Today we're in the mind of a sandwich but memory lane keeps yanking us back. We face our fears of odorous funk as we share our hot takes on various hot sandwiches. We're particular and peculiar as we chat hot ham, oozing cheese, Iowa Skinnies and dense, bouncy meatballs before eventually bursting into song.
Episode 154: Favorite Sandwiches
Episode 663: Breakfast sandwich
Matthew's Now but Wow - Cry for Me, Argentina: My Life as a Failed Child Star by Tamara Yajia
Molly 0:04
I'm Molly, and I'm Matthew, and this is spilled milk, the show where we cook something delicious, eat it all, and you
Matthew Amster-Burton 0:10
can't have any. And today we're talking about hot sandwiches.
Molly 0:14
That's right, and we did, in fact, just eat hot sandwiches.
Matthew Amster-Burton 0:18
Yeah, we're doing this. This was suggested by me, host Matthew, one of the hosts of the show. I heard of him. I couldn't remember exactly what you said. So can you help me reconstruct what happened? We did some episode recently. We did sausage sandwiches, sausage sandwiches. And you said, like, you kind of never think of hot sandwiches. That's
Molly 0:35
right, I don't tend to think of hot sandwiches. My spouse is and I'll say more about this, but they are such a hot sandwich person that, like, you know how, if you sometimes go into, like, a bakery or something, and they have some ready made sandwiches, and they'll offer to, like, warm one up for you, oh yeah, yeah. Or, like, Starbucks, if you oh yeah, if you need to buy a sandwich, you can either just take it as it is, or they'll warm it up for you by putting it, like, in a panini press, or
Matthew Amster-Burton 1:00
whatever, or like a convection oven slash microwave, yeah?
Molly 1:05
Okay. It's not that I like the cold sandwich. It's that it just would never occur to me to heat it up. And I often don't like the smell of
Matthew Amster-Burton 1:16
hot sandwich. I was gonna say no hot sandwiches definitely, like, can produce a funk,
Molly 1:20
yeah, and I don't often like that. I
Matthew Amster-Burton 1:23
get that. Okay, so in preparation for this, I was, I was talking last night to a cots D adult child of the show, December, and I mentioned that we're gonna do this and, and they said, Oh, hot sandwiches. Like, I think about those all the time. Really, yeah.
Molly 1:41
I think ash does too. I mean, Ash is just straight up a sandwich person. Do you identify as a sandwich person?
Matthew Amster-Burton 1:47
No, because I don't really like cold sandwiches. And I feel like if anyone heard I was a sandwich person, they would assume that I like cold sandwiches.
Molly 1:56
Well, because cold sandwiches kind of sit at the intersection of some of your condiment issues, like they're cold and savory and sometimes they have gluten stuff.
Matthew Amster-Burton 2:04
Like, I've mentioned this on the show before, but like, one of my most like Central Food memories is I was working for this company in New York that sent me over to work in the office, the London office, for a couple of weeks. I keep forgetting you had one of those jobs that I had a job. Yes, there was this guy who I worked with who I said I was going out to the store, and did he want anything? And he said, get me one of those cold sandwiches that are sold, like, in the triangular containers. And I said, Oh, Which kind do you want? He's like, I don't care anyone. And were you like, I was like, whoa. Like, I both fear and admire this.
Molly 2:39
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I don't know that I'd want to like, be together romantically with somebody who feels that way about sandwiches. Like any sandwich, any sandwich, will do no, I need you to like, be a little more discerning.
Matthew Amster-Burton 2:52
Yeah. So we're gonna get there because I've made a big list of hot sandwiches. I don't know exactly what the format of this is gonna be like, what we're gonna do with this list, I
Molly 3:00
think we should go down it and we'll say whether or not we really are into it or
Matthew Amster-Burton 3:06
Yeah, and and like, have we had it? Yeah, have we had it? Okay, but we gotta have memory lane. That was part of my memory lane, I guess, like the guy who would eat any sandwich, I was gonna
Molly 3:16
say, I think my memory lane is my dad was really the grilled cheese maker in the house. He always did it either in a cast iron pan or we had one of those waffle irons. I'm sure I've talked about this before, that you could swap out, you can swap out the plates, so like, one side was waffled and the other side too was like a, like, griddle, yes. And my dad would make grilled cheeses on the griddle
Matthew Amster-Burton 3:40
Yeah, side, yeah. So, I mean, you do think of grilled cheeses, yeah? But
Molly 3:45
that, to me, is kind of a separate thing.
Matthew Amster-Burton 3:49
Okay, so we're gonna, we're gonna, like, come up with sort of a taxonomy of hot sandwiches, and, like, I think I'm glad you mentioned the the Starbucks style, because that's gonna be, like, one of the types. Okay, okay, great. Okay, I got a little more memory lane, though, that that beautiful place we know as memory lane. I've always loved hot sandwiches, but I think my my two biggest hot sandwich memories like I gave I gave you my biggest cold sandwich memory. Wow, my biggest hot sandwich memories are one time Watson went out of town, I think maybe, to California to visit friends, and came back and told me that she and her friend had gone to a place called Quiznos, and she thought I would like it. How long ago was? This was a long time, okay, okay. Like, Were you familiar with Quiznos? Never heard of it, but it was new at the time. Yeah. Like, they were gonna be, like, the next big thing. And then, as I believe the story is, and I don't know how accurate this is, but it seemed accurate at the time that like that subway was like, we can buy a toaster also, and then, like, Quiznos immediately went out
Molly 4:46
of business. No, Quiznos still exists because ash loves
Matthew Amster-Burton 4:49
it. No, I know it still exists, but not to the extent that it did at its height.
Molly 4:53
Wait, I you know what you mentioning. Quiznos unlocked for me, which is an extremely. Positive, hot sandwich memory. And it is that when I was riding horses a lot in my teens, we would always, we would spend like, two weeks every summer in Albuquerque at the, like, Albuquerque fairgrounds, okay, yeah, and I remember there was like one street near the fairgrounds that had a lot of chain restaurants and fast food, and that was where we would always, you know, eat. That was where we'd wind up. Sure I remember going to slot skis. Do you remember schlotzke? I do. I don't know if I've ever been, I have not been in probably 30 years, but I remember the bread as being really distinctive, having almost a crumpet kind of quality to it, like a really quite even patterning of holes. It would get crispy. Yeah, the bread would get crispy. So the bread itself would get crispy. And it was a hot sandwich. And I think I would probably, I don't know, it was probably like something really, you know, middle of the road, like turkey and cheese or something. But I loved that stuff, excellent. Loved that hot switch.
Matthew Amster-Burton 6:11
All right, so my other one is the roast pork sandwich with broccoli Rob at Tommy denick's at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, which I've been to a couple of times with, with Watson. That sounds fabulous. Yeah, it's gonna be like, I didn't, I didn't tell you this. I made a top five hot sandwiches for myself. Like, if you want to, if you want to come up with yours. Like, I didn't know if you, if you, like, even cared about hot sandwiches enough to come up with a top five, but think I can't, okay, but, yeah, but we got a lot of sandwiches to get through. Okay, okay, okay, should we talk about the hot sandwich that we had just before recording this episode?
Speaker 1 6:45
No, no, no. I think first we should sort of define, or, like, say, what comes to mind when we say hot sandwich. That's a good because I venture to guess so if you just hear the phrase hot sandwich, like, if I said to you, Matthew, I'm in the mind for I'm in the mind. You're in the mind of a sandwich. I'm in the mood for a hot sandwich. What comes to mind? Oh, man, what comes to mind? When I think hot sandwich, like some sort of toasted sub, I think, okay, like, it's like a quizno. Okay, so it's gonna be longer than it is. Why? Longer than it is? Why? It's gonna have, like, sliced deli
Matthew Amster-Burton 7:18
meat and maybe, and like chi or Yeah, or salami and cheese, and it's gonna be toasty, and that's not even that. That's my favorite hot sandwich. But when you say hot sandwich, that's the image that comes into my head. I
Molly 7:30
say it's the same for me, and it is absolutely not a sandwich I really enjoy
Matthew Amster-Burton 7:36
when I was a kid. I think we just, I think we just stumbled back onto memory lane. When I was a kid, I loved the subway steak and cheese, which is so gross, or
Molly 7:48
something, right? It's,
Matthew Amster-Burton 7:49
well, it's slices of like, like, processed cheese, American cheese or processed provolone, but it's, it's the steak that is very suspicious, yeah. But like, would I still eat it today? Yes,
Molly 8:02
oh my god, I'm back on memory lane too. I remember going to Arby's with my friend Jennifer. So when she turned 16, she she got the occasional use of her mother's car, which was, oh yeah, a four door, like Oldsmobile Sedan. I like to drive a four door to Mordor. It was navy blue, and had like, bench seats in the front. Like, do you remember that? Oh, for sure. Anyway, we called it the beast. It was so
Matthew Amster-Burton 8:30
uncool. Do they still make Oh,
Molly 8:32
sorry, go ahead. So Jennifer also rode horses, and we would go to the barn together after school, in high school, and there was a period of time when we would stop on the way at Arby's, yes, and go through the drive through, and we would each get just a regular Arby's roast beef sandwich with some sort of sauce. I got horsey sauce. No, no, no. I was scared of horses.
Matthew Amster-Burton 8:56
Loved horses, but was afraid of their sauce. And
Molly 8:59
then curly fries? Yes, oh, of course, the Arby's curly fries was a hot sandwich, and what I remember of that sandwich, in retrospect, like in my mind's mouth, it is fatty and salty.
Matthew Amster-Burton 9:11
Yeah, I did not like Arby's when I was a kid. My brothers did, but I there was something about the flavor that that just didn't do it for me, and, like, made me wish I had a burger instead. It was, I think I would like it now,
Molly 9:23
maybe almost is reminiscent of, like, hot dog flavor, yeah, totally, yeah, which is not a bad thing, right? Just yeah. I don't know.
Matthew Amster-Burton 9:32
Do they still make cars where, like, it's a two door car, but with a back seat, so you have to sort of like, cram someone in? Yes, okay. Like, why do they make that? I remember thinking as a kid, this is so stupid. Why don't they just put more doors on the
Molly 9:47
car? My mom drives a car like that, okay? And it makes me crazy, okay? Like, I never like riding in the backseat of my mother's car. It fills me with rage, yeah, okay, for all kinds of things,
Matthew Amster-Burton 9:59
as long as we agree. Be on this. Yeah, all the passengers she's she's picking up, like, while driving Uber, while driving you around all kinds of stuff. So I've made a list of hot sandwiches. It is the furthest thing in the world from a comprehensive list. It's mostly ones that either I've tried or want to try, or like, familiar with I spent a lot of time on the Wikipedia list of sandwiches page, which, as you might imagine, is many hundreds of sandwiches long. There's no, there's no, like, specific list of hot sandwiches, so I had to sort of mentally filter out the cold sandwiches. But there are a bunch of bunch of them on there. There was, like, I've never heard of this, and I want to try it, but I'm not going to put it but I'm not going to put it on this, because we're not going to explain a bunch of
Molly 10:45
sandwiches we've never heard of well. And I also want to say too, that we're not going to turn this into, like, a sporkful, is it or is it not a sandwich? Conversation, totally. Because, you know, an argument could be made that, like, I don't know, in parts of India, like a dosa wrapped around filling is a sandwich. We're not going to we're not gonna do that.
Speaker 2 11:03
No, in fact, in our definition, everything is a sandwich. Oh, good. I'm glad we cleared that. Literally, life is a sandwich. Like sandwich. You're sandwiched between birth and death. Wow. I wonder what the, what the sandwich equivalent of that would be, I'd have to have, like, different things. Like, you know, we're also in the sandwich generation. We are, yeah, between, like, some between our parents deaths and our kids births, exactly. That's not really how it goes. But, yeah, okay, Matthew, let us begin a Reuben. Yeah, this is in absolutely no order. Don't like it because I don't like the 1000 Island dressing.
Molly 11:37
You just said that. It makes me realize I don't know what a Reuben
Matthew Amster-Burton 11:41
is. Like, corned beef and sauerkraut and 1000 island dressing. Oh, I have never had that. I think, I think that's correct. I always kind of forget what it is. However, we are pro corned beef, absolutely, yeah. We're also pro sauerkraut, sure, absolutely, yeah. I just like, we'll get to another one that sounds intriguing, but has like a, like, 1000 Island type of sauce, and it's just like, so sometimes I'm okay with that, like, if it's, if they call it burger sauce, and it just comes on the burger, then I'm like, fine.
Molly 12:09
But if they call, so if you go to a burger place and they have something called 1000 Island dressing, I don't
Matthew Amster-Burton 12:15
know if that's ever happened, okay, but yes, I would have a problem with it. Wow. It's because, wow, yeah, it's because I am prejudiced against each and every one of those islands individually.
Speaker 1 12:26
Okay, let's skip over grilled cheese, because I think this is a different category. Yeah, we did an episode about that. Okay, probably more than cheese is also a hot sandwich. It is a hot sandwich. Yes. What about croque monsieur? Love it. I've made it a couple of times, but it's really a thing that I want someone else to make. What do you think I've only had it once? Oh, we. Did we do a croak? Was Here episode we maybe. Did I struggle with the bishop mill? Yeah, I'm like, What is this doing here? I really like the idea of a hot ham and cheese. I like that. Okay.
Matthew Amster-Burton 12:58
Oh, I think we're back on memory lane. This was another thing my brothers love to get at school. Lunch was hot ham and cheese like that. Would be a day when they wouldn't take lunch to school. They would get the hot lunch because they loved hot ham and cheese. I never liked this as a kid. I do like it now,
Molly 13:12
yeah, no to me, this is, this is a hot sandwich I can get around hot ham and cheese. I mean, what like you got, like, melted cheese. You got ham, which I think is a tasty meat. It is a tasty meat, a croque monsieur, I really, I guess maybe the one or two times I've had it, I just didn't want the bechamel. Yeah, I get it. And then a croque madame, of course, is the croque monsieur with a fried egg on top. Love that too. Okay, no, I and you eat a crooked here with a knife and fork. That's right, because the bechamel, okay. I mean, like, do you think that I had a bad one, given that the bechamel felt prominent, like
Matthew Amster-Burton 13:52
for you? So probably because, because, like, I've only made it twice. Oh, so, okay, yeah. Like, the one that used to serve at lepiche was really good.
Molly 14:01
How would you describe it as being different? Just hot ham and cheese. Oh, it's got that bechamel, yeah, but, but does the bechamel? Okay, yeah.
Matthew Amster-Burton 14:11
I mean, that is the difference that it's got like this, this like layer on top. Okay, how about a Cubano or Cuban sandwich,
Molly 14:21
okay? June loves a Cubano, okay. June likes to get them at PCC, where they sell them in the like prepared foods case, and then they'll warm them up for you. June loves it. I can tolerate the smell of it, mostly because it smells like bacon, sure, but
Matthew Amster-Burton 14:42
this is, this is one where I get into condiment trouble because, like, often, or usually has mayo and mustard, and I can't really handle that. You can't, like, if I can get one without those things, I'm totally down.
Molly 14:55
Okay, okay. And to be clear, what's on a Cubano, it's like,
Matthew Amster-Burton 14:59
row. Roast pork, ham, cheese, is that right? I think. And condiments,
Molly 15:06
okay, okay, yeah, the one at PCC goes very PCC in that it also has avocado and something. No, I'm thinking of a different sandwich. Okay, sorry, I'm confusing it with like their Turkey club or
Matthew Amster-Burton 15:21
something. Everything is a sandwich. And now we're learning everything is the same sandwich. To you.
Molly 15:27
Okay, now let's go like, you know, Katz's Deli, Carnegie Deli. How about some like, pastrami or corn beef.
Matthew Amster-Burton 15:34
Love it. And to me, like that is a quintessential example of if it's if it's good, it absolutely needs no condiment, because, like, the meat is so juicy, doesn't need anything other than meat and bread.
Molly 15:46
What do you think it's been so long since I had one my mom and dad loved to go to Carnegie Deli when I was a kid, sure if we went to New York. And I, honestly, at that time in my life, was kind of scared of everything in there except matzo ball soup. Oh, yeah. Like, the the amount of meat was overwhelming to me, like,
Matthew Amster-Burton 16:03
that was their thing, or, like, their sandwiches are, like enough to serve an army?
Molly 16:09
Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I've always loved corned beef, so I think I could probably deal with it. I think I'd probably really enjoy it now, but I would want it with mustard.
Matthew Amster-Burton 16:19
Okay, let's do a corned beef sandwich. Episode corned beef, we did corned beef. Never more Irish Spring though it was, like episode four, like, okay, let's, let's do corned beef sand beef sandwich, and I'll make, I've been planning to make homemade corned beef like I do it once every few years when I get around to getting the brisket.
Molly 16:38
And are we gonna do, like, a plain corned beef sandwich. Are we doing a Reuben with, like, a different dressing? I
Matthew Amster-Burton 16:44
would absolutely try a Reuben without the 1000 Island dressing. Like, what would I want instead? I don't know, probably nothing. Okay, all right, Matthew, what's next? Breakfast sandwiches, like, like, a McMuffin type. We did it a whole episode on this. I like them. You are like, fine. Yeah, that's how I feel. Yep, crispy chicken sandwich. Like, that's a very popular sandwich.
Molly 17:03
Yes, yes. Okay, so I do like a fried chicken sandwich, especially if it's not too
Matthew Amster-Burton 17:09
tall exactly 100%
Molly 17:13
I don't want to get a jaw ache just trying to eat it.
Matthew Amster-Burton 17:17
Yeah, and I don't want it. I don't want, like, a super high ratio of, like, chicken meat to crispy coating, like I want, I want, like, mostly crispy coating.
Molly 17:29
That said, what do we think about, like, grilled chicken sandwiches? Which do you remember these, like, made a big splash at McDonald's in like, the late 80s or
Matthew Amster-Burton 17:38
early 90s? Remember this? I don't think I ever tried one at McDonald's. I remember
Molly 17:42
having them at McDonald's and really liking them, but now I would never order a chicken sandwich in a fast food restaurant. I don't think unless it was fried. I don't think I'd even order a fried chicken sandwich. What about a Wendy's, Wendy's spicy chicken? I never had it. I always go. I always go cheese burger at fast food. Like, always cheeseburger,
Matthew Amster-Burton 18:06
yeah, I mean, I usually go cheeseburger, but I love that Wendy spicy chicken never had. Oh, it's so good, okay,
Speaker 1 18:11
and it's fried, not grilled. It's fried, okay, okay. What about like, have you had the maono Fried chicken I have? Yes, okay, that stuff is really tasty. Yes, when? When it was inside Rachel's ginger beer? Yes, still in the Rachel's in you Village? Okay, yeah. And I was there recently and just had the chicken as, like chicken fingers. And
Matthew Amster-Burton 18:30
yes, oh yeah. So good. Best, the best crispy chicken sandwich sandwich I've ever had was at flirty bird in Calgary, Alberta, where it's one of the only places I've been where they will warn you that it's spicy, and they really mean it. So like, I got the I got the hot, and there were several levels up from hot, and I was sweating, and it was great.
Molly 18:53
That sounds fabulous. What do you want on? Like, a fried chicken sandwich?
Matthew Amster-Burton 18:58
So I am fine with, like, shredded lettuce or a slaw of any kind. I don't really need anything else. How about you? Pickles are great, like,
Molly 19:07
pickles are always great with fried chicken anyway. So, yeah, you know, I haven't eaten enough to feel that I can give an exhaustive Yeah.
Matthew Amster-Burton 19:16
Honestly, I've never had a Chick fil A and I've never had a Popeyes, yeah, so let's not ever start a food show.
Molly 19:23
Okay, glad we've avoided that for the past 16 years.
Molly 19:37
Now, this next one that you've got on the list I've never even heard of
Matthew Amster-Burton 19:41
Okay, so maybe we should try and do an episode on this. So this is the Iowa or Indiana fried pork tenderloin sandwich. Now I'm compelled by this. I love the idea of fried pork. What are this is, is you, like, cut a big slice of pork, of raw pork tenderloin, and you smash. It with a with a pounder, until it's really long and thin. So it's like, I don't know, nine inches long and three inches wide, kind of basically making, like schnitzel. You're basically making schnitzel, and then you bread in and fry it and serve it on like a regular burger bun, so it sticks out ridiculously. I love, yes, that so that is the that is the shtick. Of course, it's delicious because it's fried pork on a bun. The one thing I really enjoy about this sandwich is that I only heard of it because I used to subscribe to Cook's Illustrated magazine, and they published an article about them where they called them Iowa skinnies and so and so. First of all, we sometimes call them Iowa skinnies at home. Sometimes we misremember the name and call them Minnesota fatties. And you can find any number of like Reddit threads or whatever online of people saying, I'm from Iowa. We do love this sandwich. I have never in my life heard it called an Iowa skinny Hold
Molly 20:58
on. So wait, do you make them at home? Oh yeah. Oh god, okay, well, you got to make
Matthew Amster-Burton 21:02
this. Let me, let's do an episode on this. I'll only make you, I'll only make you a food. If we can get an episode out of it. I only do things for content.
Molly 21:08
Okay, fine, okay, so, so we're gonna do a corned beef situation. We're gonna do Iowa body positives, yeah and, yeah and
Matthew Amster-Burton 21:19
as usually, and serve with coleslaw. You got it?
Molly 21:22
Okay, a PO boy.
Matthew Amster-Burton 21:24
I don't know if I've ever had one. Okay, great. Okay, perfect.
Molly 21:29
Okay, wait, but wait, wait, wait, hold on. What else? Oh, good. Okay, we've still got a lot. Okay, Philly cheese steak. Oh, I'd like to speak to this, please. I had my first and only Philly cheesesteak here sitting at your table, and it was delicious, good.
Matthew Amster-Burton 21:43
Yeah, I love a Philly cheese steak. Have you ever had a chopped cheese? No, okay, I have had one once. I don't think it was like at kind of a hipster place that not in New York. So I assume, like a real New Yorker would say it was not authentic. But it is a really good sandwich. It is ground beef, like, cooked on a flat top, like ground beef, usually adobo seasoning, or some kind of, you know, seasoning blend that you would get at the supermarket, onion and cheese, and usually served with lettuce, tomato and ketchup, and the cheese is American cheese of
Molly 22:11
cold up. It's called chopped cheese, though, cheese. Oh, that it's, I mean, it sounds
Matthew Amster-Burton 22:15
really good, yeah. This was a thing that started, started, like, at bodegas and delis in Harlem, and then, like, spread throughout New York City not that long ago. I think, what kind of bread would I expect? I think it's on kind of like a long roll, okay, almost like a hot dog bun or No, like a little more substantial than that, okay? It sounds great. Yeah. This is, this is like a beloved local sandwich that I know very little about. So if I if I got it wrong, Sure, let me know. Contact at spilled up podcast.com, barbecue sandwich. Wow. This seems like a broad category. It is a broad category I'm thinking of like pulled pork or brisket or something served on a roll.
Molly 22:53
I don't know that I've ever had that. Oh, I
Speaker 2 22:56
have it like, at least every other month, because one of the two food trucks that services cribbage night is the wood shop barbecue truck, and so you get a sandwich, as opposed to, like, a plate. Yeah, they don't even really do plates at the truck. Okay, they do. They do either sandwich or meat served on top of mac and cheese. Oh, interesting. Okay, I've never, I've I feel like when I've eaten barbecue, and barbecue was like the point I've always only had it like as a plate, yeah, for sure. Other Other things, yeah. But barbecue sandwich is awesome. And do you tend to get Brisket? Brisket is my favorite. Pulled Pork is a close second. So I will alternate. Wood Shop actually does a really good barbecue chicken sandwich that sort of, sort of, like smoked it's really good, nice meatball sandwich. I loved these when I was a kid, and I still, I never, like, sort of, I don't know, the last time I got it, I've ordered a meatball sandwich anywhere. If we have leftover meatballs of any kind, I will turn them into a sandwich the
Molly 23:58
next day. Okay, let's talk about this. Because I love, I think maybe my favorite way to eat meat is in the form of a meatball. Sure, I love meatballs of all all shapes and sizes. I am a bit flummoxed by a meatball sandwich, because it just feels like you've got this spherical thing, and yet you're gonna try to wrap it in bread, and it's gonna want to roll or crumble apart. Or, how do I do why?
Matthew Amster-Burton 24:30
I mean, it is, it's not gonna want to roll. I don't think you need to worry about that unless, unless you have an extremely, like, dense and bouncy meatball, it is gonna kind of crumble apart. And that's sort of the point is
Molly 24:41
it usually in like a thick tomato sauce, yes, okay, and then what else would be on it? Spaghetti?
Matthew Amster-Burton 24:50
You're thinking of the song on top of spaghetti, about, oh, on top of old smokey, right? The time, the time when you lost your poor meatball, when somebody sneezed, forgot that. When I was a kid, there was a kid, I thought that song was the funniest thing in the world.
Molly 25:04
Okay, wait, you gotta remind me. On top of
Speaker 3 25:06
spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball
Matthew Amster-Burton 25:15
when somebody sneezed, I don't remember after anything. After that, it rolled through the something and onto the sun.
Molly 25:23
Wow. This episode has had so much memory length. Yeah, it's
Matthew Amster-Burton 25:27
true. It keeps like memory length runs through our hearts via many different arteries and veins.
Molly 25:34
Wow, yeah, yeah. Would you say that memories go into our hearts via arteries and come out.
Matthew Amster-Burton 25:42
In my opinion, it's the other way around. But this is just my opinion. Like I mentioned that Matthew and I both have degrees, there's a lot of opinions about there out there about how the heart works. Do your own research. Yeah. Some call them Oracle. Some call them what's the other atria? Yeah. Some call them ventricles. If you think about it, in a sense, the heart is a sandwich, yeah, I heard that heartbeat sound. Okay. So, yeah, so the meatball sandwich, I think you'll find does not present the structural difficulties that you're anticipating. I think it's a pretty straightforward sandwich. I mean, it can be a messy sandwich,
Molly 26:35
okay, but wait, wait, we got distracted. You were trying to say, what's on a meatball sandwich.
Speaker 2 26:40
So honestly, like meatballs sauce and optional cheese. I usually like them better without cheese. So it's really just meatballs and sauce on a roll. Okay, okay, porchetta sandwich, as you might have had at salumi. I remember the salumi porchetta sandwich. I remember when porchetta was, like, the thing that made it at home, yeah, wrapped a pork in another pork. I think, yeah, that's yeah, and then there's some other stuff, yeah, like rosemary and garlic and stuff, I have to
Molly 27:09
say. I mean, I was kind of thinking about this this weekend, actually, how I do feel like my relationship to meat has been, like, steadily changing through adulthood. Sure, I remember having the porchetta sandwich at salumi, and struggling a bit with the thing that people who are more meat eaters than I am love, which is the various textures, the pockets of fat, the you know, whatever I was actually just looking up. So we're taping this right before I'm going to Italy to teach a workshop. And I love looking on Google Maps like in the neighborhood of where I'm staying, and then reading Google reviews of restaurants and cafes is my favorite thing in the world. Yes, anyway, I saw in some Google review of one place, somebody mentioned this amazing sandwich place in another, and so I went and looked up that second sandwich place. It's like cult favorite. All the locals love it, and it serves nothing but porchetta sandwiches, sure. And I was like, No, this isn't. Just isn't for me. Okay, that's fine. I think I'm just not gonna
Matthew Amster-Burton 28:13
you know, you know something that happened the other day. Like, yeah. Like, I There you as you know, there are, like, other things that I struggle with texturally, but meat generally fine. For my birthday this year, we went to monsoon restaurant and ordered their pork chop dish, which is so good. Like, I basically never order a pork chop and like, I was the one who chose her because I'm like, this is going to be like a dry piece of meat, and it is anything but that. It is super juicy and well seasoned. And Watson picked up a slice of it, looked at it, and said, Matthew, I think this one is for you. And it was like a piece that was almost 100% fat, and it was so good.
Molly 28:56
My only experience of that kind of thing has been in the UK, like, the pork I'm going to the UK on Friday. Well, you are probably going to get your hands on some delicious pork.
Matthew Amster-Burton 29:07
Okay, I'm going to just ask people on the street, where can I get my hands on a pork?
Molly 29:11
Wow. I mean, this, like, really fatty pork that has just fucking delicious. Okay, yeah, I feel like in the States, it's more hit or miss. Yep, I'm sure it's hit or miss in the UK too. Yeah, I'll let you know. Okay, hold up. What about a panini? I
Speaker 2 29:29
used to own a panini grill. I used to make these pretty regularly. I've kind of forgotten about them. Yeah, I never think about them, okay? But, I mean, they are good, I guess. I mean, you just take a sandwich and a particular kind of bread and smush it, and you smush it, yeah? But the smushing makes it is what makes it special, yeah,
Molly 29:47
okay, I'm indifferent. Okay, okay, the French dip. Now, I think I've been confusing that with a Reuben for a long time. Did we do a French dip episode? I'm pretty sure we did okay, because I love these. I think we've done. It, because I think that's the only time I've ever eaten them.
Matthew Amster-Burton 30:03
It's a sandwich that you can that's already, like, hot and juicy, and then you can dip it and make it hotter and
Molly 30:08
juicier. I think that I would never naturally gravitate towards, yes, I get that. Okay, a torta. I love torta. Where to begin with this. And once again, this is, like, a barbecue sandwich. It's a whole category world, but, yeah,
Matthew Amster-Burton 30:21
but I want to torta with, like, some some sort of meat you would get at a taco place, lettuce, cheese is optional. Definitely salsa. Like a lot of people like avocado on a torta. If you're an avocado person, obviously get that. I don't. So
Molly 30:35
when you go to a taco place, I guess I see tortas on the menu, but I tend to always get tacos. Yeah, do you? How do you make the call? Or are you a torta
Matthew Amster-Burton 30:47
person? I'm definitely a taco person also, but like, it's just, it's just, like, what I'm feeling at the time, and especially, like, if I'm gonna be, like, walking and eating, like, neither of those, it's a good idea, but a torta is a slightly better
Molly 30:58
idea. Yeah, I get that. Yeah, okay, we should start skipping ahead here. Oh yeah, okay, let's just hit the ones that we're into. Okay, Banh Mi. Love it. Okay.
Matthew Amster-Burton 31:07
Apparently, there's some debate about, like, whether a banh mi should be like a toasted sandwich. But apparently, in Vietnam, it is almost always served that way, really, yeah, oh, I had no idea. Ah okay, okay. Gua Bao, the little, like, steamed, like a steamed chrysanthemum bun with a slice of pork belly and a little sauce. Love that, yeah? Love it. Love it. Maybe some pickles, yeah? Okay, I don't eat nearly enough of those. I know I make, like, sometimes they're there. It's a bit of a project to make, but worth
Molly 31:37
it. I think you made them once for something we did. I think so, yeah, good for me. Giro or Duna as it's Oh, I remember encountering it being called Duna in Germany,
Matthew Amster-Burton 31:49
Oh, okay. Or donair in Canada, other pita kebab type of sandwiches. Love it, yeah, love it. Falafel sandwich, love it. Mozzarella in Carozza. Have you ever had, never had it? I've heard it's like a, it's like a mozzarella sandwich that's deep fried. Okay? It's probably, it's probably good. Probably I would take a couple bites and be like, Okay, I get the idea. I would love that. Yeah, okay, Patty melt. I have never wanted one of these. Yeah, same. I don't know why. Because, like, I like, all the things in it.
Molly 32:23
What about I noticed you did not put like a tuna melt on here? Oh,
Matthew Amster-Burton 32:26
I think just because, like, a fear, like, yeah, it was like, a thing I would never eat.
Molly 32:31
I have never wanted any of these, like, melt sandwiches. But I did once encounter a tuna melt that somebody else had ordered, and it looked really good. And I tasted it, and was like, What is wrong with me? Why have I not been eating these so good? Yeah, but I love tuna salad.
Matthew Amster-Burton 32:47
How about a monte cristo? Don't know what this is. This is like a fried turkey sandwich served with raspberry jam. Absolutely not hot. I had to put a hot brown on here because it's a great name, and I have to look up what it is every time, and I've never had one. It's a sandwich famous from Kentucky that Wikipedia says, quote, the hot brown is an open faced sandwich of turkey breast and bacon covered in Creamy Mornay sauce and baked or broiled until the bread is crisp and the sauce begins to brown. I would eat
Molly 33:14
that. Nope, I can't do it all right. But what this reminds me of is Welsh Rarebit. It is. It says it's like a descendant of Welsh Rarebit. Okay, yeah. And you made Welsh Rarebit? I did. Why did I do that? I struggled with it.
Matthew Amster-Burton 33:26
Yeah? Because it's, like, it's the same thing as the
Molly 33:29
bechamel, the bechamel, yeah, let's see here. You've listed a chimney sandwich.
Matthew Amster-Burton 33:33
This was, this is something I had never heard of, but just sounded good. It's, it's a sandwich from the Dominican Republic. It's a burger served on Pandey Aqua with golf sauce, which is basically like 1000 Island burger, burger sauce type of thing. So it's like a burger on a particular type of crispy bun. Looks good. That sounds great, yeah? Like it's called a chimney sandwich. I
Molly 33:50
love that. Yeah. Okay, so if you had to organize these into like your top five,
Matthew Amster-Burton 33:56
okay, let's put them into some major categories, and then I'll pick So, okay, okay, so here's what I came up with. And I think I'm probably missing some things so, so like, jump in anytime. The most basic one is, take some hot ingredients, put them onto bread, and the bread may or may not have been heated or toasted. Like, I think a lot, like a barbecue. Barbecue sandwich is often like that, okay, the bun might be, might have been heated or toasted, but doesn't have to be, okay, toast, the whole sandwich usually open face and then, and then, like, in an oven, and then close it, okay, okay, which I think is how they do it at Quiznos or subway, okay, press or griddle the sandwich. Got it, fry the sandwich. Okay. What am I missing?
Molly 34:39
Well, I'm sure you're missing something, but, like, I don't know, like, what other, what other, for a second, I was like, press or griddle, but yeah, by griddle, like that would mean, like, the way we make grilled cheese sandwiches, like, just in a skillet. Yeah,
Matthew Amster-Burton 34:51
I guess, I guess I'm like, conflating. I'm like, putting, like, paninis and like grilled cheese cooked in a pan in the same category.
Molly 34:58
I would not put those. Necessarily category, because I think there's pressed and then I think there's griddled, okay? I like the distinction about whether the hot thing is put into, like, room temperature bread, or whether the whole thing is temperature
Matthew Amster-Burton 35:12
thing is put into hot bread.
Molly 35:16
Yeah, I like this. This is working for me. I don't care if you're missing anything, all right? And I would say that in general,
Matthew Amster-Burton 35:23
would someone, would someone make, like, some sort of diagram with, like, the five categories of hot sandwich and like, different sandwiches, like inside the wedges of the diagram? I
Molly 35:34
hope so. Yeah, I hope somebody does that. Okay. It occurs to me that, in general, I think that the pressed category tends to be sort of where a lot of cheap sandwiches wind up true if you get an airplane, like a sandwich on an airplane, you know, it tends to be in almost like a pressed format
Matthew Amster-Burton 35:55
sometimes, but also sometimes, like just heated in a microwave. I like if there is actually, I guess, not usually a microwave, usually more like, like a convection oven.
Molly 36:05
Maybe I'm thinking of, I mean, I've sometimes had sandwiches on airplanes that came in little like paper boxes, sometimes in foil, but they almost always have a smell that I find abhorrent. Yeah, I know what you mean, and that is, I guess maybe just airplane food, yeah. But I'm also thinking of like, if you are in like, a train station or something, and you buy a sandwich at a cafe and they offer to warm it up, it seems to me, it's often going to be warmed up in a press or some other kind of quick heating.
Matthew Amster-Burton 36:36
See, I think, like, most often that's going to be put into like, like, I think the thing they use at Starbucks is a, like, a combination microwave and convection oven, so something like that.
Molly 36:47
Okay, maybe what I'm discovering I don't like is like, I think I'm kind of weird about random, like, cold cuts. Yeah, I am too. I get that. So a lot of these, like cheap sandwiches, or, like, sandwiches that you get at places that are just feeding the hungry, as opposed to trying to taste amazing, right?
Speaker 2 37:09
Yeah, no, no. Like, like, there are suspicious sandwiches out there, for sure. Yeah, sometimes you want to peer between those slices, and sometimes you don't want to know that's right. I think we could all learn something from that.
Molly 37:20
I think we can too. And I think I haven't had very many sandwiches where it was something hot put in a bun that had had nothing done to
Matthew Amster-Burton 37:28
it, nothing done to the bun, yeah, nothing done to the bun. Because, yeah, that's not that common, yeah.
Molly 37:33
I don't think I encounter it very often. Because even, like, when I make hamburgers at home, I still toast the bun. I still don't consider that putting something hot in something room. Tip, yeah.
Matthew Amster-Burton 37:42
Like, when I make a Philly cheesesteak, I'll, like, put the open up the the cold, but cold roll and, like, sort of just like, like, butterfly it over the the hot stuff and, like, let it steam very briefly, so it's not getting toasted, it's just getting slightly warmed.
Molly 37:59
Okay, all right, all right. Well, anyway, so let's hear your top five.
Matthew Amster-Burton 38:03
Okay, this is not in order. I couldn't, I couldn't put them in order. But ban me titling the grilled pork Bon me, preferably with lots of jalapeno slices and cilantro. Philly cheese steak fried catfish with chipotle mayo a la mattes in the market. Okay, that is a really good sandwich. Yes, I bake that at home, sometimes, not as often as I'd like to grilled cheese and roast pork with broccoli rabe and hot peppers a la de Nix at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.
Molly 38:34
Wow. Okay, I don't have a top five hot sandwich. That's fine, but now that we have had this discussion, I'm feeling a lot more positive about hot sandwiches. That was my goal, yeah, and Mission accomplished. And I would also say that, like, if I had to make a top five, off the top of my head, it would be Philly cheesesteak, yeah, Cheese toast. Like, like, take really good crusty bread, like, Ben's table bread from Seattle with, like, Tillamook white, sharp cheddar. Oh yeah. Love that shit. Things like that are the sole reason why I have a toaster oven in addition to a slot toaster.
Matthew Amster-Burton 39:10
Yeah, I get that because you make that in a slot toaster. Gravity is not on your side.
Molly 39:15
No. Okay, so, yeah, Philly cheese steak, Cheese toast. I think I could say that fried catfish with chipotle mayo, even though I've only had it once, I would also say the falafel from lost to falafel in Paris with a whole bunch of shit on it. I don't think I've had that in 20 years. Yep, same and 25 years for me, and I don't know what else, yep, okay, that's good. Maybe the Iowa skinny, which I haven't
Matthew Amster-Burton 39:41
had yet. I think you're gonna enjoy it. All right, that's it. That is the last word on hot sandwiches. Wow, you'll never hear another word until we do that. Iowa, Iowa, long, long pork episode, Matthew, I hear that you have isn't, isn't long pig, like, allegedly, like, what? Some, some, p. People who practice cannibalism call human flesh. What I think, I think there was a band called Long pigs, and that I heard an explanation that the name is like, this is what cannibals call human flesh. Like, which cannibals like? Did they do? They have friends who are cannibals? I don't know. Wow. Maybe I'm thinking of Fine Young Cannibals.
Molly 40:20
You know what? When, when Gilbert is still asleep in the bed, in the morning, I like to take his hind legs and really stretch them out, yeah, and then I commend him for being such a long boy. Oh, yeah, very long. Yeah.
Matthew Amster-Burton 40:35
Back, back when we had Mimi, the cat, I used to sing her a little song about how elongated cats are the finest cats.
Molly 40:45
Oh, I love animals. Matthew, you have a now, but wow,
Matthew Amster-Burton 40:56
I do. I just started reading this one. I had heard the author on a podcast and laughed a lot, so I put a hold on her book, and it just came in. It's called cry for me, Argentina, my life as a failed child star by Tamara Yehia. I mean, this is one of these, like, bonkers, like, like, you can't believe anyone had such a wild childhood, but it definitely all seems true type of books. And she's super funny, and just like, It's bonkers from the first page and just gets more bonkers. And it is so much fun, and she's hilarious. It's just about all kinds of weird stuff that happened to her as a kid in Argentina and then in the US
Molly 41:33
amazing. So that's Cry For Me Argentina. By Tamara Yahia, yes, excellent. Well, our producer is Abby circuit. Tella, yeah,
Matthew Amster-Burton 41:41
hit us up with some spilled mail. Like, I mean, tell us what we got wrong about hot sandwiches. Or, like, that we left out your favorite hot sandwich. Or that you're from, you're a Kentucky Colonel, and you have some things to say about the hot brown it's contact at spilled milk podcast.com or head over to reddit.com/r/everything spilled milk and join the conversation.
Molly 42:02
Oh, this is the conversation with Ross Reynolds. It is. I saw Ross Reynolds somewhere recently and had a nice chat with him. I don't think I would recognize Ross Reynolds, but I'm but I'm glad I recognized him by his voice. Oh, we were standing, we were both standing in line at the drugstore. Oh, that's nice
Matthew Amster-Burton 42:18
for a second. I thought you're gonna say Ross ribaliati, the Canadian snowboarder,
Molly 42:24
him too. Yeah, okay, he's probably around all right. Well, thank you for listening to spilled milk, the
Matthew Amster-Burton 42:29
show that's made up of two slices.
Molly 42:35
I was gonna say, two hot things and no bread.
Matthew Amster-Burton 42:38
Yeah, that's and that's what a sandwich is, two hot things and no bread. I'm Matthew Amster-Burton.
Molly 42:44
I'm Molly Weisenberg.
Molly 42:52
Oh no, there are no vibes in here. Well, you can have some, some Sour Patch Kids, if you want. That's tempting. Yeah, right. Now, I just got so much fake flavor in my mouth,
Matthew Amster-Burton 43:00
so much fake flavor, we got to get back to the real flavor that people demand.
Molly 43:05
That's right, because this show is, it's, it's the real deal.
Matthew Amster-Burton 43:12
This is our new thing. People love it.
Unknown Speaker 43:15
Okay? I.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai