The Conclusive List of Wonderful Sandwiches

I am not, nor have I ever been, a sandwich person. Sandwiches fall apart. Sandwiches get mushy. Sandwiches contain cold cuts, & I dislike cold cuts. Sandwiches contain condiments, & I dislike condiments.

But every once in awhile, a great sandwich comes along – a sandwich so tasty that not even a sandwich-hater like me can deny its delicious allure. Here, friends, in no particular order, are the Top Five Greatest Sandwiches Of My Life:

• Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwich
  Wolfgang Puck Express at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center
  I’m going to be embarrassingly honest with you here: I don’t even remember what made this sandwich was so good. All I know is that as I ate it, I proclaimed aloud to my mother, “This is the best sandwich I’ve ever had in my entire life,” & it's held that title - or tied for it - for a solid five years. Despite my poor memory, it makes the list based on the lasting impression it made.
  
  
• Pesto Veggie Panini
  Me & Ollie’s in Portsmouth, N.H.
  This simple sandwich is simply delicious. It’s made with basil pesto, sundried tomato mayo, tomato, red pepper, alfalfa sprouts, red onions & melted provolone on Me & Ollie’s homemade sourdough, served with pretzels on the side. I don’t even like vegetables, but I love this sandwich.
  
  
• Chorizo & Potato Grilled Cheese
  Melt Bar & Grilled in Cleveland, OH
  Calling this behemoth a grilled cheese is like calling the Titanic a boat: technically true, but there’s so much more to it! Melt specializes in gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, & their chorizo & potato creation is, hands down, my favorite. It’s also too tall for me to bite into. Every go-round with this sandwich results in my needing to nap immediately.
  
  
• Breakfast Panini
  Popovers in Portsmouth, N.H.
  This sucker is definitely not just for breakfast! With applewood bacon, tomato, pesto, & fresh mozzarella on rosemary focaccia , it doesn’t sound like anything special, but it’s pressed so thinly that it’s like it’s gift-wrapped. Gift-wrapped bacon! It comes with a side of fresh cut melons & berries to help allay some of my bacon-induced guilt.
  
  
• Cheddar Dill Tuna Salad Sandwich
  Totally Cooked To-Go, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
  What? A simple tuna salad sandwich? Yes. And no. This tuna salad sandwich is the tuna salad sandwich to end all tuna salad sandwiches. (How many more times can I say that phrase?) I used to call Totally Cooked before coming in to be sure it was on their menu for the day before coming in because if I arrived & it wasn’t, the disappointment was, obviously, debilitating.

Runner up: My very own Big-Kid Grilled Cheese: muenster, goat cheese, baby spinach, crumbled walnuts & a smear of fig jam on ciabatta & pressed in my George Foreman, panini-style. It felt unfair to list this among my top five, as I made it myself. Still… it’s delicious.

There you have it. The Best Sandwiches, period. What are yours?