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Julian Kingma
What makes a great sandwich? Is it the perfect ratio of bread, condiment and filling? Whether you’re a hard-line traditionalist or an ingredient rebel, one thing is certain: Australians love to love sandwiches. Here are Melbourne’s best to wrap your hands around.
Pig’s ear sandwich, Uncle
Pig’s ear sandwich, Uncle
Pig’s ears have appeared on plenty of snack menus around the place for some time now, but Uncle’s win is to put the crunchy, crackling-like ribbons of porky goodness onto a soft white roll with lettuce, peanuts and salty-tangy pickles. It’s a baby banh mi that should come with an addiction warning.
Uncle, level 1, 15 Collins St, Melbourne, Vic, (03) 9654 0829; 188 Carlisle St, St Kilda, Vic, (03) 9041 2668.
Berkshire bacon sandwich, Higher Ground
Berkshire bacon sandwich, Higher Ground
Higher Ground’s bacon and egg sambo is a classy affair. Stacks of Berkshire bacon and a HP-style brown sauce made in-house are joined by the egg – or in this case, a sauce gribiche lifted with capers, cornichons and parsley. Cram all that on Tivoli Road sourdough toasted in bacon fat and, boom, this is a sandwich you don’t put down.
Higher Ground, 650 Little Bourke St, Melbourne, Vic, (03) 8899 6219.
Merenda, Bar Di Stasio
Merenda, Bar Di Stasio
In Italy, a merenda is a light afternoon snack, and this sandwich – an escalope of veal, pounded flat, crumbed and fried, on buttered crustless soft white, then wrapped in tinfoil so the butter melts and soaks into the bread – is the stuff that after-school dreams are made of. And it happens to go brilliantly with a Negroni, too, so the kids might have to get to the back of the queue.
Bar Di Stasio, 31 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, Vic, (03) 9525 3999.
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Abalone katsu, Cutler & Co
Abalone katsu, Cutler & Co
This is not Andrew McConnell’s first sandwich to approach cult status (hello, Supernormal’s lobster roll) but it’s arguably his best. Crumbed baby abalone with just the right amount of crunch and chew, sweet and tangy Bulldog brand tonkatsu sauce, chopped white cabbage and fluffy white rounds of bread, sans crusts, are a blissful combination. It’s a little bit posh but very satisfying.
Cutler & Co, 55-57 Gertrude St, Fitzroy, Vic, (03) 9419 4888.
The Reuben, Pickett’s Deli & Rotisserie
The Reuben, Pickett’s Deli & Rotisserie
Scott Pickett treats his wagyu brisket to a brine for a few days, then lets it dry before giving it a dry-rub, cold-smoking it and finishing it on the rôtisserie. The whole process gives the meat a beautiful textured crust. In the Pickett’s Deli Reuben, the meat joins Swiss cheese and pickled cabbage (sometimes red, sometimes white) in bread that’s sourced from neighbouring stores at the Queen Vic Market. A classic executed with panache.
Pickett’s Deli & Rotisserie, 507 Elizabeth St, Melbourne, Vic, (03) 9328 3213.
