Not to be outdone in reporting something really big on the food scene today, I see that Playboy has nominated a sandwich from St. Louis to its A-List of Top 10 sandwiches on playboy.com for June. This is a national compilation, mind you, so the city should be awash in pride.
So take your best guess...something from Blues City Deli perhaps, maybe the South Side Smoke from Stellina Pasta? Those cagey devils...did they surprise us by picking Lester's pastrami, the leanest pastrami in town? Neoooo. The sandwich picked (along with the Italian Beef from Al's in Chicago and the Philly Cheesesteak from Pat's in Philly), was the created-in-St. Louis, $2.40 white-bread-wonder, St. Paul Sandwich from Wong's Inn in Maplewood. Here it is, in all its wax-paper glory.
OK, I'll admit I am a fan of the St. Paul, but I'm also a bit dumbfounded. Sure it's simple, quirky, homey, homely, and perfect floating atop a belly fulla beer, but a national Top 10 sandwich? Nah. What's worse, they overlooked one that's right in their own back yard: a fully-loaded char-dog from The Weiner's Circle in Lincoln Park, especially sublime after 2 AM. -- George Mahe
