I have a bad habit. Whenever I get my hands on delicious food I forget everything else. I forget that I write a blog about cooking and eating. I forget that taking a photo of the food on my plate BEFORE it gets eaten might be a good idea. All of that stuff just flies right out the window as my eyes focus in on what I could be biting. Put a sandwich in front of me and my animal instincts take over, pushing all reason and responsibility out of my mind, and leaving my actions to the whim of my growling stomach. Seriously, this is becoming an issue.
For example, this afternoon my husband suggested that we grab some lunch out instead of making something here. I had a lot of work to do, but far be it from me to pass up a golden opportunity like LUNCH. I suggested we compromise with takeout. So, off I go to the mighty internet, searching for a new and exciting source of grab and go lunching. I found a deli / sandwich shop with great reviews pretty close to our house and placed an order.
They do a lot of things really well in Austin. Sandwhiches, are not one of them. There is a place in my heart for Which Wich. It's novel. It's cute. Their sammy's are pretty good, but Which Wich, Thunderclouds and Jimmy John's put together couldn't hold a candle to even the most mediocre New York deli.
While I had not given up all hope for finding a good, deli style sandwich in Austin, my hopes for Fricano's Deli weren't all that high. But then Scott arrived with the hefty, paper wrapped bundles that changed my life. I could smell them through the paper. BREAD!! Real, tasty, fresh bread. Now don't get TOO excited, this was NOT New York, or even general Tri-State area quality bread. It did not taste "just like home". It didn't make me sob tears of joy, but it was real bread, and it was good. My sandwich was simple, something any sub shop should do really well if they are worth their salt: Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, and Mayo on a Grinder Roll. Their grinder, called a "hoagie" is actually just a big loaf of French Bread. Like I said, it's not like home, but it's pretty damn good.
To get back to the point, after three months in Austin, a veritable sandwich desert, I just about went crazy when I opened up that Hoagie wrapper. Should I have stopped for a moment, put it on a plate, and taken its picture so that it could accompany this post? Yes. Is that what happened? Not even close. I wolfed the first half down with just enough time to spare to make some gutteral noises of pleasure, and grunt and nod at whatever it was Scott was jabbering on about while I was TRYING to eat my sandwich. After I'd finished the first half, I looked sadly at the second half, knowing it was a lose-lose situation. Either I eat it now and wish I still had it later, or eat it later and wish I still had it now. To save myself from further mental turmoil, I ate it.