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So I went to Safeway during halftime today to get a sandwich for lunch, and imagine my dismay when I find out that they’ve taken my favorite sandwich, the Hail Caesar, off the menu. I don’t get it. Why? Why would you take clearly the best sandwich on the menu off the menu? I feel betrayed.

So I’ve been more inburrito than usual lately, for a very good reason; I was moving. I’m just about done, though, so you’ll see me online at least a bit more soon, but I had to take the time to write about this now.

Unlike some of my friends, I am not a sandwich aficionado, and do not in general consider the sandwich one of the highest forms of prepared food. However, I do agree that just slapping some stuff between two slices of bread does not a good sandwich make, and that a properly calibrated sandwich can elevate your culinary experience from the mundane to the sublime. I’m writing today to talk about one of these sublime experiences. I walked over to my local Safeway a little while ago, thinking I’d just pick something up from the deli counter for lunch, since I have very few groceries in my new place, never suspecting that I was shortly to come away with what is possibly the best sandwich I have ever had. I am not kidding.

I ordered the “Hail Caesar” sandwich, which consists of a soft baguette (the bread makes the sandwich, and this one has some heft without being too tough or tearing up the roof of your mouth) with a garlic spread (think a thicker version of caesar dressing), turkey (but not too much; turkey’s aggressive blandness can overpower everything else in the sandwich if too much is added), havarti cheese (my very favorite, and the reason I chose this sandwich in the first place), lettuce and tomatoes. A very simple list of ingredients, but this is the textbook example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts; tangy, flavorful, balanced perfection. Mmm! Ok, I’m going to go back and enjoy the second half of my sandwich.