at koch's today, while buying a reuben, i got to observe an apprentice make his first sandwich* under the watchful eye of the master himself. it was a rather educational experience, in which i learned 1) when and why one cuts meat against the grain, 2) where wet and dry ingredients go, and 3) the art of pickle-slicing, among other useful things. incidentally, koch's was recently voted one of the 50 best places in america to get a sandwich. people like von who are obsessed with food in bread (and more well-traveled in the states than i) might tell me whether they approve of that list. my personal observations:

1) i've been wanting to go on a pilgrimage into NJ for the grease trucks** and fat sandwiches for ages. maybe this summer.
2) pat's king of steaks (#2)? i don't think anyone who's actually from philadelphia would agree with that one.
3) the momofuku website is really cute. i read about this place in (i think) the new yorker, and almost made it there once, except that a certain someone decided that it would be so-o-o-o much better to eat in a no-name thai place which gave us all diarrhoea.
4) baoguette! gotta go for the name alone.
5) have had beef on weck (#33) before. it might even have been with von. "kummelweck" is a fantastic word.

*a drexel special: corned beef, turkey breast, spiced beef, russian dressing and coleslaw in a toasted amoroso roll.
** i swear i've blogged about this before, but can't find it now.