Sandwiches, sandwiches, and Sandwich Makers

Too few people take genuine pride in crafting a sandwich. I refer you to the 5th book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy for the ideal sandwich maker attitude - the passage where Arthur Dent is stranded on an alien planet, happily perfecting his craft as a Sandwich Maker:

Today he was just making ordinary sandwiches, if such delicacies, so lovingly crafted, could ever be called ordinary. Today his assistant was away so the Sandwich Maker was applying his own garnish, which he was happy to do. He was happy with just about everything, in fact. He sliced, he sang. He flipped each slice of meat neatly onto a slice of bread, trimmed it, and assembled all the trimmings into their jigsaw. A little salad, a little sauce, another slice of bread, another sandwich, another verse of "Yellow Submarine".

This is exactly the attitude that is missing in today's sandwich makers (notice that I use a lowercase "s" and "m" in naming them) - the loving attitude - the sense that you are creating a delicacy. The excitement of lunchtime.

I used to enjoy Subway sandwiches, but that was before I had had well-crafted Sandwiches, such as the one at Panera (and usually I shun Panera as the Starbucks of sandwich shops) with turkey, bacon, and smoked gouda. Any Sandwich with smoked gouda has got to get high marks automatically, though. It's almost like cheating.

There is also an EXCELLENT Sandwich for a much better value, price-wise, at the Java Alley in the Student Union of OSU in Stillwater. If you are ever there, don't bother with Eskimo Joe's (overrated, and with a rather objectionable name, to boot, in a state where people are sensitive about calling sports teams names like the "Chiefs" and the "Braves"); go straight to the Sandwich place in the Student Union. From the first bite of your Sandwich, you will be able to see that these are people who take pride in their Sandwiches.

I will begin by describing my two favorite Sandwiches. I would have moved on to other Sandwiches, but I enjoyed these two so much that I alternated between the two of them for an entire semester. Coincidentally, they were also the cheapest Sandwiches. One thing about the Sandwich place is that they understand the importance of the Sauce. They are the only place I have found that has flavored mayonnaises - blue cheese flavored, and pesto-black olive flavored. The pesto-black olive flavored mayo, in particular, is DELISH. I have it on their three cheese and tomato sandwich with italian bread warm and tender, three beefy slices of fresh, different-flavored cheeses, and two plump tomato slices. Excellent. Nothing fancy, but beautiful in its simplicity - something like the ordinary sandwich Arthur Dent was making in HGTTG, no doubt. Lovingly made, for $1.99. You can't get cheese slices like that at Subway.

My other favorite Sandwich at this place is a hummus (spelled interestingly on their receipts as humas, almost a terrorist sandwich) and pita sandwich. Creamy, delicately flavored hummus, lightly toasted pita, shredded carrots, two cucumbers, and a cloud of sprouts. Again, lovingly and precisely made, for $2.50.

Now that I am on the Tulsa campus of OSU, I find that the thing I miss the most is the Sandwiches. We have only Subway on campus, and now my lunch desires are frustrated, my lunchtime zest is wilted, my sandwiches are disappointing. My quest is to find just one truly excellent sandwich place in downtown Tulsa, and I will report to you my findings, if they are worthy. Oh, for a Sandwich Maker!!

One further note about sandwiches: there are not nearly enough sandwiches made with avocado. If you are a Sandwich Maker, please do something about this. Thank you.