Category Archives: SANDWICH LINKS

#NewJerseySloppyJoe

Posted on December 22, 2011 | 3 comments

HASH MARK sandwichnirvana

The mysterious Joe had seduced me with its reputation. Exotic, unattainable, available only indigenously. While I know in  my heart that settling is a crime, punishable by misery, and  that doing without is preferable, noble even, I would have settled for an imitation, an imposter, a reasonable facsimile. I did without though, and my appetite sharpened until it was as pointy as a larding needle.

Head scratcher (honey, don’t do that at the lunch table please): The New Jersey Sloppy Joe has not been pirated to other locales. Muffaletas, pulled pork, Cubanos, Reubens, the banh mi, Philly cheesesteaks, and countless other notable wiches have emigrated to parts far slung. The Joe? Uh uh. No franchised Joe. Although the Town Hall Deli will ship one to you. I wonder how they hold up?

The reputation of the Joe faded to beige once I had experienced the genuine article. I’m a goner and have joined the tribe of fanatics. 

The Town Hall Delicatessen lies in wait between NYC and me. A connector, touchstone, seducer. Connecting the dots from home to Joe with a sprinkling of rye bread crumbs and splashes  of sauce.  Holy cow that sandwich was good.

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Posted in New Jersey, New Jersey Sloppy Joe, SANDWICH LINKS, Sandwiches

Well Enough Left Alone

Posted on November 2, 2011 | 4 comments

One of my favorite Onion headlines: “Local Girlfriend Wants to Do Stuff”.

Local wife, Suits-Herself-Cindy, turned me on to American Seafood.

This cute and disheveled older man runs the shop. He is the owner, actually, with his wife, who makes the key lime pies. It mostly operatesas a seafood store (not restaurant), but he serves dinner a few nights a week. Basically, he will cook ANY fish for you. I get the feeling that you could just walk into the shop and say “I’d like that piece,” and he’d cook it up for you.Then you can get fries and slaw or vegetables and rice. (ADORE the lack of choices). The vegetables (summer squash and green beans) came from his garden!!! So sweet.And, boy, he can cook a piece of fish. The grouper I had was by far the best fish I have had in a long time. The owner hustles around in a cheerful but low key way and makes sure everyone is happy. AND you bring your own beer/wine.They have a variety of fish sandwiches for lunch. We should go.
 Here is a link if you want to investigate: http://www.yelp.com/biz/america-seafood-corp-arlington
So we went. Here here to BYOB and “lack of choices”.

I had been having restaurant phobia. It is a phenomenon where I basically don’t like any restaurant. They all either seem overpriced or not quite good enough or too fussy (I didn’t want anything seared or crusted or glazed or …you know). Does this ever happen to you? American Seafood Corp was the perfect answer.

I’m tired of restaurants, too. Poor me, like the school boy in the New Yorker cartoon circa 1979. Peeling open his sandwich in the lunch room, brown bag on the table, he says, “Not pâté again.” Poor me, I eat out too much. Too many choices. My brain is tired.

Taking one bowl and one spoon and moving to the country.

Here here is American Seafood. For when this local girlfriend wants to do stuff.

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Posted in Arlington, VA, DC Sandwiches, SANDWICH LINKS, Sandwiches