St. Jacks Club Sandwich
  • St. Jack's Club Sandwich

There was a loose definition of ‘sandwich’ at the Feast opening event last night, the Sandwich Invitational. Most of the chefs were non-conformist and many opted for open sandwiches. In some cases this meant a bit of bread with a heap of stuff dumped on top. For example, with Aaron Franklin’s offering which involved spit roasted cow’s head, the BBQ was fantastic... but in no way could it be called a sandwich. Justin Wills of Restaurant Beck deconstructed the format to the point where it became weird: smoked lamb belly with butternut squash, tzatiziki, mizithra cheese and salsa verde. It seemed more at home on a plate than a piece of bread. Tim Heala at Little T Baker opted for a dessert: A delicious, light sfogliatella pastry with cream and fruit.

Vitaly Paley won the Peoples’ Choice Award with a soy braised pork belly on a fried bread taco, while Gregory Gourdet of Departure took the judges award for his Chinese BBQ pork crepe. For my money, though, Aaron Barnett (St. Jack) had the most outstanding offering—a club sandwich that actually used two bits of bread, with a filling of whole Peking quail and smokey bacon. It was bold and delicious.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE FEAST RECAPS!

Little Ts dessert
  • Little T's dessert

Aaron Franklins barbecue
  • Aaron Franklin's barbecue