ElSapo, if you liked LaBBQ, you should try out John Lewis' new place if you ever find yourself in Charleston

https://lewisbarbecue.com/story/

I'm a cheesesteak slappy, but Loden makes very good points.

I'm now trying to figure out if there's a good banh mi available nearby (Columbus, OH) for me to reevaluate.

Not voting for banh mi is racist there I said it we were all thinking it.

tried a banh mi sammy last night. exquisite textures and a great pallet of sweetness. it made up for the lol pho experience from yesteryear.

I find it amusing that Loden's post came immediately after ChipWrecked's.

Funny how defensive people are about this....

Make sandwiches great again

bacon egg cheese vs leftover brisket and onions on challah with au jus is a no brainer

That's sort of the problem with legit Vietnamese food. It all looks and sounds rather disgusting and isn't particularly photogenic.

As a point, the complaint about the lack of meat in pho shows how divergent from real cultural food American tastes are. If I put real Pho in front of you, you'd probably hold your nose until you learned each ingredient (pick the one you'd like to try of the 100+).

The whole point isn't to say pho, banh mi, or Vietnamese food is bad per se, just that it's a very unique kind of food that requires a bit of open-mindedness... or a lot.

I went to this Vietnamese place in Hollywood. It is a pretty popular place and some of the items on the menu looked legit. I ordered a coffee and they told me it wasn't Vietnamese coffee. I was a little non-plussed by that, and it really took away from the legitimacy of the place. The food was good, but definitely watered down to our tastes.

That's the wrong, and inferior, type of brisket that is being voted on.

Another cultural elitist checks in.

Braised brisket #1, stop smoking and regenerate your taste, bud.

Not really. I'm not a fan of pho at all.

There is nothing wrong with acknowledging food is different and reflects the culture that it's cooked for. Look no further than the BBQ debate.

To add another strike to my elitism, I know what banh mi is from the photos, but I'd never have known what it was if someone said it to me. To me, it's all gibberish.

Sapo:
I went the opposite direction as you, growing up with Texas bbq then tasting bbq in Georgia, Carolinas, KC, Memphis, etc and arrived at the same conclusion. I love all the bbq, but Texas just makes the best tasting meat, and that’s what gets it that extra +.

Another great post from you.

Btc:
You’re wrong about that, but that’s ok.

Capone:
What we’re really talking about here is eggs + bacon or sausage + optional cheese on some bread or a roll. It’s broad, but it’s also a pretty simple and straightforward sandwich. I’m assuming people will include a lot of their favorite variations when voting for some of these sandwiches.

Chop:
Middle America counts, just like everyplace else. If we had this contest in Asia, pastrami and pulled pork wouldn’t fare so well. It’s a vote of what sandwich people like best, so of course it’s gonna be influenced by what they’ve had and enjoyed. As for your bbq rankings lol @ you. Maybe your taste buds need some fixing after all that African fast food.

Loden:
Excellent post.

AF:
Another excellent post. I bet many brisket voters have never actually had a good brisket sandwich, and are just voting for the idea of it. But that’s part of the competition too.

You're the pothead in this conversation, which is fine, but don't overestimate your palate bro.

Possibly true but even fewer people in this thread have had elite level Peking duck than elite level BBQ.

ED - no matter what an overall travesty of justice this entire process is, one good thing has come from it - more people now know about banh mi and have experienced it. You should give yourself a little pat on the back for that.

Tx,

Braised brisket vs smoked bbq brisket just comes down to whether or not someone has had good bbq brisket. If they have, it’s impossible to choose braised brisket as better. But if they haven’t, I can totally see choosing braised brisket. It’s basically impossible to mess up and always tastes good. Whereas bbq brisket has a much wider range.

When I worked around Texas I used to always ask the office admins where I should go for good BBQ.

That was how I concluded Texas brisket is in fact the best in USA#1.

But it wasn't served as a sandwich. Just meat with white bread on the side.

So, Memphis pulled pork is the best BBQ sandwich.

Incidentally, the best BBQ I ever tasted was at BBQ World Headquarters in Austin, which I see is now closed. Bummer.

Action Freak,

In regards to your post,"I can't believe people know where to go out and get a good brisket sandwich...."

I googled brisket sandwich near me and the results were 7 BBQ joints within a 5 mile radius, all of which have excellent sandwiches.

Maybe think about moving?

El D,

Is there such a thing as disqualifying votes? Because in a competition as important as this, I sure wouldn't want its integrity to be challenged! Especially in such a close 2-vote race as breakfast (50) vs brisket (48), these posts seem to call for adjudication by the competition organizer!

This is why I generally try to not engage in the regional bbq debates. I feel sorry for them and their simple opinions and then move on. But braised vs. smoked is crazy.

This thread has me re-calibrating my take on brisket. At first mention I was thinking of how good the moist brisket at Hill Country is as an example (sans bread). But now I am thinking of the average brisket sandwich most places serve which is dry and simple and needs a healthy dose of BBQ sauce to enjoy (obviously if you have a great deli in your sandwich rotation then your results will vary).

Still think banh mi is getting overrated by a few in this thread. Its a great sandwich but isn't definitely better than a lot of other sandwiches in the Elite 8.

I've always disagreed on the BLT. Don't think I've ever had a good one and almost never order it anywhere. Throw some fresh carved turkey on there and I am starting to get interested.

Pulled pork might be a little overlooked as a great pulled pork is a thing of beauty. Moist tender fall apart meat (maybe a little crispy skin in there), a little bit of creaminess from a good coleslaw, and some vinegar based BBQ sauce for a little extra tanginess and sweetness. Would not throw this so quickly into the "simple" category as some are doing.

I'll drive 100 miles out of my way on a trip to try a bbq joint that is rumored to be good. There are some pretty good eats in the Delta, but they can be a real pain to get to--even if you happen to be in the area.

I am a bit surprised that the SC mustard-based bbq is even mentioned here. The only worse sauce imo is the mayonnaise based sauce (Big Bob Gibson in Decatur AL, etc). Again, it just demonstrates that tastes can be all over the map. Literally, in the case of bbq.

Doom,

Solid post, esp your points re: pulled pork sandwiches. I think they’re a bit overrated, but you make a good case for them.

My main goal is to get people to eat some foods that they haven't before. I dont really care about who wins.

The more people that seek out banh mi, porchetta, tortas, the better the overall quality of these products all become.