A Leisurely Gentleman from Logan House - $10.00

1701 Delaware Avenue, Wilmington, DE - (302) 652-9493

http://www.loganhouse.com

The Leisurely Gentleman is a burger where the bun is composed of grilled cheese sandwiches. My jaw dropped when I first heard that alone, but there's MORE - the top grilled cheese sandwich has a tomato in it and the bottom one added bacon. If that's not an ingenius idea, I don't know what is.

From the sounds of the description alone, you'd expect it to be some towering sandwich you could barely get your jaws around, but it turns out to be an entirely manageable sandwich.

Seeing how simple yet, extraordinarily awesome the result is really makes me think I need to add this sandwich to my cooking repertoire.

Cemitas Atomica from Cemitas Pueblas - $9.00

3619 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL - (773) 772-8435

"Sesame seed bread layered with avocado, choice of meat, adobo chipotle peppers, fresh Oaxacan cheese and papalo (seasonal)."

For the meat, we chose the Atomica version which includes Milanesa (breaded beef fillet), Carne Enchilada (thin sheet of pork coated with chili pepper), and Jamon (a Spanish ham).

The sandwich was good, but in my opinion, over-hyped and over-priced, just because it was featured on the show Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives. Still, this Pueblan sandwich is supposedly unique to this single restaurant in the entire Chicagoland area so it could be worth checking out.

Italian Beef from Johnnie's Beef - $???

7500 West North Avenue, Elmwood Park, IL - (708) 452-6000

Many people consider this to be the best Italian beef in the world. Indeed, I agree it was a fantastic beef. My friend and I were so pleased that we wanted to get another one on the way home but they had already closed for the night. However, I don't believe the gap in quality from Portillo's beef to make it worth the extra 40 minute drive.

This was also the first time that I had my Italian beef dipped and I had it double dipped. The bread came out very soggy to the point where it was falling apart and still, the Italian beef was outstanding.

I hear they have a superb lemon ice with beefy chunks of lemon, but I didn't try it that night since it was about 0 F outside. Maybe next time...

Note: I THINK they only accept cash so be prepared.

Wreck from Potbelly's - $4.19

28361 Diehl Road, Warrenville, IL - 630-821-7940

The Wreck comes with salami, roast beef, turkey, and ham with swiss cheese. On top of that, you can choose from mayo, mustard, hot peppers, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle, oil & Italian seasoning. As for me, I like to get everything.

Potbelly is one of those place that I crave when it's not around me. But when I stop to think about it, I think the only sandwich I've ever ordered from there is the Wreck, so you could say that it's the Wreck that I truly miss. You get a good amount of meat, AND the hot peppers give it a pleasant, fiery zest. Can't beat that.

Chicken Pomodoro Panini from Go Roma - $6.49

28361 Diehl Road, Warrenville, IL - (630)393-7662

This sandwich is comprised of roasted chicken breast, oven dried tomatoes, spinach, basil, provolone cheese, and pesto mayo on panini bread.

The bread was too hard for my liking and the chicken a bit too dry. In spite of these two criticisms, the sandwich was still okay. The crispy fries that came with the sandwich earned it some bonus points.

On a sidenote, I also ordered their pasta & meatball soup. I didn't take a picture because soup pictures tend to look boring. Anyway, the soup was far too salty so I recommend passing on it.

McRib from McDonald's - $2.19

1520 North Naper Boulevard, Naperville, IL‎ - (630)505-0220

The McRib is a limited time sandwich that consists of a boneless pork patty covered in BBQ sauce, onions, and pickles on a six-inch bun.

It's a very good sandwich, but the corporate big wigs at McDonald's like to toy with people's emotions so they discontinue the sandwich on occasion, but simultaneously talk about making it a permanent menu item. I heard people were die-hard about this sandwich to the point where they would travel to different cities when it was discontinued in their own city. While I wouldn't say it was THAT good, it was still tasty. The BBQ sauce tastes like the same sauce provided with their nuggets - a sweet, slightly tangy, sauce and the pork patty resembles rib meat fairly well. This would be a fine addition to their permanent menu to give it more variety.

Reuben Sandwich from Ashkenaz Deli - $8.45

12 E Cedar Street, Chicago, IL - (312)944-5006

I walked about four miles each way in Chicago winter weather for this sandwich and it was totally worth it.

It's a standard reuben sandwich in that all the ingredients are there without any extras: corned beef, Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut all on toasted rye bread. Therefore, I'm not sure what makes this sandwich so awesome, but it is. My sister even dubbed it "the best sandwich she's ever had."

The sandwich is a bit pricey, but you have to remember you're right next to the Gold Coast where people walk dogs wearing clothes worth more than most people's cars. Yes, I'm serious. So I don't think $8.45 is too outrageous, especially when the sandwich tastes as good as it does.

New England Lobster Roll from Harry's Savoy Grill - $18.95

2020 Naamans Road, Wilmington, DE - (302)475-3000

The lobster roll is so aptly named because it's freshly steamed Maine lobster salad piled on a grilled New England-style bun. This thing tasted FANTASTIC and I could spend all day eating these if not for a couple drawbacks:

First off, there's the price. Unfortunately, I can't afford to eat these regularly unless the next time I have salary negotiations, I propose they pay me in the form of lobster instead. Hmm... that gives me an idea...

The other downside is that the "New England-style bun" appears to be only a slice of white bread folded in thirds and toasted that way to keep its form. Therefore, the lobster roll was smaller than what I had envisioned and hence, less filling. If not for the price, I could smash three of these with no problem and then push myself to cram #4 & #5 into my belly.... and then probably stuff #6-10 in my pockets for later. Instead, I'll probably end up making the 20 mile drive and drop another $20 to satisfy my lobster roll fix only to drive back hungry for more. How sad...

Anyway, as for the potato chips, they taste home-made because they felt slightly warmer and greasier, but still tasted light and crispy. Lay's potato chips probably taste like this fresh out of the oven.

Chihuahua from Pure Bread - $7.50

1309 Churchman's Road, Christiana, DE - (302)455-YUMM

The chihuahua is a sandwich made with grilled chicken, pepper jack cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and chipotle mayo on cheddar bread.

Even though I love avocado, for some reason, it felt out of place in this sandwich. In spite of this, I thought the sandwich tasted good. Although, then I tried a bite of the French poodle and decided for what you pay, my sandwich could be much better, so I doubt I'll revisit this sandwich again.

Big Italian Beef from Portillo's - $5.79 + $0.30

950 East Ogden Avenue, Naperville, IL - (630)961-1151

Philadelphia may have their cheese steaks, but Chicago has their Italian beef. I honestly don't understand what makes these so good since it's just bread and beef with the optional sweet or hot peppers, but they are.

Now if you'll look at the picture and direct your attention away from the Italian beef for a moment and look at the wrapper, you'll see that it's soaked with juices and oil. That's the sign of a rockin' Italian beef.

With all those juices, any ordinary roll would end up soggy and disgusting, but these rolls somehow maintain a crispy outer shell and the inside stays nice and chewy.

I don't believe I've ever tried an Italian beef with sweet peppers so I can't tell you what that's like. Instead, I always go with the hot peppers because it adds a zesty kick that'll make you sweat slightly on your brow. God, I love that feeling.

Chopped Beef Brisket Sandwich from Smoque - $8.95

3800 N Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL - (773)545-7427

This restaurant has had a lot of hype after being on the Food Network channel, so I went to check it out for myself. The sandwich was tasty, but nowhere near as phenomenal as what I had heard/read about. The sauce has a striking similarity to a watered down A1 sauce, so I think they'd be better off just using A1 sauce itself. The peach cobbler was yummy also, although it tasted like they used canned peaches.

Like I said, the food was good, but there's nothing exceptional to make me want to go back. There are nearby BBQ joints with better sauces, better hours, and cheaper prices, so unfortunately for Smoque, I don't see the need to settle for this one.


This is the last picture I was able to take with my camera before it died, so please excuse the bad quality.

Pork Jibarito from Cafeteria de Pancho - $6.95

2200 N California Ave, Chicago, IL - (773)772-7811

I made an earlier post here on a jibarito from Borinquen's which is supposedly the restaurant that invented this unique sandwich.

My little sister said Pancho's made a better one, so I wanted to check it out since I enjoyed the first one so much, and once again, I was impressed. It's the essentially the same sandwich as Borinquen's: flattened plantains for a bun, your choice of meat, and the standard toppings of lettuce and tomatoes. They tasted about the same, but the tie-breaker would have to go to Pancho's for having the larger serving size. But both restaurants are in the same neighborhood and worth checking out so whichever you stumble upon first should be good.

Chipotle Grilled Steak Sandwich from TGI Friday's - $11.49

650 South College Avenue, Newark, DE - (302)737-3700

I like to rip my descriptions off the TGI Friday's site when I can because they do a very decent job of describing the dish. This one's description is as follows:

"Tender Cajun–rubbed skirt steak served on toasted ciabatta with a blend of Colby and Monterey Jack cheeses, roasted plantain slices, lettuce, tomato, onion & Chipotle mayo. Served with beer–battered onion rings."

Now this is a sandwich I can appreciate even if it didn't turn out to be all that great, because they are at least TRYING something innovative (plantains). Anyway, my opinion is that the steak was too chewy making it hard to tear and the plantains were a bit too thick. But if they just go back to the drawing boards and tweak their design a bit, they would have themselves a solid sandwich.

Filet 'O Fish from McDonald's - $2.80

1401 Governor's Place, Bear, DE - (302)836-1308

This is perhaps my favorite sandwich from McDonald's and honestly, I prefer their fish sandwich over most others I've had anywhere else. There's something about their tartar sauce that really gets my mouth watering. The price is a wee high for the amount of food that you get which is what keeps me ordering four of these per visit.

Meatball Sub with Provolone from Capriotti's - $6.50

430 Eden Square Shopping Center, Bear, DE - (302)832-8132

If you couldn't already tell, I've been on a Capriotti's kick lately. That's because two smalls (9" apiece) fill me up well, they taste good without being overly unhealthy, and they have decent variety.

This time, I ordered the meatball sub with provolone. The meatball isn't really spiced in any way, so it tastes more like meatloaf than meatball - which is fine by me since I enjoy meatloaf sandwiches also. It's a messy sandwich so grab a lot of napkins.

Capastrami from Capriotti's - $6.75

430 Eden Square Shopping Center, Bear, DE - (302)832-8132

This sandwich is comprised of pastrami, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing. I only ordered the 9" sandwich because any more than that tastes too... saturated? heavy? I don't know, but the sandwich is good in smaller doses.

Fiery Chicken Popper Sandwich from Friday's - $8.39

650 South College Avenue, Newark, DE - (302)737-3700

Unlike most foods that are deemed spicy, this sandwich actually had enough zing on it to make my tongue tingle. Here's the description from tgifridays.com:

"A crispy chicken breast, smothered with cream cheese & jalapeño habanero jelly then topped with jalapeños and mayo. Served on toasted ciabatta bread with fries and a Jalapeño Popper™."

The sandwich was a bit messy because the cream cheese and jelly ooze out when you take a bite. If you're okay with spicy food and having sticky hands, then this one deserves a try. I even think this good enough for a repeat order.

Grilled Italian from Capriotti's - $6.75

430 Eden Square Shopping Center, Bear, DE - (302)832-8132

I'm not exactly sure of all the meats that went into this sandwich, but the Italian is typically capicola, prosciutto, and Genoa salami, with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, oil, and vinegar. This one also appears to have grilled onions.

The sandwich is good enough for me to revisit often, but if I really wanted to nitpick, there are a couple of downsides. For one thing, it's REALLY oily as you can tell from shininess of the sandwich and the see-through paper. The other thing is that the sandwich is fairly salty from all the various meats, but if you're like me, you won't be health-conscious enough to care.

The sandwich in the picture is the small size (9"). Normally, I would get the large (20") for $13, but I like to go for variety and get two smalls instead.

Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich from Balan's Produce - $3.50

851 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, DE - (302)292-2606

I'm not sure if this qualifies as a Filipino dish, but it came from a Filipino grocery store. Whatever the case, good food is good food.

The picture didn't turn out so great, but the pulled pork sandwich tastes much better than it looks. The meat is moist and tender and saturated with a great smokey flavor. Then the bun is soft and chewy, similar to the buns you get for Italian beefs in Chicago. MmmMMm.

The size of the sandwich is fairly small though, but the price is fair for what you get. It's probably about four or five inches long and chockful of pork. I think even my sister can pack away about two of them without too much trouble. As for me, well, that's a different story...

Side Note: My friend ordered the Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich ($4.25, no picture available) and said the meat was sort of tough. Just wanted to throw that out there because I doubt I'll ever order it when I have to pulled pork to pick instead. Ooooh... alliteration.

Jibarito from Borinquen's - $ ???

1720 N California Ave # 1, Chicago, IL 60647 - (773) 227-6038

Esquire magazine rated this one of the best sandwiches in America so I had to try it out the last time I went to Chicago. At first glance, it looks like a regular sandwich, but the "bread" is actually dried and flattened plantains. Then inside, you have your choice of meat (pork, chicken, or steak) and lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, and from the looks of the picture, perhaps a few other sauces that I can't recall. It came with a side of rice and each table has some spectacular habanero hot sauce to compliment the dish.

I took the picture before I decided on making a food blog, so I can't remember the other specifics nor the price. The steak sandwich is in the upper left corner of the picture and the pork is on the right. I went with two other friends and two of the three of us (myself included) thought the pork was better than the steak but we liked both sandwiches very much.