BEYOND PB & J : From Classic Burgers to Classy Muffeletas, Your Sandwiches Are Here

Consider the sandwich. Generations of Americans would have starved if they hadn’t.

The peanut butter and jelly (PB & J) we messed up mom’s kitchen with. Thick slabs of ham on rye at family picnics. The bologna sandwiches we ate when times were lean. Grilled cheeses our sisters slopped together on Sunday mornings.

But don’t go getting too sentimental, because sandwiches are very much a part of the ‘90s. The sandwich, once an identifiably American phenomenon, has managed to conquer the world in recent decades. Now, the world is repaying the favor, by making the choices more colorful and diverse than ever.

I’ve been out eating sandwiches for months now in a search for Orange County’s best. I could easily go another season or two, but for now I’ve come up with 10 worthies (in random order) for you to chew on. Let me know if I’ve missed one of your favorites. I’m always ready to eat a good sandwich.

1. The Hamburger.

This is the big one, everybody’s sacred cow. Many local burgers spring to mind; the In-N-Out Burger, the terrific cheeseburger at Zuni Grill and a host of others at neighborhood watering holes. But I’m voting for the meaty, messy burgers at Russell’s in Seal Beach, sloppy, paper-wrapped ones on plain grilled buns with lettuce, tomato, pickle and a sweet, creamy dressing that drools out when you bite in.

The meat is ordinary ground chuck and never frozen, marbled with just the right amount of fat, and the burger just about falls apart when you pick it up. Eat one with the world-class french fries that can be had for only 95 cents additional, or a scoop of the excellent house cole slaw. Russell’s has been a Long Beach institution since 1930, but the Seal Beach restaurant is less than six months old. No matter. Old-timers may find the atmosphere plastic, but the burgers are pure Americana. Great double-crusted pies and thick milk shakes too.

Russell’s, 1198 Pacific Coast Highway, Seal Beach. (213) 596-9556. Open Sunday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday till 11 p.m. Russell’s Famous Hamburger, $3.75. 2. The Egg.

I probably don’t need to tell you how simple and satisfying an egg sandwich can be. Anyone can cook an egg and smush it together with relish, mayo, mustard or whatever else there is left over in the fridge, and no two ever taste the same.

John Merlino, chef at a small cafe called Merlino’s on 17th, makes the best one I know of. All his sandwiches are terrific, like his incredible confit of chicken sandwich (chicken preserved in its own fat on a French roll with sun dried tomato, Brie cheese and a moss green basil spread). So good I almost put it on this list. But nostalgia won me over. The egg sandwich here is served warm and is wonderfully fragrant, a scrambled egg with provolone cheese, Dijon mustard and Bermuda onion on good grilled egg bread. It’s one you’ll want to eat when you are feeling especially delicate, a comfort food to restore your strength. It makes an unexpectedly good breakfast, too.

Merlino’s on 17th, 401 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa. (714) 548-1598. Open Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday till 9 p.m. The Egg Sandwich, $4. 3. The Vegetarian.

Zov’s Bistro, a lively boisterous cafe with a black and white checkered floor, is one of the area’s more unusual restaurants, a Middle Eastern bistro with French and Italian overtones. Owner Zov Karamardian is Armenian, and although her menu is wide ranging, it is the foods of this region that she does best; baba ganooj, the grainy eggplant dip, or the Aram, cold roast beef with dill rolled up in cracker like bread.

But I come here for her grilled eggplant sandwich, a simple creation that is sublimely delicious. The eggplant is lightly floured and smeared with feta cheese, then stuffed into a crispy roll with tomato and lettuce. The result is something light, sensuous and healthy, an all-American sandwich with a Middle Eastern twist. I could eat one any time.

Zov’s Bistro, Eiderle Center, 17440 17th St., Tustin. (714) 838-8855. Open for lunch Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; for dinner Wednesday through Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. The Vegetarian, $5.95.

4. The Cajun Fried Chicken.

You may not have an appetite by the time you get to the sandwich menu at A La Carte, a take away gourmet shop just south of downtown Laguna. That’s because the shop is literally crammed full of hors d’oeuvres, pastries and other goodies, a few of which are always put up for tasting.

Sandwiches here tend to be creative, especially the ones with names like BBQ meat loaf and chicken Caesar, but I’m sold on the Cajun fried chicken, a spicy, breaded hunk of chicken breast on a grilled bun with lettuce and tomato. The sandwich is jazzed up by an exotic ingredient called jalapeno jelly and is all at once sweet and spicy, quite unlike anything I have tasted before. What’s more, it’s served with a subtle, al dente macaroni salad, making the perfect light lunch.

A La Carte, 1915 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. (714) 497-4927. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Cajun fried chicken, $4.25.

5. Banh Mi Bi Cha.

Perhaps the French and not the Americans are responsible for making the Vietnamese the great sandwich eaters of Asia. After all, the French have been making bread much longer than we have.

But no one can dispute that banh mi, Vietnamese submarines, are the great sandwich value of this county. And they also happen to taste great. Thanh Nhan is acknowledged by Little Saigon savants to be the best place to eat one, great crusty loaves filled with a choice of meats, peppers and mixed Vietnamese pickles. To give you an idea of the bargain prices, a chicken sandwich here--a foot-long and containing a good 6 ounces of meat--is only $1.35. I’ll go out on a limb and recommend the banh mi bi cha, a mixed pork sandwich with pork pate, pieces of roast pork and clear, julienned pork tendon. It’s deceptively spicy . . . and astonishingly tasty.

Thanh Nhan, 9569-9571 Bolsa Ave., Westminster. (714) 839-1440. Open daily, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Banh mi bi cha, $2. 6. The BLT.

The waiter at Fashion Island’s terrific new Daily Grill may have been a little off base when he referred to the thick slices of this sensational sandwich’s “kosher bacon,” but he was right on the money when he said I’d never taste a better BLT.

The Daily Grill serves a classic version, on enormous hunks of sourdough bread baked especially for them daily by Pioneer Boulangerie of Santa Monica (although you can have it on deli rye or whole grain if you prefer). Don’t tell your cardiologist, but there must be a half-pound of crispy bacon on the thing, piled high with fresh iceberg, never mealy sliced tomato and lots of eggy mayo. It’s simply the best BLT I’ve had anywhere, and also my choice for the No. 1 sandwich on this list.

Daily Grill, 957 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 644-2223. Open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to midnight; Saturday, 9 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The BLT, $6.25.

7. The Sausage Special.

Lovers of good Italian sausage will rejoice when they catch sight of wondrous links, coiled up behind a glass case at the Lido Shipyard Sausage Co., a hard-to-find Newport Beach cafe. The sausages are made by a man named Peter Sabatino, son of a Chicago sausage maker, and full of fabulous seasonings: fennel, garlic, red pepper and sage. The capper is the secret ingredient, a soft Italian cheese that comes drooling out when you bite in.

The sandwich itself is generous, served on a grilled bun with or without marinara sauce. (I prefer it without; this sausage stands on its own.) An accompanying side of pasta salad is thrown in for good measure.

Lido Shipyard Sausage Co., 251 Shipyard Way, Newport Beach. (714) 723- 0621. Open Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. Closed Monday. Sabatino’s Sausage Special, $5.95.

8. The Chopped Pork Shoulder.

Barbecue is a universally popular form of American cookery, and many, many of our great sandwiches, from Texas-style beef brisket to the mesquite smoked chicken breast of the Southwest, are quite literally from the pits.

Fred Burrell is a North Carolinian and barbecues with hickory, a sloppy, saucy style of barbecue exactly as you’d find in his home state; infused with the perfumes of hickory smoke, smothered in a redolent red sauce rich with pepper, vinegar and exotic spicing. The best example of his style is his barbecued pork shoulder sandwich, a true classic--overflowing with heaps of sauced, shredded meat and sweet, creamy cole slaw. The meat is crispy and chewy at the same time, the result of several shoulders cooked to different degrees of doneness chopped up together, and makes for one of the most sumptuous sandwiches on the planet. Ask for it on white bread, the way they do in the Atlantic states.

Burrell’s Rib Cage, 305 N. Hesperian St., Santa Ana. (714) 835-9936. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed Mondays. Also, 1701 E. McFadden Avenue J, Santa Ana. (714) 541-3073. Open Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays till 11 p.m., Sundays till 9 p.m. The Chopped Pork Shoulder, $3.95.

9. The Pastrami.

Lovers of the delicatessen need not be reminded that this area is less than a hotbed for Jewish cuisine. Authentic New York style pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, hand-sliced by grumpy countermen and piled halfway to the moon, simply don’t exist here.

But there is a measure of redemption at New York City Deli, a modest storefront in a Fountain Valley mini-mall. Owner Paul Ashkenazy is a native of Hungary and prepares a variety of Jewish Hungarian dishes to go with an array of deli sandwich standbys.

His pastrami sandwich is easily the county’s best. He buys the pastrami--a pepper- and clover-flavored cut that is surprisingly lean--uncooked from Hebrew National, then smokes it on the premises for about three hours. He hand-slices his wondrous, home-baked rye bread for every sandwich, but the pastrami is cut by machine and then weighed on a little food scale, sacrilege to a Lower East Sider. So move to New York.

New York City Deli, 10964 Warner Ave., Fountain Valley. (714) 964-7400. Open Monday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Tuesday through Saturday till 9 p.m. Closed Sunday. The Pastrami, $4.95.

10. The Muffeleta.

When the Cajun craze was at its height in the early ‘80s, this unique sandwich, a creation of New Orleans’ Central Grocery, was swept into national prominence along with it. Unfortunately, hardly anybody since has bothered to reproduce the actual recipe.

242 Cafe in Laguna Beach is no exception, substituting an ordinary baguette for the original sesame studded Italian bread, and a highfalutin imported cold cut called sorpressata for the salami and ham. Purists may quibble, but you can’t argue with success. Call this sandwich by any other name, but call it terrific.

It’s still a muffeleta in spirit; cold cuts and cheese stuffed into a half-loaf of bread with a tangy olive dressing. But 242 uses Calamata Greek olives (sliced rather than finely minced), oregano, parsley, balsamic vinegar, Mozzarella cheese and extra virgin olive oil, to make a sandwich that is more delicate than hearty, something more typical of the northern Italian sandwich fashion known as panini, than the rough-and-tumble submarine spinoff that came out of New Orleans.

242 Cafe, 242 N. Pacific Coast Highway, (714) 494-2444. Open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Muffeleta, $6.75.