Why screwcap wines are less popular in the USA?

So then Rahsaan - what constitutes an interesting, vegetarian sandwich?

Here's mine: pesto or tapenade, roasted red peppers, arugula, pickled peppers and a few slices of cheese on a baguette. Alternative #2 uses avocado, tomato (fresh or sundried) and goat cheese on baguette.

Either one of those makes a great accompaniment to a glass of rosé or chilled white wine on a hot day.

Mark Lipton

Romesco sauce with the sweetness of grilled onions, olive paste with the right cheese and bitter greens, even chickpeas ground up with something that gives them verve with the crunch and cleanliness of a cucumber, these are the innovations that make vegetarian sandwiches interesting for me.

These are definitely more interesting than the old standbys, and thankfully you do see more of this kind of thing. In the right places!

Here's mine: pesto or tapenade, roasted red peppers, arugula, pickled peppers and a few slices of cheese on a baguette. Alternative #2 uses avocado, tomato (fresh or sundried) and goat cheese on baguette.

Either one of those makes a great accompaniment to a glass of rosé or chilled white wine on a hot day.

The 'hot day' aspect is key. Great summer ideas. But I beg stores to please rotate menus across seasons!!!

Here's mine: pesto or tapenade, roasted red peppers, arugula, pickled peppers and a few slices of cheese on a baguette. Alternative #2 uses avocado, tomato (fresh or sundried) and goat cheese on baguette.

Nice. I'm still biased though (after spending some of my childhood in the Middle East and being totally spoiled by great shawarmas) - for vegetarian sandwiches nothing beats a few falafels, french fries (very popular in any shawarmas/sandwiches in Saudi Arabia) and fried onions with tahini and some hot sauce sandwiched/rolled in flat Arabic bread. Mmm...

Here's mine: pesto or tapenade, roasted red peppers, arugula, pickled peppers and a few slices of cheese on a baguette. Alternative #2 uses avocado, tomato (fresh or sundried) and goat cheese on baguette.

Nice. I'm still biased though (after spending some of my childhood in the Middle East and being totally spoiled by great shawarmas) - for vegetarian sandwiches nothing beats a few falafels, french fries (very popular in any shawarmas/sandwiches in Saudi Arabia) and fried onions with tahini and some hot sauce sandwiched/rolled in flat Arabic bread. Mmm...

I'm with you, Salil. I eat falafels at least once weekly, and hummous and babganoush make great spreads for European-type sandwiches, too. The best falafel sandwich of my life was eaten in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem in '83, a golden moment of time in between intifadas.

Mark Lipton

But I think a particular challenge for vegetarian sandwiches is a binding agent that brings the whole package together.

Not being a meat-eater, why is this more of a challenge for vegetarian sandwiches?

But I think a particular challenge for vegetarian sandwiches is a binding agent that brings the whole package together.

Not being a meat-eater, why is this more of a challenge for vegetarian sandwiches?

In my opinion, it is because meat (or the way flavors come together in meat) is its own binding agent. Animal fats and the particular bundle of flavors and taste sensations within meat provide the template to bring the rest of the sandwich together. Given quality ingredients, meat-based sandwiches should require little assistance in that regard. Vegetarian sandwiches, on the other hand, are about bringing together ingredients in such a way where the primary value added of the ingredients is not lost, but that the whole is still a whole unto itself.

[David M. Bueker]

Wow - thank God for thread drift. I am learning a lot.

Wow - thank God for thread drift. I am learning a lot.

Yep, me too. Also, when I clicked on page 2 from the index page, I wondered if somehow I had been magically whisked to the food forum.

In my opinion, it is because meat (or the way flavors come together in meat) is its own binding agent. Animal fats and the particular bundle of flavors and taste sensations within meat provide the template to bring the rest of the sandwich together..

I can see that.

I was just wondering because meat sandwiches still need something (e.g. mustard, mayo) to loosen it up and bring it together, but not necessarily flavor-wise in the way you are talking.