Food And there we have it, twenty days, twenty sandwich reviews. As you might suspect, the original plan was work right through to Christmas Eve, but at a certain point when you've walked into both Wilkinson's and Co-op on multiple occasions only to find that they've sold out of pre-packed festive sandwiches or weren't even restocked in the first place that you realise you have to just stop. That and being stuck in the above cafe working through this dismal three bird sandwich (chicken, turkey and duck) just to make up the numbers and realising the logistics of trying to squeak out a final four review could ruin an already psychologically tenuous Christmas.
Do I have any conclusions after eating turkey, bacon, stuffing and cranberry sauce on malted bread every lunch time for nearly three weeks? Not really. Most of the sandwiches are very similar and after comparing my own experiences with the some of the professional reviews online, you're probably at the mercy of whoever put the individual sandwich together as to how it tastes. Too much of one ingredient, too little of another can mean the difference between a pleasant or average lunch. There's a lot to be said for looking in the window on the hypotenuse of the triangular packaging and seeing if they seem to be well balanced.
The choice of ingredients can mitigate against the average. The bread needs to be relatively thin, it's not the most important part of the meal, it's really just a container. My preference is for thinly sliced Turkey rather than "pulled" or in chunks which can create a stodgy effect. Smoked back bacon please. The thin streaky bacon might be what you'd find on pigs in blankets but it often barely registers in this environment. Proper cranberry sauce with real berries, anything else is just sad. Sage and onion stuffing, but a thin layer. Pork is already covered in the bacon. No spinach or brie, they're just an unnecessary complication. Sausage is optional and only if its moist.
The price of sandwiches doesn't seem to have much sway on the quality. In these circumstances, you don't always get what you pay for. Some of the cheaper options have been deliciously rich, while the more expensive sandwiches were pitiable. The problem is, you don't know, you never know, although its fair to say that if you already like a particular brand of sandwiches, you'll probably like their Christmas variety. It's all a matter of taste. But make it a treat. Eating these lumps of protein every day hasn't exactly helped my constitution, weight or bank balance. If there's another reason to stop it's so that I can become more regular, healthier and solvent. All the best to you and yours.
2 comments:
Aw man, I love Philpotts - there's one next to my office - so I'm disappointed that their Christmas sandwich isn't up to standard! I don't eat pre-packed or indeed very many fancy types of bread-based meals, because I hate mayonnaise and the majority of sauces, so it's a festive tradition I'll never get behind. But living vicariously through you has been fun!
Hello. I didn't mention it above for brevity, it's because although the chicken and turkey were from the cold counter, the pulled duck (which is at the bottom of the sandwich on the photo) was warm which made the whole thing just *weird* since it began to warm the rest of the sandwich up.
I've been staying away from sauces too lately, if only so I can taste the actual food.
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