The Downtown Deli Diagnosis - Part 3: Between the Bread

Blogger's Note - After a brief hiatus, welcome back to our survey of the CBD sandwich shops. And just in case, here are links to Part 1 and Part 2.

Today we take a look at Between the Bread, a newcomer to the downtown deli scene located on St. Charles across from Lafayette Square. The space is extremely inviting - vaulted ceilings allow for balcony eating upstairs and tall windows offer plenty of natural light. The menu is simple: soups, salad, and sandwiches. You can check for the daily specials on their blog. Order at the counter and wait for your name to be called.

Triple B, the Coonhunter, and I all ordered sandwiches on our first visit, and not one of us left disappointed. The bread is of the typical sliced genre but much taller, and you can have your choice of sourdough, whole wheat, rye, or multi grain. As you can see from the Coonhunter's main street sandwich with turkey and bacon, all of the deli meats are sliced paper thin.

The "market chicken salad" is a medley of sizable chunks of white meat, dried cranberries, relish and egg mixed held together by a mixture of cream cheese and sour cream. For all you people with an aversion to mayo (and I am sometimes one of them), this is the chicken salad for you. One of the best specimens out there.

Why have I not seen this before? BLT/PC - bacon, lettuce, tomato, and pimento cheese. The homemade PC is creamy and not overwhelmed by the peppers, and when you match that with the salty crunch from the bacon, you get a great sandwich. Brilliant!

Sandwiches come with kettle chips, but you can swap for potato or pasta salad for a buck. The most expensive choice on the menu is the smoked salmon salad for a whopping $9.

Between the Bread - Birdie

Hansen's Sno-Bliz

Damn, it's hot outside. What better way to cool off than a snowball?

To our out-of-town readers, the answer is no. A snowball is NOT the same as a sno-cone or Hawaiian shaved ice. Allow me to explain the difference. New Orleans style snowballs are set apart from all others because the ice is much, much finer. So fine in fact that the best snowball makers must alternate between pouring syrups and packing on more ice, because if they just poured the syrup on the top then the elixirs would not penetrate the ice near the bottom. Try one and you are sure to notice the difference. If you are feeling particularly adventurous, ask for a generous pour of condensed milk on top of your snowball. The extra insulin shot will be worth it.

We all have our favorite snowball stands, but in my opinion none come close to Hansen's Sno-Bliz. Their ice is shaved so fine that you might as well be eating clouds. For the magic behind the sno-bliz, I direct you to Todd Price's May article in the Times Picayune. (It must also be noted that Hansen's makes their own syrups - a feat which not many other snowballers can lay claim to.)

Even though Hansen's stands alone at the top, there are still many other snowball stands vying for second place. In a recent conversation I had with The Coonhunter, he made an astute observation that which snowball stand you prefer directly correlates to where you grew up. His contention is based on the strong ties between the stands and their neighborhoods. So I guess today's poll could be more of a demographic analysis of our readers as opposed to a means to end the snowball debate. Either way, we'd like to hear your opinion. (Write-in votes are welcome in the comments.)

Last but not least, no matter what your vote, let us never forget that when it comes to snowballs:

I'll take a large limeade please.

Food From/In Far Away Lands

The title refers to both the location and the cuisine:

• Cuisine: Pupusas - These are thick corn tortillas stuffed with a variety of fillings. Their origin is El Salvador, which is somewhere in Central America.
• Location: Kenner - Which some of you probably think is as far away as Central America. The Pontchartrain Center, Treasure Chest Casino, and Esplanade Mall are just a few of the attractions of "America's City." Kenner is also the home of one our faithful readers: the Coonhunter.

I often make the drive between New Orleans and Baton Rouge and use this journey as an excuse to eat at places I otherwise would not be willing to make the drive for. Last week on our drive to the airport, The Folk Singer and I stopped at Taqueria Sanchez. [I should note that according to Fr. Tom's Restaurant Index, there are two Taqueria Sanchezes on Williams Blvd. We went to the one at 920 Williams.]

As soon as we sat down, I knew that the food would be authentic for three reasons:

1. We were two of only three gringos in the joint. The other 20 diners were Latin/Central American.
2. There was a large flat screen TV displaying (in Spanish, of course) the Mexico vs. Honduras World Cup Qualifying match.
3. Our server barely spoke any English.

The complimentary chips and salsa were different and delicious. The chips were thick and (at least tasted) freshly fried. The salsa was of an orange hue and served warm. Not too spicy, but not robust with tomatoes or sweetness. There is also a hotter green salsa in a squeeze bottle on every table.

The pupusa was dynamite. For my fillings I chose the trifecta - beans, cheese, and chicarron (or pork skin). The tortilla was soft, and the flavor of the pork fat really penetrated through the corn meal. (Or was the tortilla made with pork fat? Not sure.) The fillings melted into a delectable and uniform mixture on the inside. The cup of slaw on the side was forgettable.

Also on the table was this torta, which for lack of a better description is a Mexican sandwich. The bread was yellow and slightly sweet and eggy, sort of like the bread used to make a Cuban media noche. The toppings are lettuce, tomato, avocado, and sour cream with your choice of meat. Mine was tongue (or "lengua"), and it was amazing.

P.S. - My trip to Napa was one for the record books. Expect a full report throughout next week. In fact, next week may be designated as "Napa Week." If Father Tom can make such proclamations, then I don't see why we can't.