you could literally reverse all of these and be very close to correct



must be trolling...

What in the world are you talking about? Maybe it comes open face if you order it at a sit-down restaurant for brunch, but if you order a bagel with lox, cream cheese, red onion, and capers in a bagel shop in NYC, it is going to be stacked like a sandwich 100% of the time.

okay but that's a bagel/coffee shop, you said restaurant

Also Fuku in NYC. Thigh meat FTW at Fuku.

I didn't say restaurant. That was a different poster. In any case, at least in NYC, the overwhelming majority of bagels w/lox are bought from bagel shops, not sit-down restaurants.

okay but in any case the point was
open faced lox = huge win (the way it's served in most restuarants)
lox wedged between bagel halves = huge fail (the way it's served in trashcan bagel shops)

it's like pointing out that 95% of burgers suck because they come from mcdonalds/burger king/etc... yeah, no ****, but a quarter pounder w/ cheese is irrelevant in the elite burger thread

bahn mi lovers,

ask for nem chua to be added to your next one.

banh mi don't get any special love because its literally just a sandwich with pickled veg and "custom baguette". Burgers come with pickles and hotdogs or reubens with kraut, so banh mi is not even the best sandwich to come with something something pickled on it or in it. Push comes to shove, give me a hebrew national dog with the works over a bready banh mi any day.

Hebrew hot dog over a banh mi? WTF

Maybe a great burger can be better but that is a horribly simplistic view on a banh mi. First of all the bread is very important and not that common of a sandwich bread. It shouldn’t be “bready” when done correctly. Also You can break down basically any sandwich as “just a sandwich with veggies and a certain bread”.

Definitely burger over banh mi as well. I'm a bread head, but if the bread makes the sandwich that doesn't say much for the other ingredients and should automatically downgrade it. Bread is important obv, but the banh mi ratio is usually way off. The best sandwich needs the perfect balance...

That's because they're not sandwiches.

And that is correct in the sandwich sense.

Please confirm yourself and send us video or, at the very least, speakpipe.

Finally someone talking some sense itt.

Let's not feed the trolls further by mentioning hot dogs.

We shall have a new thread after this one for non- (naan?) sandwiches.

Melk: I’ll clarify this in the bracket on Monday, but the vote should be on what you reasonably consider as that sandwich. If you live in Cincinnati, it’s based on where you’d go to get a pastrami on rye, not the average of all of them in the world or the best you’ve ever had at Katz’s or wherever.

Orange, rococo: yesss to the bird - a thigh sandwich like fuku, so damn good.

Br: play-in games will feature the 16 contenders. So lobby for any other sandwiches that are more deserving of a spot!

Red: super solid elite 8.

Btc: a great banh mi is a work of sublime balance. Crispy crunchy outer baguette shell. Soft fluffy interior bread. Tasty combo of different pork preparations. Crisp, vinegary, and sweet pickled veg. Herbal freshness of cilantro. Spicy jalapeño pop. And rich, creamy pâté. Everything comes together for the perfect balanced bite. Oh so good.

Literally just a sandwich with X vegetable ingredient and Y bread (plus Z meat)? That pretty much describes every sandwich, minus the sauces.

Dude, do you even banh mi? Pate (and sometimes mayo or butter, not a fan personally of those additions but some are) is an integral part of a banh mi. Chicken liver and ground pork is a pretty standard pate base, or some kinda variation thereof. I'm not a big fan of chicken liver, but it goes pretty well with the pickled carrot and daikon and char siu-esque pork. I prefer a mushroom and goat cheese pate when I make them at home, but that's definitely a little non-traditional.

The torta is at least the equal if not superior to the Cuban sandwich, especially if we're rating by the average sandwich.

I think of a Cuban sandwich as basically a decent ham and swiss sandwich + roast pork. How good a Cuban sandwich is depends so much on the quality of the roast pork and I have had too many where the roast pork was flavorless or dry.

On the other hand, a torta is composed of a fried milanesa cutlet either of pork or beef, with ham, and then they often top it with one more meat of your choice (I usually go al pastor). I have never had bad al pastor meat and if its stuff off thr trompo with a deep achiote flavor, then there's almost nothing better. The condiments of a thin layer of refried beans and avocados is more interesting as well.

The torta is the ultimate fusion sandwich. You have al pastor which is descended from Lebanese immigrants and schwarma. You have a milanesa cutlet ehich is northern Italian/Austrian. And then you have the touch of Mexican spices and condiments.

These separate elements meld together in to such a full flavored amalgamation.
I also only described the mre basic assemblage. There are tortas with everything I described + chorizo scrambled eggs or a runny over easy egg.

I like Cuban sandwiches but I crave a Torta.

By the way, I am with Stinky Pete in saying that if we're going with average sandwich then a plain pastrami or corned beef sandwich will be better than a Reuben.

Only if your corned beef or Pastrami is world class will you serve it standalone with just some rye bread with brown mustard on the side.

On the other hand, plenty of Reuben sandwiches slinging around Boar's Head or worse.

Need I remind you that both Arby's and WienerSchnitzel has a Reuben.

You guys are so america centric. What about the mighty cucumber sandwich?



or the stunning egg and cress?




If you want a bit of input from the land where sandwiches were invented try this

https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/...WY6#.pbO2wgb18

This is quite a goalpost shift. You started by saying the bagels with lox are not a sandwich. I explained that it is almost always served as a sandwich in NYC, even at the very best places in NYC to buy bagels and lox (i.e., Russ and Daughters).

If your new point is that bagels and lox are more enjoyable to eat open faced, I agree.

What's that word that usually follows open-faced?

Greg: toppedbread

Tom: I love both of those and most tea sandwiches really, but they weren’t gonna have a fighting chance in this bracket.

What you describe is far from an average Torta. I've eaten many a delicious Torta in my day, and only one has had a cutlet on it, and that was at a restaurant that also had other Tortas that did not include said cutlet. Only the Torta Milanesa did, and IIRC it didn't come with any other meat added. *

Similarly, while I love al pastor, many restaurant's don't even offer it, and most of the ones that do grill it instead of spit roasting it. Al pastor is delicious, but also not inherent to a Mexican Torta. Finally, even refried beans are not universal. I've had a lot of Tortas that have crema instead.

Don't get me wrong, I love Tortas, and even the ones that I consider average are VVG, but calling what you describe an average Torta is not supportable, imo



* Edit: I forgot one. I also had a Torta at a Mexican restaurant that called itself a Cubano that had a cutlet, as well as Carnitas and a sliced hotdog. I'm not sure what bucket that thing falls in, but I think it was more Torta than Cuban.

No thanks.

Yeah, that seems fine. Definitely need to clarify in the bracket. I don't think many people would hear "average" and automatically assume you meant the bolded. If I lived in Cincinnati and wanted to go get a pastrami and rye, why would I go somewhere they only make an "average" one?

If you lived in Cincinnati, you'd only eat sandwiches that had spaghetti in them and were topped with a mound of shredded cheese.

We only want input from the land where sandwiches were made into something great.
Not the land where food is inedible.