Doing it Right: (Some) Marathoners Eat Like ES-ers, Too

Now that snebbu and I are “runners” or something, we’ve been thinking a lot about what we are supposed to eat in addition to drowning ourselves in beer after a race. We’ve already expressed how we hate endless food plans,  and I hate fitness fanatics who only eat grass and seeds. I’ve learned that a lot of hardcore athletes are afraid of fat—my ex-boyfriend would only eat egg whites, oatmeal, and sandwiches with no condiments or cheese. What’s the point of all that working out if it doesn’t let you eat like shit without consequences?

I think I’ve found my running idol. After 36-year-old Philadelphian Michael McKeeman won the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday, he went to Jake’s Sandwich Board, got the Turbacon Sandwich (Slow roasted whole turkey, cranberry-apple spread, smoky grilled bacon, savory brown gravy and crispy potato pancakes) with a Peanut Chew milkshake. For dinner? A bacon cheeseburger with two grilled cheese sandwiches as buns.

Be still my heart.

(Photo: Jake’s Sandwich Board)

America’s Best New Sandwiches — 2012

You want sandwiches? We got sandwiches. Last year, Endless Simmer’s post on America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches was our most-read story of 2011, and even helped turn The New Luther into a bit of a sell-out phenomenon. But America’s sandwich artisans haven’t stopped innovating, and we haven’t stopped salivating. So here we go, for your drooling-at-work pleasure, this year’s list of America’s top 10 craziest, loveliest, cheesiest, most creative new sandwiches.

10. The Noble Pig —  Noble Pig Sandwiches, Austin

Texas may be best known for its beef, but perhaps not for long, if chefs John Bates and Brandon Martinez have anything to say about it. Their year-and-a-half-old Noble Pig serves up a namesake sandwich that somehow combines everything that is beautiful about pork products on one truly outstanding sandwich. Tender pulled pork, spicy slivers of ham, and crispy bits of bacon are all mixed together, topped with provolone cheese, and served on toasted, house-baked bread, for a porky trifecta that hits all of the spots. (Photo: Marshall Wright)

9. Pane et Panelle — Bar Stuzzichini, New York

Chickpeas may get typecast as functioning only in falafel form, but it turns out balls aren’t all they can do. Panelle is actually an old Sicilian street food snack—chickpeas and flour formed into light, airy strips and fried in olive oil. Stuzzichini‘s sandwich revives that classic and perfects it, layering crispy strips of panelle on a sesame-studded bun, in between levels of soft ricotta and caciocavallo cheeses. The result is a light-but-addictive sandwich that will make you curse every overly dense falafel wrap that has crossed your lips.

8. Chicharrones Banh Mi — Ink Sack, Los Angeles

There are a million banh mis in American nowadays, but we were most swept away by this version from Top Chef champ Michael Voltaggio. At his new Ink Sack sandwich shop, tender slices of pork belly and pork butt are topped with pickled vegetables, plus the kicker — crispy chicharróne fried pork rinds, creating one incredible multi-culti pork bomb.

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