Can I Have Some Sandwich With My Turkey?

Like any abnormally obsessed-with-food individual, I have a "list" of places I need to eat at. One of those places just so happens to be a sandwich shop. That's right, a gourmet sandwhich shop. Be'wiched opened a bit over year ago and have positioned themselves as a "chef-driven" sandwich joint. There menu is filled with impressively concepted combinations and a few spins on old classes. They cure their own meats in-house and also offer an array of salads and soups to accompany the massive delicatessen creations. They have beer and wine too!

I have a mild obsession with good sandwiches and create my own unique pairings before work so I can have a nice home-made lunch. I don't do the ham and cheese on bland bread thing, so I was especially attracted to Be'Wiched and the allure of new sandwich combinations to inspire my own creations.

So I drove down Washington, walked in, scrolled the impressive, but small menu and settled on a three-way tie as most ambitious diners tend to do. I asked the gal behind the counter if I should get the pulled pork, ( I make a naughty pulled pork by the way) the poached chicken or the smoked turkey. After some thought she said what I was kind of (just kind of, seriously) hoping, "go with the smoked turkey." So like any good seeker of food intelligence ,I did.

The sandwich was friggin' huge. I mean there was probably two inches of richly, woodsy-smoked turkey on this beast of a sandwich. The pile of turkey was served on a nice dusty ciabatta with bacon, medjool dates and goat cheese, along with the contents of what felt like two entire turkeys. It's no push over sandwich and I knew immediately that I would take the whole thing down. I stretched my mouth and prepared myself, physically, to take on the first bite. Texturally, the sandwich was perfect. The fresh baked ciabatta was soft and the thick dense meat was padded nicely by a thin layer of dates, soft goat cheese and a few strips of thin, limp bacon. The bacon was just OK, but if you are going to take a serious twist on a turkey club, you better deliver on the bacon. The date combined with the salty swine did remind me of the classic bacon-wrapped date appetizer commonly served around the holidays, which truly highlights to beauty of a good salty and sweet combination. I only caught a hint of the goat cheese unless I was eating around the edges, which was a bit disappointing (I like the kind of creamy goat cheese that will curl a grown man's toes, personally) but there was still enough there to round out a unique sandwich. Lastly, I know I made fun of the obscene amount of turkey on this guy, but it was perfectly smoked (just like the turkey my Dad smokes every year for Thanksgiving ).I love it when food evokes memories, if you haven't noticed - I know my turkey, and this was the real deal.

The sandwich was served with a nice side of Israeli cous-cous and what tasted like a curried eggplant salad with olives - simply delicious.

The good lord has blessed me with a metabolism as active and constant as the sex lives of the rabbits that seem to at least double everyday in my backyard. I typically eat up to six times a day to try and satisfy the constant cry from food echoing from my lonely stomach, but there was no need for that this day. I took the whole sandwich down if nothing else then to not take the shot to my machismo, and the afternoon snack, and food as a whole was not deeded until I made dinner at about 7 p.m.

Overall, the sandwich was good, but I would definitely get something else if I go back. I had been eyeing that sandwich on their online menu for quite some time, and in fairness ,I had big expectations for it despite my three-way tie when I stepped up to the register. Be'wiched delivered, but is probably one of those places where you need to try a few things, and maybe never land on a favorite - a pretty good business model. I'll definitely go back, but since I rarely go out to lunch during the week, I likely will reserve it for a special treat on slow work days.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy