The glorious sandvich.

Through the wonders of Facebook, I stumbled upon an article that had appeared in the Guardian last year about possibly the most glorious sandwich creation I have seen.  Like the British, it is over the top, complicated, and basks in its own magnificence.  Yes, I am referring to the sandwich (a "shooter's sandwich," as it were, is more or less beef Wellington in bread) - but I am also referring to the article, which, while fundamentally about this particular sandwich, also takes the time to elaborate on the very idea of the sandwich as it is expressed the world over.  Leave it to the Brits, I guess.

On the topic of sandwiches, one of my favorites so far has been the Mediterranean veggie sandwich from Panera.  As someone who just doesn't really get that excited about vegetables, this is a vegetable delivery method that I can stand behind.

Ostensibly, the sandwich consists of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, feta cheese, lettuce, and feta cheese on a soft, spongy bread (the actual ingredients include a bit more, and can be found on Panera's website).  One might consider this as a salad on bread, but I find that the cucumbers play a much more important role in this sandwich than the lettuce - so much so, that when I make a facsimile at home, I omit the lettuce completely.

As a meat eater, I have trouble thinking of non-dessert foods that can't be made better with meat.  (Dessert foods, on the other hand, I usually try to keep meat out of.)  Caesar salad?  Toss some grilled chicken in there.  Garden salad?  Some seared shrimp will do nicely.  When you get down to it, meat is the meat of the matter.

But here is a sandwich that simply has no room for meat.  It stands proudly in its simplicity, its lightness.  Adding meat to that would be like adding child seats to a Lamborghini - one would be rather missing the point.