Simply Sandwiches » sandwiches

Who Controls Sandwich Innovation?

Ben — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:36:57 +0000

Ever wonder why all deli’s seem to have the same boring sandwiches? Ever wonder why sandwich innovation seems to have ground to a halt in delis? Maybe it’s becuase these are the best ways to eat these sandwiches, they are the best combinations of ingredients. Or maybe it’s because someone is manipulating them all behind the scenes? Maybe there is a powerful sandwich puppet master pulling the strings and forcing them all to serve cole slaw and potato salad with their boring sandwiches?

I submit to you, precious readers, the first piece of the boring-sandwich conspiracy: a guide [461k pdf] on how to pair sandwiches with deli meats from the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC). Sounds ominous to me! Naturally,they have an agenda to promote sandwiches as a vehicle for cheese consumption. Oddly enough they focused only on meat and cheese combinations and don’t include the most obvious cheesy sandwich of all: Grilled cheese (Tested in the SANDWICHLab here).

What’s your vote: are deli owners just uncreative or are they being manipulated by the multi-million dollar cheese lobby?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Sandwiches

Ben — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:55:56 +0000

A sandwichy reader sent in this brilliant adaption of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs into sandwiches, written by Andrew Neuendorf. I think we can all agree that this makes Maslow’s original hierarchy MUCH easier to understand. I don’t know why Mr. Maslow didn’t build it around sandwiches in the first place. He calls himself a psychologist and doesn’t even understand that sandwiches are the single common thread unifying everyone in the entire world? What a silly, silly man.

Nicely done Mr. Neuendorf, you’ve done a great service on behalf of sandwiches and psychologists everywhere! The sandwiches chosen are exemplary, with the exception of the Muffuletta (a massive multi-person, whole-bread consuming beast of a sandwich). While it certainly meets sandwichy needs, the final stage should be more focused on self-actualization (the 5th stage of the Maslow hierarchy). The submitter rightfully suggests the fifth stage sandwich be the “creation of a personal favorite sandwich.” Doesn’t that sound more like someone summing all their resources into creativity and production?