The rise of the platonically perfect sandwich may well be a reflection of the economy. Sitting down for a proper meal of an appetizer, an entr\u00e9e and sundry side dishes can easily run $50 and more in these hard times. But a sandwich \u2014 sublime and filling, heaven between two slices of very good bread \u2014 will run you under $20, and perhaps quite a bit less.<\/p>\n
There are sandwiches of exceptional flavor and heft at local favorites like the branches of Bread Head in Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach (where they bake their own bread in-house), Bodega Park in Silver Lake, Bub & Grandma\u2019s in Glassell Park and sundry branches of the Italian import All\u2019Antico Vinaio. Grabbing a sandwich for lunch or dinner is no longer an exercise in satisfying your hunger. Today, it\u2019s a gateway to culinary joy. Given a choice between some takeout lo mein and a creation of smoked meats and curated cheeses, the lo mein seems sad indeed. Credit for the invention of the sandwich is often given to John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century English aristocrat who would eat meat and cheese twixt bread while he played cribbage. It was just so much neater and more elegant than eating the meat with his bare hands.<\/p>\n
But a careful study of culinary history (which is often not reliable) indicates that the notion of eating meat and bread pre-dates the 4th Earl by several centuries. Indeed, the first proto-sandwiches probably hew all the way back to the 1st century B.C., to the small \u201csandwiches\u201d of matzoh and bitter herbs eaten at Passover.<\/p>\n
At Boneyard Bistro (13539 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; 818-906-7427, www.boneyardbistro.com), there are sandwiches on the menu every day, including a Philadelphia steak sandwich and a Paso tri-tip sandwich. On Wednesdays, this Sherman Oaks smoked-meat emporium goes sandwich wild. They call it \u201cWhich Sandwich Wednesday.\u201d And over the past few months, the sandwich of the week has included a Cubano, a smoked Wagyu beef with Hatch green chilies, a house-cured, thick-cut bacon Club, a Philadelphia roast pork, a BLT, and a smoked turkey. I dropped by for the Classic Italian Beef \u2014 an iconic Chicago dish that competes with the hometown pizza \u2014 and came away with a shirt dappled with the aftermath of eating a sandwich \u201cbaptized\u201d in smoky juices. Actually, baptized is one of the three choices. You want the Turano roll \u2014 a hefty French-style flown in from the Windy City \u2014 totally immersed. On one surface, it\u2019s \u201cwet.\u201d With the juice on the side, it\u2019s \u201cdry.\u201d That\u2019s for wimps. I went with it Chicago Bear style.<\/p>\n