Black Bean Patty

Well, well, well, happy Which Wich Wednesday!!! I do apologize to all you sandwich enthusiasts---Aby and I missed last week's wich due to scheduling conflicts. HOWEVER, we are here today (a little late, I admit) and we decided to share our FAVORITE sandwich ever: the BLACK BEAN PATTY.

Oh yes, the BBP is, as far as we know---though the Cuban might be a mighty and worthy contender, the BEST sandwich on Which Wich's menu. (A note before you go on with this post: one might say we're a little biased toward this particular wich, but seriously, you should totally try this celestial combination of veggie-goodness more commonly known as the BBP wich.)....(Yup, I gave this beautiful sandwich an abbreviation.)

So---I hope you forgive me for this---I'm completely deviating from the usual "Wich in 5 Senses" tour, and let me just share the too-good-for-words-goodness that this sandwich is. (The BBP is so perfect I used "good-" twice in one sentence.) FEAST YOUR EYES, MY FRIENDS, ON THE BBP:

Oh don't tease us, BBP. Even in modest foil, you look amazing.

Cue the angelic trumpet fanfare.

Aby's version of the BBP. Those black olives are getting a little ahead of themselves.

The famous cross-section pose. What did I tell you about those olives!?

BLACK BEAN PATTY IS KING.

Pictures are good and all, but what is this sandwich really like? How does it feel against your teeth, you ask? BBP is just awesome. I, personally, enjoy my BBP with: mozzarella cheese, lettuce, cucumbers, mushrooms, and crushed red pepper---on toasted wheat of course. Yes, I prefer a wich devoid of dressings and spreads---I'm a purist of sorts.

Aby's BBP (after all, she is the more notable sandwich connoisseur)? Let's break it down:

Aby's BBP. I know, lots of ingredients!

I recall the first time I had the BBP. The concept of having black beans contribute to a vegetarian deceiving patty was quite foreign to me. I don't eat meat, you know, so I was a little uneasy about eating something that aspired to look like a "burger" patty.

On first bite, all of my assumptions were proven wrong. A slightly spicy/tangy taste embraced my tongue---and when I say slightly, I mean truly whispering-ly faint---and the fresh crisp crunch of the perfectly round cucumbers was a surprisingly wonderful complement. Don't even get me started on the mozzarella and crushed red peppers: normally thought of being only pizza items, I was truly blown away by their contribution to the overall BBP taste. Tasty.

Oops, I guess I should've shared Aby's reaction to the BBP, but honestly, this particular sandwich is my specialty in the Which Wich menu; I urge y'all to go out and try this amazing sandwich. By the way, the Black Bean Patty is found in "Category 6: Vegetarian"---I know, we kind of skipped over "Category 5: Seafood," but it was because Aby wasn't exactly mentally prepared to undertake any of the wiches under that category...I'll be sure to take lots of pictures when she tries her first seafood wich, for the sake of everyone's entertainment---I mean, for the sake of the Which Wich Project!!! ;)

Yup, this review was pretty winding, rambling, and way too undisciplined, but hey, the Black Bean Patty was (and continues to be) the most perfect sandwich ever. Sorry Cuban, but you're still cool!

*~*Euni*~*

Do I really need to say it? The Final Rating, is, of course:

Buffalo Chicken

Happy Which Wich Wednesday! We cannot believe we have reached the 4-week (1 month) mark! 4th week = Category 4: CHICKEN. Now, we can't deny it, we LOVE chicken. I, Euni, prefer it in tiny chunks/pieces, while Aby is less critical and open to all chicken-food-styles. But when it comes to sandwiches, bring on the chicken!

Under the CHICKEN category, Aby chose to take a jab at the Buffalo Chicken wich, which if you guessed right, has both chicken and buffalo sauce. In Aby's words, it's "like eating buffalo wings, but in a sandwich!" Let's get started and break this beautiful poultry wich:

The Buffalo Chicken---with lots of veggies!

The Buffalo Chicken in 5 Senses:

See: We didn't have our fancy camera this week (good job Aby!), but even with our subpar smartphone camera quality, the Buffalo Chicken looked DE-LICIOUS. Enjoy:

It's ALWAYS exciting to see how well-wrapped these wiches are.

First view of the Buffalo Chicken. So many veggies!

The cross-section shot is my FAVORITE shot to take of these wiches. No exception today!

Just to emphasize the greatness of this particular sandwich, we must discuss some of the ingredients Aby chose to complement the main (i.e. buffalo chicken) ingredients. Aby chose avocado (she loves avocado) and a lot of crunchy veggies: tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, and black olives (which, really are more crisp than crunchy, if at all, but you know what, they look really good in this sandwich). On the spicy end of things Aby dared to combine spicy ranch dressing with the jalapenos.

I'd like to point out that with every bite Aby took, I could see the spicy ranch showing itself---kind of like when you gently squeeze a sponge...and I'm losing the imagery and the audience's interest...whatever---it still looked cool!

Smell: {The following in Abyspeak:} "Smells like buffalo sauce...and hot and spicy aroma"---It was kind of a cayenne pepper/jalapeno/buffalo sauce blend, due to the spicy ingredients Aby chose for this wich. (Aby has a penchant for spicy foods.)

Feel: As I stated above, Aby felt that this was gonna be a good wich from the start, saying that the Buffalo Chicken would be "like eating buffalo wings, but in a sandwich!" More Abyspeak: "Juuuuuicy. Sauce is dripping down the sides of my mouth"---now before you imagine an absolute mess, this sandwich did a pretty good job of handling the "juicy" items; while some of the buffalo/spicy ranch blend did overflow from the wich, it was an adorable kind of surplus, not all over the place nor unpleasant. I wanted to get some perspective on the difference in meat choice (e.g. chicken vs. roast beef, chicken vs. ham, etc.), and Aby said, "The chicken is in slices in this sandwich. It feels so so soft. Way softer than roast beef!"

Taste: Aby took a contemplative first bite...and her first word (again), "Pica!"---I wanted her to elaborate---"You know like that Lousiana hot sauce (cayenne pepper) thingy, the devil sauce? And the jalapenos! And all these veggies can be felt throughout the sandwich!" I decided to inquire about the cheese she chose: {Abyspeak} "I chose provolone...perfect complement to the ranch/buffalo blend"---so...provolone was neither dominant nor submissive, eh? For all of you brave sandwich eaters, take note: the resulting spice blend from our Buffalo Chicken is not for the faint of heart; the blend "made [Aby] cough" at one point...BEFORE she even bit into it! This wich was definitely spicier than The Turkeywich!

Hear: Let's keep this fittingly concise: {Abyspeak:} "crispy crunch from the bread and lettuce." Uhmmmmhmmm!

In all, the Buffalo Chicken was GREAT. 10 points go to the Chicken Category. Of course, I had to ask, compared to The Cuban, what did Aby think (after all, The Cuban, so far, has been deemed king of the wiches in our little journey)? "Oh yeah, this sandwich is great, but it can't quite defeat The Cuban. And it's not quite up to the level of the BBP---but it's still AMAZING!"

Anyway, The Buffalo Chicken is a pretty damn good sandwich. Definitely worth another bite (or several...or in Abyspeak: *insert bitingsound here*)!

*~*Euni*~*

Oh, you wanna know the Final Rating? 4 out of 5 wiches! That's a pretty YUMMY rating, if you ask us!

Beef & Whiz

Happy Which Wich Wednesday! Today, Aby and I explored "Category 3: Beef" and chose the Beef & Whiz 'wich.

This particular sandwich was an adventure---and a TOTAL first-hand-try experiment for Aby---and this is how it all turned out...It should be noted, that neither one of us had ever had Cheez Whiz. EVER. All I could say about this condiment/processed cheese item was that it was soft and, for lack of a better word at the moment, liquid-y (I wish this was Abyspeak, but alas, I am temporarily vocabulary-impaired).

Allow us to present....BEEF & WHIZ IN DA HOUUUUUUSEEEEEE!!!

Aby's try on the Beef & Whiz (such a catchy name!)

Beef & Whiz in 5 Senses

See: Today, the pictures of this particular 'wich look tastily AMAZING---this time I used the flash! Enjoy the pictures!

Behold: beautiful sandwich wrapped in aluminum.

Yummy yumyummmmm, do you see the Cheez Whiz seeping out of the wrapping?

This is a beautiful sandwich---and I don't even eat meat!

The cross-section picture really lets the Cheez Whiz shine.

Smell: "{in Abyspeak} CHEESY AND SPICY!" The Cheez Whiz immediately takes its place in this sandwich as the predominant ingredient, and with the added jalapeno, the blend was a perfect blend of spicy cheesy aroma.

Feel: {Abyspeak again, before taking the first bite} "I think I'm gonna like this one. Surprisingly not juicy, kind of dry."---This was Aby's first time eating roast beef in a sandwich, and she realized, that compared with other deli meats (i.e. turkey and chicken), roast beef is a lot drier. Would that be a good or bad thing for Aby's taste? We would shortly find out...

Taste: The first (big) bite lol. {Abyspeak:} "Hmmmmmmmm, it IS good. Pica---(please note: pica is Spanish for 'it's spicy'---if you can make that into a verb?)---for my first time having Cheez Whiz, I must unfortunately admit that I'm not a big fan of it." It was with Aby's first taste of Cheez Whiz that we found out that it is not so much "liquid-y" as it was melt-y. The cheese taste prevailed throughout the sandwich; had it not been for the jalapeno complement, Aby might not have appreciated the Beef & Whiz as much. With regards to the caramelized onions, they were surprisingly submissive to the all-powerful Cheez-Whiz---{Abyspeak:} "No oniony taste!"---that's not necessarily a bad thing... ;)

Hear: This sandwich, almost like last week's "The Cuban," was a very soft sandwich. The ingredients Aby chose (olive salad, jalapenos, bell peppers) are not as crunchy as lettuce and cucumbers (for example), so every bite Aby took was pleasantly soft-spoken; every bite was a gentle whisper of blended tastes and aromas. Mmmmmmmm.


When it comes right to it, the Beef & Whiz is perfect for you sandwich lovers who looooove roast beef. As for Aby, she realized that she doesn't particularly fancy this deli meat, mainly because it's relatively dry when compared to other meats.

The usual question: does the Beef & Whiz beat the BBP? It was a tough decision to make, because we love Which wich sandwiches, but in the end of this Battle of the Wiches, Black Bean Patty is victorious (go #teamBBP).

It turns out, by the way, that Cheez Whiz is traditionally used in authentic Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches...perhaps this meat choice is juicier and more favorable to Aby? We'll have to try that out on our own time!

*~*Euni*~*

Final Rating? 3 out 5 wiches---{in Abyspeak} "It was not quite my cup of 'wich!" I think we just need to change the ingredients up a bit, we shall see in the future :)

The Cuban

Happy Which Wich Wednesday to all!

Today, Aby and I ventured into "Category 2: Ham & Pork" and chose "The [interestingly named] Cuban."

On first thought, I wondered, why does this sandwich have this name? Trying to think of something witty, I egregiously (or so I thought) exclaimed, "It's Which Wich a la Ricky Ricardo!"---only to find out 3 seconds later (when Aby corrected me) that Ricky Ricardo (the beloved I Love Lucy character) was in fact Puerto Rican. HOWEVER!!! After careful research and investigation, namely googling his name, Ricky Ricardo (in real life, Desi Arnaz) was in fact CUBAN. BAM.

That's not the point of this review though. And thinking that this sandwich was perhaps named after the prominent Dallasite Mark Cuban was even further from the truth behind this sandwich. THE POINT IS, that the staple ingredients in this potentially-witty sandwich are...well, historically Cuban. Apparently Cuban culture boasts and enjoys a special sandwich (kind of like a Mexican torta, but you know, different) that combines the following: roast pork, ham, and pickle. And that, my Which Wich friends, is exactly what The Cuban contains: pork, ham, and pickle. (I repeated the ingredients for special effect. Did it work? Can you imagine/wonder what these three ingredients could/can create?)

Onward then to the actual sandwich review!

The Cuban, as Aby created it.

Just like with The Turkeywich, Aby opted for the 7" wheat bread, toasted. Frankly, we prefer wheat to white just because it seems to add a richer taste to the overall sandwich. Now with regards to the other ingredients---since Aby had done a little of her own research to select the perfect ingredients for this sandwich---they all fall under the "safety blanket" of sandwich ingredients...Nothing extravagant or fancy. As Aby experienced The Cuban for the first time, we came to realize that you don't always need crazy ingredients to make a sandwich perfect.

The Cuban in 5 Senses

See: I think it's true what they say, a picture is worth 1000 words, so behold, The Cuban:

That awesome moment when you first open your Which Wich. Mmmmm.

The Cuban, and all its contents.

Definitely had to share the mid-cross-section of this beautiful sandwich.

Smell: {in Abyspeak, word-for-word}It smells good! {To which I asked, like what?} HIGH QUALITY HAM!---Note: I don't eat ham, so I can't say I'm a ham connoisseur, let alone know what good ham smells like, but I had to trust Aby on that answer. Hopefully, all you ham eaters out there know exactly what she's talking about and are in fact imagining and reminiscing about the BEST ham you've ever smelled...

Feel: {Abyspeak, again} I'm in love. The sandwich is soft, the only crunch comes from the veggies [i.e. the pickles, lettuce, tomatoes].---Oh yeah, the sandwich looked really soft and totally safe (as in, not too crunchy or uncomfortable with respect to opening your mouth and taking a bite hahahaha), so I can imagine it to be perfectly manageable in one's mouth.

Taste: {Abyspeak} The mayo and mustard combination with the pickle makes this sandwich DELECTABLE!---Whaaaaat? Aby truly used the word delectable.

Hear: Crunchy and crisp. Well, Which Wich veggies tend to be so fresh that they are always "crunchy and crisp!"

Getting a full sense of what this sandwich was like, I was curious---as usual---to see how this sandwich compared to the amazing Black Bean Patty sandwich. Aby responded, "I'm gonna have to say I might actually choose this one over the BBP (black bean patty, abridged). It tastes great! Perfect. Especially ideal for meat-eaters."

What could make The Cuban even better? Perhaps a little Mexican flare, per Abyspeak: "I would eat this again, but I would add jalapenos and spicy ingredients to enhance the flavor combination, maybe I would add some salsa Valentina...I wish I knew more words. Words cannot describe this sandwich. MmmmmmMmmmmmm."

*~*Euni*~*

Final Rating? 5 out 5 wiches :D

The Turkeywich

Happy Which Wich Wednesday to all!

This lovely Wednesday, we decided to try one of the sandwiches from "Category 1: Turkey," the Turkeywich. Right from the start, the name calls out to the curious. What is a Turkeywich and why is it called the Turkeywich?

Like the name implies, this sandwich contains turkey. What makes it different is the fact that this sandwich comes with COLESLAW & 1000 ISLAND DRESSING. Just thinking about the cool feel of coleslaw brings to mind a mild Spring day, sitting out in a park, having a picnic on one of those red-and-white-checkered picnic blankets. We didn't bring our picnic blanket today, so office chairs had to make do.

Our Turkeywich consisted of the following (oh yeah, I totally just made a little fancy chart!):

THE TURKEYWICH.

As y'all may recall Aby is the "hands-on" wich scientist, so below you will find her experience, as observed and recorded by myself:

The Turkeywich before being enjoyed.

Upon first bite, Aby's first words: Mmmmm good. Juicy.

Aby took three bites of this creation before adding a bit more input: "What I added to it [the Turkeywich] was a good choice. It's crunchy."

Very fittingly concise, though kind of vague, right? Being the recording "scientist," I had to pry into Aby's taste experience to get a more elaborate answer and got a more detailed response:

This sandwich is spicy---probably because of the jalapenos, hot pepper mix, and pepper jack cheese---but very fresh. The coleslaw, cucumbers, and onions added a very clean and fresh sensation to the overall taste. (Very much like the spring picnic imagery above.) It's funny how one doesn't quite think about adding dressing to their sandwich, the 1000 Island dressing kind of brought the Turkeywich ingredients all together, and with every bite, you can feel the dressing embrace your teeth and tongue.

A note on the spicy factor: the pepper jack cheese added a little extra "kick" to this wich, and it was a perfect companion to the jalapenos and hot pepper mix. It should also be noted that if you're not a spicy foods fanatic, you probably shouldn't add this three-ingredient combination to your Turkeywich, because this spicy combination permeates throughout your mouth with every bite.

At the end of her sandwich, I asked Aby if this was a good sandwich (i.e. is it worth eating again?): "This was the perfect sandwich to start this project. Definitely one of my new favorites, and the onions add an 'oniony' taste to the meal." (Yes, I had to put that last sentence word-for-word---this is true Aby-speech. Never spoke such truer words.)

*~*Euni*~*

Final rating? 4 out of 5 wiches :)

Which Wich Would You Like?

Hiya, everybody!

We are totally excited about starting this wonderful (and kind of quirky) sandwich journey. Who are we? Quite simply, we're just two sisters, in their 20s, curious enough to try all of Which Wich's sandwiches.

Really though, it's a little more complicated. We are in fact two sisters. Who work together. Who really like the Black Bean Patty sandwich at Which Wich. Allow us to introduce ourselves:

Euni (the younger sister)- She would like to say she has a distinguished and sophisticated taste for food, but really, she's just a picky eater. She likes to write, read, and study (mostly Economics or anything Paul Krugman-related). She's super witty (in her head), and might be the strangest person to get along with (but once you get to know her, you know it's a good thing to do so). Regarding this project, she will be the observer, interviewer, photographer, and recorder of the sandwich subjects.

Aby (the older sister)- She has bubbly personality and very friendly disposition. She tries---ahem, *tries*---to keep her eggplant-colored car clean, but you know how that goes...She likes to provide the comic relief in every serious or awkward situation. With regards to this project, she will be the "hands-on" food scientist...In other words, she's the one who will experience how tasty, or how *untasty* any given sandwich subject will be.

More details about The Which Wich Project itself can be found at the top of this blog---read the tabs, folks! We hope you will join us on our sandwich journey!

*~*Euni*~*