002. Sandwiches

    Sandwiches are largely seen in our culture as something to be discounted and a food that isn't meant to be high class, but sandwiches can be all these things and more. Eating a sandwich for lunch is the most comfortable and convenient way of enjoying your midday meal. Most of us don't think of a sandwich as something to look forward to eating, and others stray away from sandwiches entirely for whatever reason. Is it coincidence that the country's largest fast food chain is actually a franchised sandwich shop? Rooted deep in American culture and lore, sandwiches come in all shapes and sizes and are continually evolving, all while never disappointing Americans.

    You can go to almost any city in the country and plop down a $5 bill and get yourself 12 inches of mediocre sandwich heaven in any of Subway's 24,000+ restaurants in the United States. The "footlong sub", as the company so lovingly calls it, is a huge part of most Americans' every day lunch. The model that Subway has set up with a clear glass panel separating you and their "sandwich artist", whom you get to watch make your sandwich every step of the way as you see fit, is so successful that even upstart companies like Chipotle have "borrowed" their idea of assembling a customer's meal. Obviously, their monthly promotions for $5 footlong sandwiches or even their occasional featured sub of the month are huge draws to the general public keep even a fast food chain as big as Subway relevant. However, it all goes back to the sandwich, with the meat, cheese, and all the fixins' that make it so tempting to just spend your lunch with a sandwich instead of a burger. It's a lot better feeling after having eaten a low-fat, vegetable-ridden sandwich over a greasy, fattening hamburger. Americans like that feeling of being "healthy", as so many commercials and supermarket ads urge us to do.

    Subway isn't the only game in town though. Quiznos Sub, a little sandwich shop turned franchised empire from Denver, CO, aims to draw in the sandwich aficionado in all of us with subs that are "toasted" via a easily viewable oven with a circulating belt that takes your sandwich from cold to toasted almost instantaneously. Quiznos is very successful, utilizing the franchisee model that so many other restaurants have success with. The downside to all this toasting and franchise-driven stuff is the price of the sandwiches themselves. They can range from $6.50 for a regular to over $9.00 for a large sandwich. That doesn't include the signature chips or drink that usually accompany your meal from a sub shop. This is disappointing for some, but once the quality is recognized and enjoyed, you might be willing to open your wallet a little further. Local favorite shops like Mr. Pickle's Sandwich Shop are great alternatives to the larger chain ones, but their prices can often be found to be on the high side, but there's no shortage of quality and portion of your sandwich. Mr. Pickle's has found their niche with the younger crowd, offering quirky names and large, messy portions on some of their selections. On that note, the all-too-famous Ike's in San Francisco is another local choice. This time around, though, drama has found its way to Ike's. I won't go through the specifics but it's without mention that Ike's has had trouble getting people to buy in to the immense popularity of their also quirky named sandwiches and outrageously high prices. When you're as popular as Ike's, you too can charge absurdly high amounts of money for a decent-sized sandwich - think upwards of $10 for a regular sized sub.

    So there's a lot more to sandwiches than we might normally realize. It's hard to say if there's any real love that goes into sandwich making, especially by the employees at the larger national chain shops. There's no question that the roots of the sandwich are deep in American tradition and still continue to be wildly successful to this day due to the portability, convenience and all-around good nature that a sandwich provides. As to what shop makes the "best sandwiches" is a completely subjective argument, but one could be correct in saying Subway offers the best "bang for your buck" out of any of the typical shops. With that being said, it's safe to say the sandwich is not yet and is just getting started. Might we witness further evolution of the sandwich? You betcha.