by Brenda Hillegas
Well it’s been awhile. But, I try not to fill the editor’s letter section with random thoughts and reserve it for more focused musings. Last night, I attended City Paper‘s inaugural Great Sandwiches event for their annual Meal Ticket Magazine and it was a blast! Sponsored in part by Kind Snacks (yummy!) and featuring all your local favorites, you can find out more about the event in our culture section write-up.
As thankful as I am to live in a city where there are so many unique events like this one and always something to do, I don’t take advantage of these options enough. My lack of a car is partially to blame. Another fault is Septa’s train schedule and the fact that it doesn’t run too late on weekdays to the suburbs. Great Sandwiches, though, ended at 9pm which was early enough for us suburban people to get a ride home and walk in the front door as soon as the regret of not picking up another cookie on the way out hits you.
Aside from one of my favorites, Insomnia Cookies, there were so many sandwiches, desserts, beers and wines to try that I couldn’t hit them all. Even with the perfect amount of time for this event (three hours long), I shoved so much food into my face within the first twenty minutes that I couldn’t even begin to think about what I’d do for the next few hours. But, I pushed through and continued trying foods from local businesses I’ve never checked out before. To all the vendors I was just experiencing for the first time last night- I’m sorry we hadn’t met sooner. Luke’s Lobster– the bread on your shrimp rolls…well, there are no words. Marry me (and that Spodee sangria I had).
There was a Chopped-style competition featuring local chefs Eli Kulp, Scott Schroeder, and Brad Spence (and marmite, tomatoes, and SPAM as the surprise ingredients) and a vote for the best sandwich of the night (congrats, Fat Jack’s BBQ). I met great people, ran into some old friends, got some great ideas for future That Mag stories, and had a lot of fun. One of the greatest organizations in my opinion is Philabundance and they were there, too, collecting donations for everyone in attendance. Hey Philadelphia- there needs to be MORE events like Great Sandwiches and Philabundance should definitely be on hand at every single event in the city. Not only were we able to meet Philadelphia area vendors we may not have known before, but we also had the chance to network, find out more about the local foods in our area, have a great night out, and help Philabundance do their thing!
Let’s do this again soon (love, a very full and very happy editor)!
- Termini Brothers Bakery
- Those amazing shrimp rolls from Luke’s Lobster
- The crowd enjoying all the food
- Loved the display (and food) from Aya’s Cafe
- I was so excited to finally taste the great BBQ from Phil
- I will be buying a TON of that cider
- Getting ready for the competition
- Animo’s juice blends- loved that orange one
- Mmm…I ate a few of the Sweet Salvation Truffles
- Bring me more sangria please
- Art in the Age was fantastic- looking forward to seeing you again soon
- More from Spodee, that sangria was out of this world
- Hot Diggity! I was too full to try you, I’ll stop by the shop soon
- Wine from Brandywine Valley Wine Trail- I loved the reds
- Celeb chefs ready to compete (congrats, Eli)
- Yes, more wine please
