Nashville Insane Sandwich 1: The Happy Family
For the inaugural Bites insane sandwich (henceforth to be known as a Madwich), we look to the Chinese-American restaurant menu for inspiration. The happy family, though it varies in execution, always presents itself for the indecisive diner with its harmonious combination of beef, chicken and shrimp.
As Prince once said, "Let's get nuts."
For our Happy Family Madwich, we chose:
Roast beef from Arnold's.
Boneless hot chicken breast from Dee's Q in East Nashville.
Shrimp diablo from the smoker at Judge Bean's.
All on one of our favorite rolls around town, courtesy of Mitchell Delicatessan.
Putting it together wasn't quite as hard as I feared it would be, and the sandwich itself was less of a mess than I was expecting. We simply put down a layer of the roast beef, sliced the chicken across its length and, after removing the toothpicks, set the diablos in place.
Et voila! It was even better than I had hoped, just a delicious, crunchy, spicy thing of beauty. And it made a convert of a certain staffer, who, though he was deeply skeptical at first, called it "an explosion of flavor." The Happy Family definitely had its fans, and the jalapeno got a couple of votes as the deal-sealer—it cut through immediately, with the spicy crunch of the chicken coming in behind it, giving everything a nice burn. (Enough of a burn to drown the roast beef out, as one taster noted.)
Some were even afraid to try it. "I don't have the cajones for the insane sandwich," one staffer said, backing away.
Of course, not everyone who did try it loved it. "It's lower on the gross scale than I was expecting," one staffer said. "Instead of an eight, it's more like a three." Not exactly high praise. Several tasters felt that the roast beef was the weak link, either because it didn't add enough to the sandwich or because its mere presence was overkill. But even those who weren't crazy about our crazy concoction didn't write it off entirely: "It's hard to argue with fried chicken," one taster said.
So, I'm going to call our first excursion into madness a success. Mind you, in addition to the travel involved in putting this bad boy together, it wasn't cheap. The rolls were donated (thank you, Chef Helton), but the bill for the other ingredients added up to nearly $40 for enough to make two sandwiches. (The shrimp diablos, at $20 for a six-pack, really set the pace.) Also, this is probably not a sandwich for clean freaks. All told, the ingredients passed through a lot of different hands before assuming their final, insane configuration. It was a lot of fun, though.
And, as importantly: A pair of free Iron Fork tickets goes to whoever comes up with the best idea for our next Madwich.
Comments
I'm thinking pork, chicken and shrimp would work better. Replace the roast beef with some of Martin's pulled pork moistened with a bit of his hot sauce...
Posted 04/23/2008 at 02:59:24 PMOh shit. I feel a $40 sandwich attack in my near future.
Posted 04/23/2008 at 03:34:21 PMthat's it. gnomey just either won the lottery or came into an inheritance...
Posted 04/23/2008 at 04:27:56 PMHow could this possibly NOT be delicious?...
Get them to add it to the menu at Mitchell Deli!
Posted 04/23/2008 at 04:31:05 PMSeriously, you have not seen a real sandwich until you have been to "Taqueria El Alteno" on Murfreesboro rd. They have a sandwich that rivals any that exists. I brought it to work and one person who saw it proceeded to "vomit in terror" as they could not handle how massive it was. It will truly rock your face off. Brush up on your spanish before you go and get the "torta cubana". Trust me you won't need a side dish.
Posted 04/23/2008 at 04:50:00 PMWait, you're not finished. I can think of a couple of species you left off that sandwich!
Posted 04/23/2008 at 06:39:19 PMLesley, don't worry. It came with a side of panda paws.
Posted 04/23/2008 at 06:49:43 PMOkay. I'm not sure if I'm doing this right (that link at the top isn't working for me, so I gots no other examples to go by). I will suggest ingredients, but cannot suggest the best locations as to where to procure them as I live in Murfreesboro.
I call it "The Vacation Sunburn."
-Grilled pineapple (serve a crazy umbrella drink in your scraps).
-A thick, custardy coconut mayo (maybe combine coconut milk with some mayo and thicken with a tiny bit of cornstarch?). I'm thinking that it will look and smell a lot like tanning lotion.
-Some slow roasted pork (luau buried pig-style, ya dig?)
-Thick but still crispy, salty, delicious bacon (what those uv rayz will turn your ass into). Plus, I just like the idea of an animal being cooked two ways on one sandwich.
-All on Sweet Hawaiian Bread.
Ticket me!
Posted 04/24/2008 at 12:25:57 AMOkay I would LOVE to see someone recreate the elusive and crazy hot dog I ate at SXSW last year on St. Patty's Day. It was the most delicious thing in the world at the end of a day packed with irish car bombs, though I'm not sure if that's just because I was completely sloshed. My sister and I tried to track it down again last month when we were in Austin (so she could watch me eat it sober), but we checked EVERY hot dog vendor and absolutely no one had ever even heard of it (bouncers, locals... no one).
Here are the ingredients:
Hot Dog Bun/Roll (something that can hold everything)
Hot Dog
Sauerkraut
Mashed Potatoes
Corn
Ranch Dressing
I would probably get the hot dog, kraut and ranch dressing from Noshville (and have them put it on a French Roll), then get the mashed potatoes and corn at Copper Kettle. Yum.
Posted 04/24/2008 at 09:51:05 AMLesley, I'm trying to think of an insane vegetarian sandwich. (It's hard for me because I keep wanting to put bacon on it.)
Sloopy, you had me hanging on until you mentioned tanning lotion. Now I just keep having bad Bo Derek flashbacks from my childhood, mixed with the smell of Malibu rum.
Janet, how many Irish car bombs are we talking? Lee was saying she wanted to incorporate shepherd's pie somehow. Maybe put that on your dog instead of just plain old mashed potatoes?
Go, Tobin!
Posted 04/24/2008 at 10:04:26 AMI call this the Demonbreun Monster:
-- fried fish from Dan Mc's (with vinegar of course)
-- feta and kalamata olives from The Breeze
-- 2 vegetable rolls from Sushiyobi (mashed up)
-- black beans from Chimalles
-- Otters sauce from Otters
All rolled up and baked in the same rolls used for Christopher's Pizza rolls. Wash it down with a pitcher of beer from Tin Roof.
Posted 04/24/2008 at 12:00:24 PMwow...
Posted 04/25/2008 at 10:21:20 AM(but not in a good way)
Chimalles is closed. What a chame.
Posted 04/25/2008 at 11:44:49 AM