Good Friends, Great Sandwiches - All Star Sandwich Bar

They say a good sandwich is like an old friend and old friends are usually the best friends, right? Well at All Star Sandwich Bar in Cambridge, MA that is definitely the case. Brothers Johnny and Kosta Diamantopoulos treat all their guests as old friends and serve up some of the best sandwiches in the city and beyond. I've considered them friends since my second visit to the restaurant more than a year ago and have enjoyed dozens, yes dozens of amazing sandwiches since then. It's always a pleasure to see Kosta and Johnny and the staff is ALWAYS warm, friendly and efficient. Read what I had to say about my first two visits to All Star Sandwich Bar.

As for the sandwiches, they are divine. Regular menu options are always a solid choice, especially sandwiches like the Atomic Meatloaf Meltdown, The Texas Reuben, The Po Boy and the Veggie Cubano, but the daily blackboard specials with sandwiches called the Funky and Extra Funky are what really sets the All Star sandwich apart from the rest. My very first All Star sandwich was the Extra Funky offering on February 26, 2010, a jerk grilled chicken breast sandwiched between two perfectly grilled slices of sourdough bread with jack cheese, sliced pineapple, chayote slaw and mango habanero barbecue sauce. One bite of this sandwich and I was hooked. Sandwich number two was the Atomic Meatloaf Meltdown. Number three, a Texas Reuben. Four, a fried oyster Po' Boy, and the list goes on. I'm pretty sure I've eaten at least a dozen, maybe two dozen sandwiches at All Star, many of them more than once.

Along with great sandwiches Chef Johnny also makes a popular chili and some great sides too. Hell Fries and Hell Rings are good choices, hand cut fries or onions rings dusted in cayenne and doused with delicious and spicy Inner Beauty mango habanero barbecue sauce. Gravy fries, cheese fries, chili cheese fries and poutine are available every day and blackboard special sides have included amazing scallion and jalapeno hush puppies with Tabasco remoulade, fried hearts of palm with goat cheese and marinara, and curried chickpea-battered fried cauliflower with mint yogurt dipping sauce.

Once a great local find, this place has been put on the national map as a destination for serious and casual eaters alike. Chef Johnny can be seen on how2heroes demonstrating some skills in the kitchen and this Monday night, June 20, at 10pm, All Star Sandwich Bar will be featured on the relatively new Food Network program, Meat and Potatoes with Rahm Fama. Chef Fama and his crew were at All Star back in March to film and Chef Johnny made a special Extra Funky sandwich that day, the Rahm Fama Lama Ding Dong with Dr. Pepper braised short ribs, fried cheddar, and sweet potato bacon mash, I was there and it was GREAT!

Rahm Fama and Kosta talking Sandwiches

Chef Johnny making an Atomic Meatloaf Meltdown for the camera

Tune in Monday night to see the whole show. Now enjoy some of the great sandwiches and sides I've had at All Star Sandwich Bar:

Extra Funky - Rahm Fama Lama Ding Dong
Dr. Pepper Braised Short Ribs, Fried Cheddar, Sweet Potato Bacon Mash

Texas Reuben

Fried Oyster Po' Boy

Chile Relleno Burger 

Homemade chorizo sausage, fried poblano pepper, corn salsa, pepper jack on grilled brioche.

Extra Funky - Guava Pasilla Chile Braised Pork Shoulder 

with Jack Cheese, Crispy Fried Poblano Peppers, Avocado, Pico De Gallo

Sweet Corn Queso Fresco Crema on Grilled Sesame Telera Bread

Hell Fries

Rings of Fire

Fried Hearts of Palm with Goat Cheese and Marinara

Crispy Fried Chickpea Battered Cauliflower with Mint Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Fried Green Beans with two Dipping Sauces

All Star Sandwich Bar
1245 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 
Ph. 617.868.3065
http://www.allstarsandwichbar.com

Mr. T says Brine your Turkey

Don't be a fool, brine your turkey! I wrote about brining turkeys a couple years ago in the infancy of this here blog. With just a few more readers now, it's time to revisit the topic. So ladies and gentlemen listen up, if you want a delicious, moist, wow-your-guests turkey, then you MUST MUST MUST brine! The basics: brine is a salt water solution. Wikipedia has this to say about brining:

Brining makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking, via the process of osmosis, and by allowing the cells to hold on to the water while they are cooked, via the process of denaturation.

Look, all I know is that brining is the only way to a truly delicious, juicy turkey. I used to use a brine recipe from Wolfgang Puck, but this year I'm going with a recipe adapted from Grill 23 chef Jay Murray here in Boston. My wife J clipped the recipe out of Boston Magazine for me and it looks too good to turn pass up. Here is the recipe, reproduced without permission:

Turkey Brine
Adapted from Grill 23 chef Jay Murray

10 qt. water
2 1/2 c. kosher salt
2 c. maple syrup
20 cloves garlic
3 oranges, halved
5 bay leaves
1/4 c. mixed peppercorns
1/4 c. coriander seeds
2 tbsp. smoked paprika
6 sprigs fresh rosemary

1. In large pot over high heat, combine water, salt, maple syrup, and garlic. Squeeze orange halves to extract juice; add juice and fruit to brine. Add spices and herbs.
2. Boil mixture five minutes. Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature, then chill at least two hours before adding turkey.
3. Brine meat in refrigerator for at least eight hours and up to 12.
4. Drain, dry completely, then roast according to recipe of choice

If you're like me and don't have the patience for the cooling and chilling part of the brine process, follow this simple tip I picked up from my good friend at the Food Network, Alton Brown. He shared this amazing tip with me a few months ago: make the brine with half the water called for and once the salt is dissolved, take the brine off the heat and add the remaining water as ice . Five pounds of ice will melt into 4 quarts of water, also known as one gallon of water. The ice will instantly cool the solution. Now give that turkey a bath and have a happy Thanksgiving!

I pity the fool who doesn't brine their turkey!