel Caffe in Stratford.

So we decided, why not. We drove to Stratford, found Revel, had coffee, then looked for a place for lunch.

We happened on The Red Rabbit. I had an open-faced slow roasted brisket sandwich, with a fried egg on top.

It was delicious, but it is not a sandwich. As my complete, unambiguous sandwich definition notes, anything impossible to eat with my hands without excessive hardship does not qualify. So I'd categorize it as tasty, filling, flavourful, juicy, savoury, satisfying—but not a sandwich.

Then we went back to Revel for another espresso. It was great.

Thanksgiving for a turkey sandwich

Overcooking the turkey has terrible consequences for the next day's sandwiches. That's what was going through my head yesterday as I cooked the bird, debating whether to take it out of the oven.

I did. It was the right decision.

This sandwich was perfect: moist meat on soft white bread --- leftover from the stuffing recipe --- with cheddar cheese and just a few dabs of Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Pepper, in fact is the second most important ingredient.

This conforms to the definition of a sandwich because the essence is of a naturally formed, not shredded or formed into a weirdo shape, like a burger. Amazing.

Pulled Pork: A Revelation in Taste

Everybody should do this atleast once, monthly.

I slow roasted a pork shoulder, and ate a good slab of it like that, then, after it cooled, I pulled it, and ate it all week on sandwiches. So moist and tasty, salty from the rub before it went in the oven.

This recipe was a true discovery. And it clearly falls under the
definition of a sandwich, since the meat has been shredded, not formed into an unnatural shape such as a patty.

Chocolate Donut Sandwich

Great for breakfast

It shouldn't be a surprise that this chocolate donut is a sandwich. It has a frame (the dough) and an essence (the chocolate) and can be picked up without excessive mess. As long as the dough is baked first, and the chocolate added later, it's a sandwich. And this is obviously the case. See the CUSD for more.

The chocolate is actually Nutella, which I don't like in large quantities. Hazelnut does not always agree with me. But for a day's first meal, few sandwiches are finer.

Statistics Canada Considers Pizza a Sandwich

According to a recent report by Statistics Canada, Canadians consume way too much salt. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has read the nutritional information on anything. If it's in a can it has lots of sodium. If it tastes good, same.

The real shocker in the report was what Statistics Canada considers a sandwich. Saying they oversimplified is -- for me -- the understatement of the young millennium. Discussing the amount of sodium in various foods, Stats Can reported the following:

"The "sandwich" category (pizza, sandwiches, submarines, hamburgers, hot dogs) led the way, representing 19% of sodium intake. This was followed by soups (7%) and pasta dishes (6%)."

Even though I disagree wholeheartedly, (see my explanation here), I acknowledge that the uninformed might lump hamburgers in with the sandwiches. But hot dogs? Pizza? The only kind of sandwich a pizza even remotely resembles is the Open-faced. But I don't know a single person or corporation who would put a deep-dish and a hoagie even on the same menu board. They are not siblings, but distant relatives, far removed. Cousins of cousins of cousins.

For those who need an explanation, here is why pizza is not a sandwich: it's all in the baking. An item that, as a whole, requires baking before it can be eaten is not a sandwich. Thus, a pizza, with its toppings added to raw dough, does not qualify. But a sandwich made on dough that is baked to become bread before anything else is added, does. The classification changes when pizza-like toppings are added to a pre-cooked base, which could technically be eaten on the spot. This, according to the CUSD, is a sandwich, as long as it is "capable of being held without great hardship or mess".

It's a technicality for sure, but god loves details. And corned beef subs.

A big thanks to reader Michel for bringing the report to my attention.

The Rollercoaster Principle

I was asked recently to clarify a point on open faced sandwiches. Here is Patricia's question:

"After our discussion concerning Danish open faced sandwiches, I have a question for you: As you know this type of sandwich is correctly eaten with a knife and fork... my question to you is: what if the sandwich is flipped and the filling is on the bottom and the bread on top? It MUST now be eaten with a knife and fork but is it still a sandwich? Just some food for thought!"

Here is my response:

If an open-faced concoction is deemed to be a sandwich, then flipping it over will not change its classification.

Here's why: If it's determined to be a sandwich in its upright form, this indicates that the item is not excessively messy (for more, see the Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition). We're talking no gravy, no major sauce coverage. So, if flipped over, I'm assuming that there is a way to hold the thing
without getting too much of the contents/condiments on you. Ergo, it is still a sandwich. I.e., you could hold the meat with your thumbs, and tuck any pickles between the meat and the frame. If it's a loose meat sandwich, then we are in some trouble. At this point, if you insist on eating it flipped over, I suggest you eat over the sink.

The greater principle here is that a sandwich's classification cannot be affected by its angle of rotation. I will heretofore call this the Rollercoaster Principle: If it's a sandwich at the bottom of a rollercoaster's arc, then it's a sandwich at the top, when the passengers and their sandwiches are upside down.

The Scone Witch -- A Delicious Hex

The salmon sconewich: quite buttery


As a hungry wise person once said, "You can't make sandwiches on bread alone."

Okay, I may have paraphrased that. But I think the people at The Scone Witch (388 Albert Street, Ottawa) heard it the same way.

They serve up a wicked variety of sconewiches, which, as you might expect, feature tasty sandwich contents framed by a buttery scone. Although you may prefer to eat them with a knife and fork, most sconewiches classify as sandwiches, since this decision has more to do with looking refined than the degree of mess the sandwich creates --- a key tenet in the Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition.

Pictured above is a poached salmon concoction. The scone was light and fresh, and, though small, rather filling. Served with a salad, it leaves you satisfied. Not excessively suffonsified.

The restaurant's location is a little odd, though well suited to its name. Set up in a house just west of the business district in downtown Ottawa, it's surrounded by parking lots. One might expect the interior to be dank and cave-like, fortunately it's clean with lots of natural light.

The Scone Witch is a real Ottawa treat. If you haven't tried it, do. I'll be back soon.

My rating: four broomsticks.

Meatball Subs are NOT Sandwiches

Wanted: a roundburger


This poster has been floating around the 'net for a little while now. Given its relevance to DSI, and its substantiation of my view that a meatball sub is NOT a sandwich (it's a Roundburger -- see my Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition from August 25, 2005) I thought I should post it.

The rumour I've heard is that this image is a likeness taken from a real "Wanted" poster of an infamous criminal from the American west, over 110 years ago. This guy apparently realized, moments before being gunned down following a daring bank heist, that the Meatball Sub cannot be classified as a sandwich due to the non-natural formed shape of the meatballs — just like a burger, which also exists in another class.

I haven't checked Snopes yet to verify.

If It Acts Like a Croissant

Kerry's lunch


The croissantwich is a rarely discussed but genuine genus of order "sandwich."

And what a tasty order.

The morsel above, courtesy of Kerry, features cream cheese, crabmeat, and... I think I see some ruffage in there. Truthfully, I'm a little in the dark. I need Kerry to set it straight. Those are her hands too.

It looked good, so I had to show the world one of the few ways to improve on a French pastry.

Just add crab.

A Shawarma Is a Sandwich

Those who have been following DSI have likely memorized the Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition, and should not be surprised that a shawarma is a sandwich.

A sharwarma, or course, is a Lebanese sandwich delicacy, like a wrap but with way more garlic. Seriously, I had one for lunch and I'm feeling woozy, as the garlic has made its way through my veins to the heart and brain. I think my cubicle neighbour is feeling woozy too.

But it was a tasty lunch: a fresh chicken shawarma with confident garlic, crunchy lettuce, ripe tomatoes and pungent pickles. And a side of potatoes. I scored a free lesson in how to eat a shawarma properly (rip the paper as you eat, don't unwrap it all the way or juices will flow down you hand, soaking your pants and soul) from Jason and Casey, two aficionados.

I'm flying to Vancouver tonight to experience Pacific northwest sandwiches. Hope the people sitting beside me on the plane don't mind garlic.

The Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition (CUSD)

CUSD Terms Explained

"Frame": The part of the sandwich you hold. e.g., bread, bun or wrap

"Essence": The filling. e.g., the cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich


The Definition

A sandwich is an assembly of food parts capable of being held without great hardship or mess.

All sandwiches possess a frame that covers some part of the essence. The frame must be made of a material that is in an edible state when the essence is added, and must have an outlet that exposes the essence before the first bite is taken. In other words, the frame may not completely surround the essence (e.g., a burrito), though the essence need not actually be visible.

The essence of a sandwich can be any substance, as long as it is not formed into a non-natural shape (e.g., any burger). Note, however, that a substance formed into a non-natural shape that is sliced and assembled within a frame as described above qualifies as a sandwich (e.g., salami).

In coming days I will provide more examples about what is, and what is not, a sandwich. Feel free to suggest your own examples.

I welcome your comments and questions. The definition seems airtight, but I know there are those who would like to see it defeated. If exceptions are noted, this definition may need to be altered.

But I doubt it.

Prelude to the Definition of a Sandwich

Hey guys, listen up. Gary, put down that hoagie.

Okay, now that I have you all here, I want to go over something of vital importance to the entire raison d'etre of Discovery Sandwich International: the definition of a sandwich.

I know, I know, it’s be en done before. So called aficionados have pitched in their two cents on the essence of a sandwich. Well open your eyes to this, fools, here comes my ten dollars: The Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition.

Other definitions have exceptions. Loopholes. Holes. Loops. CUSD? None.

Other definitions are rainbows of speculation. CUSD will be fact, in stark black and white.

Okay, pick that hoagie back up. For it is a sandwich, and CUSD is coming at you. Soon.