[Today’s the day for turkey sandwiches. Some like their turkey sandwiches open-faced, on white bread, smothered in hot gravy. Me? I’m a whole wheat kinda guy. I do like my bread toasted, with lettuce and mayonnaise, lots of cranberry sauce, and whatever else is left over from the great feast. How you like, and make, turkey sandwiches says a lot about the kind of person you really are. And it’s a competitive sport in my family, with extra points awarded for size and creativity.
When it comes to utter sandwich decadence, however, I defer to neighbors both south of the border and across the pond. I referenced my recent experience on the streets of Puebla, Mexico just outside the arena that hosts the weekly Lucha Libre. The vendors materialize shortly before the Monday evening spectacle, and for less that $5 offer a monster bun holding layer upon layer of greasy deliciousness. They are easily big enough to feed two and guarantee that you will be wearing some of your repast when you enter the arena.
Note that I need two hands just to hold one half of this sandwich. For purposes of review, here are the ingredients layer-by-layer of a proper Lucha Cemitas:
- A sesame-seed bun, approximately 9 inches in diameter
- Home fried potatoes
- Two generous fistfuls of freshly fried potato chips
- A fried slice of pork
- Approximately a pound of queso string cheese
- Sliced tomatoes and onions,
- A couples of slices of mystery meat
- Avocado and hot peppers
A Lucha Cemitas nears the final touches, including hot peppers.
Aftermath … I gave this cemitas my best effort, but there was literally enough to feed a second Silverback. Too bad gorillas don’t eat meat.
Meanwhile, in Portugal …
When it comes full-blown gluttony, no one can beat the Francesinha, the specialty sandwich of Porto, Portugal. We first heard of this from a taxi driver in Lisbon who heard that we were Porto-bound. We thought he was a kidding when he ran down the ingredient list. What can you say about a recipe that has a cup of white wine, a cup of beer, a cup of brandy, and a cup of port wine and this is just the sauce.
You don’t need to speak Portuguese to understand what goes into a Francesinha:
The driver also gave us several recommendations of where to find this gut-busting delight. At one restaurant we were surprised to find a seafood Francesinha on the menu. I thought it would be interesting to try one that substituted seafood for the meats, only to discover that the seafood is IN ADDITION TO the meats– a gut-buster squared. Don’t believe me? …
Mmmmm-m-m-m it was goo-o-o-od!