Hungry Times Two

Note: We're back on Blogger! Sometimes you learn if it ain't broke, don't fix it. (Sorry, Tumblr.) "I called New Orleans 'a small model of all the best of America' because I have found here a vivid expression of my conception of what the United States can be at its best -- a truly multicultural place, in which all social, ethnic, and economic elements of the society have somehow managed to fashion a distinct and vibrant culture out of the tensions among their differences.  This embrace of diversity is a beautiful thing, when you can find it."   -- Tom Piazza, Devil Sent the Rain: Music and Writing in Desperate America Amen, Tom Piazza. We found it, we drank it in, gobbled it up, and embraced it. Then we came home and wondered why it took us so long to get there. Our New Orleans trip over the New Years holiday wouldn't have happened if our Nashville friends hadn't initiated the visit. Thanks friends, for the introduction. And hello to our ...

So much for going kosher on Friday. Yesterday's post mentioned the grand "opening" of the food truck Sixth & Rye. This afternoon I went across the street to their spot at Sixth & I and well, the line was about 100+ people deep. So I did the next best thing: found a BLT (and added avocado - a BLAT?) from the ol' reliable Cafe Phillips for lunch. It's the anti-kosher thing to do. Oh, the irony. It tasted delicious...crispy, bacony, greasy... so not kosher. In case of rapture this weekend, I'm glad I ate the bacon. Happy Friday, everyone!

A sandwich may seem like a humble everyday food, but it's the Walt Whitman of the kitchen: it contains multitudes. The options for what you can slap, press, and spread between two slices of bread are endless -- and they're all compiled in the entertaining, comprehensive, and mouth-wateringly-photographed The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches by food blogger Susan Russo .   The 299-page book features "recipes, history, and trivia for everything between sliced bread" -- and includes a handy ingredient index so you can plan the perfect sandwich with Nutella, cucumbers, cookies, pears, Halibut, and whatever else you might have on hand in the fridge, larder, pantry or bread box. There's a sandwich for every meal - from breakfast to dessert - and from a variety of food cultures, from the Bahn Mi of Vietnam to the Chip Butty of Britain, the Hot Brown of Kentucky, the Torta of Mexico, and Tuna Nicoise of France. And the good ol' USA is represented with the Ham Sandwi...