Sunday, January 14, 2018

The Whole Damn 2017 Year End List

Looking back at the breakfast sandwiches of 2017 there are two clear trends - Non-Sandwich Breakfast Sandwiches and Sandwiches From The Lab.

It is no surprise that several non-sandwiches made the list. I was planning to explore more non-sandwich territory for the sake of breakfast diversity and to deliver informative and compelling content. At least the first part happened.

Lab Sandwiches play an important role in expanding our perception of the possibilities that lie outside our homes. When we step into a restaurant we may be looking for the familiar or we may be looking to be surprised and amazed. Lab Sandwiches can refine our appreciation for a simple bacon, egg and cheese and they can push our expectations of what a breakfast sandwich can be. The Lab exists for these reasons. Also, some days it's just nice to make a delicious sandwich in your own kitchen. This continues to not be a cooking blog. 

Another statistic that is a bit alarming is that my breakfast sandwich consumption is trending downward:

2015 - 49
2016 - 31
2017 - 28

At this rate in about 9 years I'll only have one sandwich worth writing about. 

Looking at these trends, let's break down the year in two sections.

Sandwiches (and Non-Sandwiches) In The Wild
4.80 - Porter
4.70 - La Taguara (Breakfast Arepa)
4.61 - Stella Blu Cafe (Panini)
4.57 - Tavernakaya (Buns)
4.50 - Players
3.965 - Dobhan
3.85 - Field Table
3.18 - Ian's Pizza (Breakfast Pizza)
3.09 - McDonalds
3.00 - Norske Nook (Lefse Wrap)
2.79 - Ian's Pizza (Breakfast Pizza)
2.75 - Starbucks
2.69 - Kwik Trip
2.60 - McDonalds
2.00 - Panera
1.89 - Bob Evans
1.43 - McDonalds

The average rating in 2017 was 3.18, a drastic drop from 2016 (4.02) and 2015 (3.59). I chalk this up to a much higher percentage of fast food and processed food sandwiches. Sadly, this means I ate a lot of bad sandwiches in 2017 although perhaps the Lab Sandwiches would balance this out if they were rated. 

Lab Sandwiches
Experimentation was the unstated (and perhaps redundant) theme in the lab in 2017 with several ingredients getting a close look under the Sandwichscope. Thanksgiving leftovers, pimento cheese, mac 'n cheese and summer sausage all proved to be viable sandwich ingredients. There was also a lot of quality ham to work with last year. Both Neuske's and Honeybaked Ham provided the basis for tasty explorations. We also did our first work with farm fresh eggs in 2017. I still do not want to own any chickens and this still isn't a cooking blog. 

So now what? 2018 is off to a strong start. I think (hope?) I'm pretty much done with fast food sandwiches and although I compiled all of those into a single post I did go back to McDonalds one more time after that. There are some new spots in Madison I want to visit as well as some previously reviewed locations that have additional offerings I should take a look at. 








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