Sandwich Showdown- New York Food and Wine with @udisglutenfree @I_LOVE_NY

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Come one, come all to one of the most fun you can have with two slices of bread. This past Sunday The Whole Foods Market’s Sandwich Showdown was held with Jeff Mauro. Jeff Mauro is the sandwich king from Food Network, and can make one awesome sandwich. This event was held to help raise money for various charities. This event was all about the sandwiches. There were more then fifteen sandwiches to try, with just about every ingredient imaginable, from Turkey to Pastrami, to Porchetta and even gluten free cookies from Udi’s Gluten free, and three varieties of ice cream sandwiches, all of which were delicious.

Upon walking in, each guest is given a wooden chip to cast their vote for the best sandwich available. The only sad point was when realizing the event was over, not because of a timer running down, but because of a lack of space in your stomach. With all the sandwich crafters available, we could talk for hours about every sandwich available and the wonderful wine bar as well, but instead we will highlight some of the stand-out sandwiches.

The afternoon began with an incredible Kobe Patty Melt, by Marble Lane. These little beauties were absolutely mouth watering. A burger made of Kobe beef melting in your mouth with caramelized onions, mushrooms and cheese. Starting with this sandwich set the bar pretty high, opening our eyes to what a sandwich could be- so much more then a delivery system for peanut better and jelly, LOL. This was a hand held taste of something special, interesting, intriguing, and more then you would think a sandwich could deliver.

Up next was “Home by the Range”, an Italian Style Braised Beef sandwich. This sandwich included a piece of braised beef with some Italian pickled vegetables. I think this sandwich was very close to perfect, but missed the mark a bit. In my experience pickled Italian vegetables are a bit spicy and have a kick and a crunch to go along with the acid of the vinegar, which would complement a well cooked meat perfectly. Unfortunately there was no spice or kick to the veggie’s, so I was a bit disappointed. I can understand completely why the decision was made to keep the spicy to a minimum, but I think it would have pushed this sandwich to the top, if it was done just a touch differently.

One of the sponsors of the event was Udi’s Gluten Free. I think this move takes guts, you would not expect a gluten free baked goods company to be compared to some of the best sandwiches in the country. Udi’s wanted to change minds. Their ice cream sandwiches were good, using some of their signature cookies including chocolate chip and snicker doodle. The ice cream sandwiches were a perfect centerpiece to a room full of lunch and dinner sandwiches- sometimes, you need some sweet.

Up next we have Little Muenster with their Taleggio with Mushroom Duxelle. The best way to describe this sandwich and soup combo is to ask you to think of a very high quality grilled cheese sandwich. Melted ( but unique, not your everyday American) cheese, specialty bread, and a touch of mushroom- then pair it with a killer tomato soup. If this doesn’t get your mouth watering, then I suggest you call a doctor. Something may be wrong with you. 🙂

This next picture is for Little Man, for some reason he has a thing for washboards right now, and the band actually had someone playing one and sounded good too!

Up next is a sandwich take on Thanksgiving courtesy of Whole Foods. This sandwich featured turkey, gravy, cranberry slaw and gravy to dip into. The interesting part of this sandwich is the fact that is tasted like Thanksgiving, even the bread was like a good stuffing, and didn’t have any of the meal destroying giblets.

And finally was my favorite sandwich of the afternoon, The Porchetta Calabrese by Solumazia Rosi. This sandwich was an Italian take on the classic Cuban sandwich. Including some fine Italian meats and cheeses as well as a nice piece of Porchetta on the side. The bread was a perfect artisan loaf and also included a wonderful bean salad.

Overall I would greatly suggest hunting down every sandwich maker who came to the showdown, and try them yourself, make your own decision on the best of the contenders in your own personal competition. With most sandwiches, the perfect portion and price point, this is great way to be introduced to some new foods.