Dagwood goes Downtown

One of the best things about my new job is lunch. I’ve found a plethora of Dagwood-style (“everything but the kitchen sink”) food opportunities within walking distance.

A few blocks away there is what Hubby and I refer to as “Lunchtime Shantytown.” It is a city lot full of trailers that sell food. Everything from down-home BBQ to Thai food is represented. I’ve also discovered that Shantytown offers a few interesting ethnic Dagwood Sandwiches.

The Vietnamese Dagwood: According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banh_mi) this sandwich is called “Bánh mì (pronounced “bun me”)…made with a French-inspired baguette. It is made up of thinly sliced, pickled carrots, daikon, onions, cilantro, choice of barbecued pork, paté, chicken and other meats. The contrasting flavors and textures of the sandwich — as well as its relatively low cost — make it a popular dish.” Contrasting flavors indeed! This sandwich is a party in my mouth. It has zing; it has tang; it has sweet; it has sour; it has salt; it has pepper. It has an East-meets-West combination of flavors that only proves that world peace can happen – if only we can combine and meld our religions like the seemingly contradictory yet complimetary textures and flavors of a Vietnamese Dagwood. For about $3, this sandwich offers everything I could want from both a sandwich and Vietnamese food while invoking a new hope for world peace. Now that is one heck of a lunch break!

The Czech Dagwood: I did a little Googling to find out if this is an original creation by the owners of the cart or if it has more of a history. Low and behold I found this link http://www.schnitzelwich.com/index.html that features a picture of the Schnitzelwich floating etherially in front of my office building! Hmmm, I think this is an original creation. All I can say is thank goodness these folks came to town and opened a food cart instead of going to work in a corporation where innovation and creativity is squelched. Otherwise, this tangy delight would not exist. I can attest that the picture of the Schnitzelwich is very representative of the sandwich (though actual size is much bigger than screen-size, and considerably smaller than it’s relative size to the office building in the picture.) The bread is really good, cripsy on the outside, fresh on the inside. The Schitzel itself is at it should be, crunchy and tasty. The clincher on this sandwich, I believe, the thing that makes it unique among sandwiches is the paprika spread. Nothing adds zest to my day (and a splotch to my blouse) like a splash of Paprika. I want to try a bunch of other stuff at this cart, but so far I haven’t. I can’t bring myself to order anything other than a Schnitzelwich. I honestly haven’t taken note of the price. When I’m in the mood for a Schitzelwich, I kind of get tunnel-vision, and I don’t notice much else.

The Greek Dagwood: One day I was wandering around in search of something new for lunch outside of Shantytown, and I noticed the unmissable giant purple octopus climbing the building of a well known restaurant, The Greek Cuisina (for a picture see http://www.flickr.com/photos/simplebitsdan/195904858). I won’t deny that I (and several other individuals who went to college in the greater city limits) have had a few ouzo inspired moments at this restaurant. What I didn’t realize, is that next door to the restaurant is a deli that offers a wide selection of gi-normous and delicious Dagwood-esque sandwiches. They feature a foccacia like bread and a variety of Greek style spreads (cheesy spreads, olive tapenades, etc…) that make mayo and mustard boring. You can choose a pre-set sandwich or customize one with a variety of ingredients. If you want, you can forego the bread and convert the sandwich into a Dagwood salad! This is where I had a pretty amazing Vege-style-Dagwood. The sandwich was piled with roasted eggplant, zucchini, red peppers, onions, who knows what. It was delicious, zesty, and very Dagwood-worthy. One sandwich is easily two meals and costs about $6. Plus, the Greeks are all about “good” fats with all that olive oil, so I can justify this hearty treat more easily than the meaty versions. (Please, don’t burst my bubble here, I know that any kind of Dagwood isn’t “healthy” – I don’t need to hear it!)

I haven’t talked about my new job much. I will, eventually, but I want to get the more important stuff documented first. My lunch hour hasn’t suffered one bit after being fired. In fact, I’ve traded up bigtime for a lunch hour that is more urban, more educational, more multi-national, and more delicious. Plus, I’m supporting local businesses instead of those suburban chains that are de-culturalizing our country.

A toast: I raise this Dagwood to you, the risk takers in the tall building behind the schnitzelwich who took a chance on a non-team player, bad apple, fired girl like me. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be inspired to pursue this anthropolgical study of the cross-cultural significance of the Dagwood Sandwich and its impact on world peace.

One Response to “Dagwood goes Downtown”

  1. m3marsden says:

    Hmm, this is really making me want to go directly from formula to Dagwood sandwiches. Tell my Mom we can just skip all the rice cereal and pureed peas, okay?

    Your Favorite Little Lunch Partner,
    Miller

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.