La Sandwich

Ah! La Sandwich! What a marvelous creation. What a simple yet fulfilling concoction of bread embracing many layers in-between its extremities. Who would think that a wonderfully soft piece of perfectly baked leavened flour combined with the befitting ounces of meat, dairy, and vegetables comes out to be not only a most satisfying meal, but also one of the most popular items on any menu?

Well, that is the truth, if not the whole day, at least during lunch hours. Let me tell you, I crank out more sandwiches in one day than I could possibly eat in a month! Is it a wonder how these things come together one, two and three at a time while orders for more keep piling up on the ticket hanger! That is when the rush of working the sandwich station comes flowing; how many “correct” orders can I crank out at in an acceptable time frame? After all I do not want to leave the customer waiting too long for the meal and I certainly do not want to mess up an order. But my! did I mess up orders and had to re-do them. It is one thing to read that the customer wanted mayo “on the side” but then another to remember to do that when you are wired up to build a sandwich in a pre-set way: bread, mayo, lettuce, filling, tomatoes then more bread. Good thing I had a well-trained sandwich person looking out for me, and for the orders, or else we would have had some pretty unhappy customers during some days!

It is fun though; trying to remember what goes into each and every sandwich. Good thing there is a guide posted on the wall for instructions; cause let me tell you some of these sandwiches are not that obvious. And with the several types of bread and dressings that come into play, it is tough to keep them all straight at first; buttery alpinette and pesto mayo for this sandwich and Parisian baguette with horseradish for that sandwich. And then you have the regular mayo, the honey Dijon mustard and the regular mustard, the house dressing and the Caesar dressing,,,, it can get messy!

Remembering the sandwich fillings is much easier though. Many, if not most, of the fillings are preset and stored in the refrigerator below the counter. Now, that is another thing I practiced doing; preparing sandwich presets while minding the correct weight of each item; so many ounces of beef, turkey and ham, so many slices of bacon and cheese, and so much zucchini, squash, mushroom and red peppers. You would not think there was so much to making a sandwich; just slap on a few things and voila! Well, that is at home but not here, and probably not in most other restaurants. Things are so meticulously prepared and organized to the minutest detail.

Let’s hope I get the hang of “all of this” before any of you decide to visit me one busy day. “All of this” still involves a few stops along the way. Next stop – Sauté Station. Turn up the heat; Gas stove here I come!