Food and Drink

Two Ultimate Jersey Mike’s Subs

My idea of what are the two ultimate subs at Jersey Mike’s:

The first is the #17 – Mike’s Famous Philly.

How the menu describes it: “Grilled onions, peppers & white American cheese. This Philly is the real deal. It’s grilled fresh to order with tender steak, peppers, onions, and white American cheese.  It’s a fan favorite!”

For the Romano version, change the cheese to Swiss and add lettuce, raw onion, tomato and mayonnaise on a whole wheat bun.

I don’t like Jersey Mike’s cold cuts very much. They aren’t near Thumann’s or Boar’s Head quality, but the steak is very good. Highly recommend the Romano Philly Cheesesteak.

The second sandwich is my favorite of all time, and since I rarely eat meat, it’s my go to at least twice a month. It’s the #14 The Veggie, listed on the menu as: “Swiss, provolone, & green bell peppers. Crunchy and full of flavor, our Veggie sub starts with layers of provolone, Swiss, and green bell peppers.  Ask for it Mike’s Way to enjoy our freshly sliced onions, shredded lettuce, and perfectly ripened tomatoes, with spices and the juice for a light and refreshing sub.”

On this one, choose whole wheat, lettuce, tomato, extra oregano and mayo, and most importantly (as I put it on the order slip) “an absurd amount of onions.” Leave off the oil and vinegar and ask for Swiss only, but be careful and make sure they replace the Provolone with more Swiss (they don’t do it automatically).

Most of the time I’ve had someone from the office pick this one up for me. The one time I went in, the kid behind the counter whispered to his co-worker, “Hey man, it’s the guy with the onions. He’s here in person.” THAT’s how many onions you want! Try it!

I’ll end with this, Jersey Mike’s is good (my issue with the cold cut quality aside), but if you are ever in northern New Jersey visit my childhood haunt: Big Stash’s at 131 Kearny Ave Kearny, NJ 07032.

Normandy Rice Pudding

Or teurgoule as it is called there. This is a Norman word that means “twist mouth”, supposedly because the cinnamon in the recipe was spicy. Well if it’s the 14th century and you only eat meat, bread, butter, milk and eggs, cinnamon is spicy, I suppose. Let’s not time travel and bring along jalapenos. Could change the course of history.

All you need is a casserole dish with a cover, 4 1/4 cups of milk, 1/3 cup of rice (the kind for risotto if you have it), 1/2 cup of light brown sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon. It cooks for hours and forms a luscious brown skin of starch and cooked milk you are supposed to discard. Personally I like it. I guarantee your dog will like it if you don’t.

Here you go:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine milk, sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over the uncooked rice you have placed in the casserole dish. Put on the lid and cook for at least 3.5 hours. I have used typical long grain rice and jasmine rice. Still delicious.

As with many simple farm recipes it’s not hard and there is a very short list of ingredients. All you need is time and patience. Like farming itself.

And if you want to taste this in France, book a Normandy tour at Link Paris.