Chicago Sandwich Canon: The Big Baby
A good Big Baby is not a miraculous event; it is no great eye-opening revelation. It’s just a double cheeseburger. But at its best, it is a very enjoyable, well-engineered and constructed double cheeseburger.
A good Big Baby is not a miraculous event; it is no great eye-opening revelation. It’s just a double cheeseburger. But at its best, it is a very enjoyable, well-engineered and constructed double cheeseburger.
Benedictine spread on white bread is somehow both simple and fancy at the same time—elegant, I think is the word
These tortillas clearly did not come out of a package–they were thick, pliable, chewy, clearly handmade, still hot from the griddle when they were filled and put in front of me.
The savory beef is enhanced by multiple forms of tomato, with the sweetness of the cooked onion and red pepper never far from the tongue.
The NY-style everything bagel dog was exactly what you expect it to be–Everything Bagel seasoning is fantastic, and has that terrific sweet garlic flavor and a saltier kick than I expected.
The parsley/onion/sumac mixture is classic for a reason, the lemony sumac brightening the pungency of the onion, with the earthiness of the parsley helping to calm the bite.
The vinegar in the Big Bob Gibson white sauce penetrates into the chicken’s meat and skin somehow, causing some alchemical reaction that brightens the flavor considerably.
One bite here contains multitudes–the crisply brown fried exterior of the acarajé; the thick vatapá, redolent of coconut and shrimp funk; the stolidly savory caruru; the brightness of the Vinagrete; the firm juicy snap of the shrimp.
Hard to believe that it was only 6 months ago–2022 being the longest year in recorded history–that my friend Matt asked me if I’d ever heard of a sandwich from the south Brazilian state...
There is not a thing wrong with this–it is in fact a simple, elemental sandwich, bread and meat and a condiment, combined in just the right ratio, elevated to the sublime by its time in a sandwich press.
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