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03 January 2007

To me, "a little mustard" on a sub means one line of mustard running the length of the sandwich.→[More:]To the Subway "sandwich artist" who prepared my sandwich today, it apparently means "at least as much, if not more mustard than I would ordinarily put on a sandwich when a customer asks for mustard, so that it is impossible for DevilsAdvocate to eat the sandwich without getting mustard all over his hands and face." Sheesh. Frakkin' Subway.

post by: DevilsAdvocate at: 12:09 | 48 comments

Mmmmm mustard.

posted by iconomy 03 January | 12:13

Quizno's is better than Subway. Now I want a Quizno's sub. But there's not a Quizno's near here. Only a Subway. And for some reason the Subway near here dosen't stock banana peppers.

*cries*

posted by jonmc 03 January | 12:18

The thing I hate about Subway is that they have sandwiches on the menu where you'd think the ingredients would be predetermined ("Veggie Delite" or some such), yet when I order one I still have to tell them every single thing to put on it as they make it. The names seem meaningless.

Me, I love Firehouse Subs. Gad, I wish there was one here.

posted by JanetLand 03 January | 12:39

Yellow mustard is the most vile substance on this here Earth. If the person who prepared my sandwich had mustard on his hands, I can't eat it. *gag*

Brown mustard is okay.

posted by mike9322 03 January | 12:50

I like all kinds of mustard. And banana peppers. Or peppercini. Not too big on the mayo, though, unless it's aioli. Then I can eat way too much of it.

posted by small_ruminant 03 January | 12:55

Not too big on the mayo, though, unless it's aioli.

Aren't they the same thing more or less? Isn't that one of those London Broil vs. Hanger Steak type of deals?

(and I wound up going to Subway. Chicken Bacon Ranch, double cheese, double bacon, jalapenos, ranch, and chipotle sauce)

posted by jonmc 03 January | 12:58

Aioli's got garlic in it.

I was thinking Subway for lunch, but I just learned that I've got to go downtown to pick up a James Bond DVD, so now I'm thinking maybe the brewpub, or perhaps the fish place.

posted by box 03 January | 13:06

Aioli is mayonnaise with garlic.

posted by DevilsAdvocate 03 January | 13:06

That chipotle sauce is good stuff. I actually had Subway last night as well--a club w/ provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, pickles, pepperoncinis, and the chipotle sauce.

I do think Quiznos is better, but sometimes I just feel like Subway. Also, the Subway is closer. :)

posted by mullacc 03 January | 13:07

Aioli's got garlic in it.

Actually, I've seen "garlic aioli" "lime aioli" and other flavors of "aioili" on menus. They all tasted like flavored mayo to me. Sounds like they're giving something a European name to jack up the price.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 13:22

At the Subway near my work. Saying "with mayo" gets you a predetermined amount of mayo. Adding any qualifier on the amount, any qualifier means "with a random amount of mayo"

posted by Capn 03 January | 13:23

I'd love to try requesting "with a random amount of mayo" the next time I'm at Subway.

posted by mullacc 03 January | 13:38

I look forward to seeing you pushing a wheelbarrow full of mayo through the Subway parking lot, dude. ;>

posted by jonmc 03 January | 13:41

Oh gods, not this again.

posted by gaspode 03 January | 13:42

Also jonmcsmartypants, hanger steak is a cut of meat:

The Hanger Steak is a thick strip of meat from the underside of the beef cow. It hangs (hence the name) between the rib and the loin.

London Broil is a method of preparing a cut of meat, usually a top round roast.

Also, also both aioli And mayonnaise are European in origin and name. They are different. I've always meant to point that out to you.

Quizno's is better but if you eat one of their big meat jobbers on an empty stomach it can make you want to die.

I had corned beef and cabbage and macaroni and cheese and meatballs for lunch, steam table delight!

posted by Divine_Wino 03 January | 13:47

actually, that wasn't the one I was thinking of. Hrm. I have a weird aioli+jonmc+hangar steak rant trigger button.

posted by gaspode 03 January | 13:48

The aioli around these parts tends to be made from scratch. It tastes pretty different from Best Foods/Hellmans + garlic.

posted by small_ruminant 03 January | 13:49

oo. Mac n cheese- I can never get enough of that. Though it doesn't actually work well as fuel- I feel all full but have no energy. Nobody around here sells mac and cheese.

posted by small_ruminant 03 January | 13:51

It was bad mac and cheese, the all cheese food product kind, but I can never resist. The corned beef and cabbage was really good though, really good. I can tell it was really good because I'm dying of thirst now and I want a pint of Guinness and a long ass nap.

posted by Divine_Wino 03 January | 13:55

*shrugs. returns to velveeta & miracle whip sandwich on Wonder Bread.*

Wino, I'll take your word on the technical details, but the couple of times I've ordered hanger steak in a restaurant, it looked and tasted like London Broil to me.

I just don't like all these new names and details. I can't learn all this new stuff, my brain is already full.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 13:55

When I'm ready to ask for the mustard at Subway, I have to say "and one line of spicy mustard", otherwise, yeah, mustard sandwich. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that before, DA.

I like Quizno's too, but the one near me closed for some reason. Sadly, they make the best veggie sub in New York (please prove me wrong, I hope I am). Theirs doesn't come with greasy "roasted peppers", which seems to be the thing to put on veggie subs in NY for some reason. No thanks.

posted by Hellbient 03 January | 13:56

*Ahem*...

London Broil (as I know it) is a flank steak.

According to this chart, the flank is just behind the plate, which is where you'll get your hanger steak.

The hanger and flank steaks are pretty similar, so I can see why jonmc would confuse the two.

Anyway, hanger steak seems to be sorta trendy, yes? I remember reading sometime last year that it was the cut that the butcher always kept for himself or some such nonsense and all of a sudden it showed up on a few menus in NYC. I ordered it once--pretty good. Much better than my mom's London Broil, anyway.

posted by mullacc 03 January | 14:01

I told you my brain was full! Now you told me more and now I have knowledge leaking from my ears.

I hope you are satisfied.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 14:04

NOT THE SAME.

posted by Divine_Wino 03 January | 14:05

Mama's has some good mac-n-cheese.

posted by box 03 January | 14:06

I believe you. Just stop making me learn stuff. The world is complicated enough to me already.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 14:06

Alternately, Annie's isn't bad, considering.

posted by box 03 January | 14:09

Can't stop, won't stop.

Basic Aioli

I N G R E D I E N T S
4 garlic cloves, peeled, chopped fine
2 egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cold water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

I N S T R U C T I O N S
Add the garlic and salt to the mortar bowl and grind slowly with the pestle, moving in one direction only. You can do this first step in a food processor if you'd like, then transfer the mixture back to a medium sized bowl. Whisk in the mustard first, then the egg yolks. At this point you can transfer the mixture back into the mortar or use the whisk in the bowl.

Now you will add in half of the oil. This must be done very slowly or the oil will not emulsify and your sauce will not thicken. Add the oil in a slow, fine stream while either whisking with a wire whisk or using your pestle. Once the first half of the oil is incorporated, then add the water and the lemon juice, and mustard, whisking or stirring constantly with the pestle. Then slowly add the rest of the oil. The mixture will thicken as you continue to blend it. The mixture should be slightly thinner than commercial mayonnaise. If it becomes too thick you can add a bit more warm water, one teaspoon at a time.

posted by box 03 January | 14:12

Also, remember the stockings-in-the-bathroom incident? I just went to that same restroom a moment ago. The stockings are gone, but now there's shreds of lettuce in the sink.

I've decided to just go bananas now and save a lot of time.

*gibbers*

box: that's exhausting just to read. The convenience food industry has worked very hard to give you convenient food. Who are you to turn them away?

posted by jonmc 03 January | 14:14

There's a Subway very close to my office, but it's always pacekd with young Capitol Hill staffers, so I never go. The closest Quizno's is a half-mile walk, but worth it when I'm in the mood. Today, though, it's leftover black-eyed peas and collard greens. Yum.

posted by mrmoonpie 03 January | 14:15

huh. I've never put water in mine, box. What's it for?

posted by small_ruminant 03 January | 14:27

If I understand correctly, the cold water thickens the mixture (and probably makes the oil emulsify more easily, because of oil and water's well-known antipathy)--it's only half a teaspoon, though, so I suspect it could easily be left out.

posted by box 03 January | 14:39

Mustard is grody.

posted by mike9322 03 January | 14:40

Is there some new definition of grody that means essential for life?

posted by Divine_Wino 03 January | 14:53

Quiznos and Subway are apples and oranges. I sez they're too different to really compare.

Re mustard on Subway sandwiches: they seem afraid of mustard here in BC (meaning they don't overdo it). It's never on a non-fast food burger; you have to ask for it. And when I do ask for it, it seems to take the waiter forever to round up a bottle of it.

posted by deborah 03 January | 14:56

box: that's exhausting just to read. The convenience food industry has worked very hard to give you convenient food. Who are you to turn them away?

'Cause some of us think it tastes better.

posted by Specklet 03 January | 14:58

I'm sure it does taste better, even to me. As long as someone else can make it for me. I'm not anti-gourmet, I'm just lazy.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 15:02

I too like Quizno's better than Subway, but when I go there I always end up getting something with avocados and mayo and lots of cheese and all kinds of other sorts of fatty goodness, which doesn't really jibe well with my "eat better" New Year's resolution. So for now it's more Subway, less Quizno's; more (brown) mustard, less mayo/aoili/chipotle sauce.

posted by DevilsAdvocate 03 January | 15:06

Mmm..box, that looks delicious.

I miss the days when our local Subway was manned by stoners who would huddle paranoid in a corner discussing whether or not I was "cool" before they'd come over all giggly to take my order. Sometimes they were too high to work the register, in which case dinner was free.

Also, mike's right. Mustard is the yuck.

posted by jrossi4r 03 January | 15:06

my "eat ~~better~~ healthier" New Year's resolution

There, I fixed that for myself.

posted by DevilsAdvocate 03 January | 15:07

Avocado is good fat, DA. And way better for you than mayo.

posted by jrossi4r 03 January | 15:08

I miss the days when our local Subway was manned by stoners who would huddle paranoid in a corner discussing whether or not I was "cool" before they'd come over all giggly to take my order. Sometimes they were too high to work the register, in which case dinner was free.

I just directed such a vivid and hilarious 30 second mental movie of that.

Hahahahahah.

posted by Divine_Wino 03 January | 15:18

I just interviewed a girl for a job shelving books. She wanted to leave her current position, at a pizza place, because all of her coworkers were stoned all the time.

posted by box 03 January | 16:46

One of the (many) highlights of bunnystock for me was hearing mygothlaundry's tales of stoned Asheville resturant workers. The phenomena seems to have reached epidemic proportions in that burg.

posted by danostuporstar 03 January | 16:50

Ahem. I work in the meat department at my store. London broils were originally flank steaks. They have since evolved to be top round steaks cut at least an inch thick. (I had an aunt in Maine who said she couldn't get them there). Hanger steaks at first even confounded old-time butchers. It's also called skirt steak, and the old-timers remember when it was considered just trim for making hamburger. They're great marinated as they have quite a bit of marbling in them. But my all time favorite is the rib-eye steak. Mmmmmmm....

posted by redvixen 03 January | 18:49

I actually have a bottle of whole-grain dijon mustard in my office, mainly so I can apply it myself to sandwiches purchased at a nearby Subway.

It's also good for putting on the whole wheat bagels with lox that i often have for breakfast.

posted by bingo 03 January | 20:48

I have a bottle of Sriracha hot sauce in my office. I especially like it on spanakopita for some reason.

This is the best sandwich ever, according to my son.

Chickenish-Avocado Sandwiches

1 package Morning Star Farms veggie chicken strips, warmed*
2 small haas avocados, sliced
chipotle mayonnaise
sweet onion slices
butter lettuce leaves
3 hoagie buns

Serves 3

Chipotle mayonnaise: blend a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Add a teaspoon or so of the blended peppers to 1/4 cup of mayonnaise. Store remaining pepper puree in a jar in the fridge.

*or 8 ounces of cooked chicken strips, spiced liberally with salt, pepper, and cayenne

posted by found dog one eye 03 January | 21:17

Hey, I've got a bottle of Sriracha in my office too. It does wonders for spicing up my often bland lunchtime fare. You can put that stuff on anything.

posted by Otis 04 January | 10:36

← rocks + wood chips. || Ron Mueck Update... →

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