Over the weekend, I got to thinking, “man, I really like sandwiches. I should write more about that.” The fact of the matter is, I think about sandwiches a lot, far more than I eat them. But when I do eat a sandwich, especially one I’ve made, I over-think it.
For example, I have this German style bread now that makes a good sandwich. It has these little nut things in it that give the deep, dark brown slices a slightly crunchy feel. For sometime, I’ve used white cheese only — provolone, Swiss, or mozzarella — and I recently switched to simple American. Usually I think yellow cheese is normal and boring, but then I realized, no it’s not, it can be as fun as white cheeses.
So, there you have it: I aim to beef up my knowledge about sandwiches and generate content appropriately.
The Thai Sandwich
We went to Thai Kitchen tonight, and it was the perfect chance to work on The Sandwich Project: they had something called a Thai Sandwich. It was the perfect thing for building up the base definition of a sandwich: putting something on sliced bread.
Now, that’s just the start of the definition. I don’t have it fully worked out yet, but sliced bread is a key ingredient that I’ve found so far. We can all agree on sliced bread (I hope).
Let’s look at the Thai sandwich:
You’ll notice that it’s a single slice of bread, fried, with something on top. They’ve cut it up into small pieces as well. On top of the bread is a layer of egg, then pieces of pork, followed by another layer of egg (I think). It all gets fried, and I got it with a little cucumber and onion mix.
Now, this isn’t a sandwich as you’d get from Subway, but I hold that it’s a sandwich nonetheless. The primary characteristic is that it’s “stuff” on sliced bread. And, in fact, we have precedents: The Croque Madame.
The Hot Dog Dilemma
While the Thai Sandwich problem may have been solved, Kim raised a very real issue: what about hot-dogs? Are Hot-dogs? Sandwiches?
Speaking personally, I say, no, a hot-dog is clearly not a sandwich. And, yet, Kim’s case is compelling: it is “stuff” between two pieces, perhaps even slices of bread.
So, I pull myself back from my gut instinct to reject the hot-dog as a sandwich. But, I ask you, dear readers, is a hot-dog a sandwich?
While the wikipedia discussion on Hot Dogs raises the issue, I’m interested in what you, dear readers, have to say. What do you think?
According to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_dog
The Hot Dog is a sandwich. I think that pretty much settles it.
That having been said, what is it about you trying to start a flame war over whether a hot dog is or is not a sandwich? Are you trying to revive Usenet?
Yeah, Kim laid out a compelling case for the hot dog being a sandwich. It just doesn’t seem right to me. But, I can’t go against the wisdom of crowds…let alone Kim ;)
I’d rather start a flame-broiled war so I could get a hot sandwich. Speaking of which, it’s about time to go to lunch! Sandwich ho!
According to my wife, the bread is the important factor for naming. A hot dog wrapped in a normal slice of bread is a “weenie sandwich.” It can only be called a “hot dog” if it is in an actual bun. Put it in a tortilla and you’ve got a “wrap.” Makes sense to her, anyway!
It seems wrong that a hot dog or a brat could be considered a sandwich, but it’s difficult to come up with a definition that excludes it. Maybe a sandwich must have roughly the same width and length (squares of bread, round rolls)? Unfortunately, that definition throws out the baby hoagies with the hot dog bath water. Gross. Another option would be to exclude cased meats, but that seems rather arbitrary and, worse, it prevents us from eating bologna.
We may have no choice but to accept the hot dog as a stealthy sandwich.
I don’t like sandwiches. I will not eat a cheese sandwich, not in a box, not with a fox.
I do however, like hot dogs (on buns) and can eat multiples in one sitting.
I therefore contend that a hot dog is not a sandwich.
Just another bit of warped wisdom from the Labs.
– Ron
The ultimate conclusion seems to be acceptance of the hot-dog as a sandwich. I appreciate all the help, our long, sandwich nightmare is over. Time to rebuild.
But I am still left with a quesy feeling in my stomach (from a previous unhappy hot dog encounter?) that hot dogs are not, in fact, sandwiches. Maybe because I’ve never had a hot dog with lettuce – it seems to me that a true sandwich must have lettuce as a standard option.
Hmm…lettuce. This suggests and interesting line of thought: a sandwhich can accept any condiment or additive, like lettuce…? But can a hot-dog?
A hot dog is an embedded operating system, like eCos, but to truly be considered a sandwich one must be a general-purpose operating system, like Linux. A sandwich can take sliced cheese, or shredded; tomatoes, lettuce, onions, meats, and a variety of spreads. Hot dog with Provelone? Or tomatoes? How about mayonaise? Add on some salami? Or barbeque – sliced sausage, pork loin, brisket, or chopped beef – on a hot dog? No. But a sandwich, yes.
It is clear that we generally consider a “sandwich” to be a general-purpose eating device, whose greatest asset is its ability to take whatever we throw at it. The hot dog, although sandwich-like, is a special purpose entity whose very restrictions prevent it from rising to the exalted title of “sandwich”.
Yuh! Brilliant, I think you’ve cracked it ;)
Arly,
Kudos on that explanation. Brilliant!