Friday, February 22, 2008

A Milestone


Well, we did it. 100 posts. Tamalehawk wishes to thank everyone who follows his culinary pursuits and the lazy arc of snap decisions that comprise it, and himself for eating so many delicious, weird, and intriguing things. Together, everyone soared on wings of discovery, shedding feathers of fear over a city clamoring at the promise of a life-altering quesadilla, or a heartbreaking chili, or a menu revelation. Can you hear the clamoring? It has reached a deafening din!

A lot of exciting things on the horizon. Tamalehawk has been using the waning moments of relative quiet to eat like a small, carefree bird. He hopes to always be drawn to the idea of ordering something called The Mess from a local sandwich purveyor. It has fries and coleslaw directly on it, which positions it squarely in Tamalehawk's downy wheelhouse. That sandwich, in myriad ways, reflects the true nature of life itself; everything crammed together unnaturally, working together to make something that, in time, feels natural, and in some more time, achieves greatness. He hopes that whatever the future holds, he can always appreciate the mess that might come with it. All this introspection is making him hungry.

13 comments:

  1. Costello's: Hugely overrated. It would be fine if everything on the menu cost $2 less, but as that is not the case, the place is a waste of time in a world in which Potbelly's exists -- and that's bearing in mind that Potbelly's is slightly overrated as well.

    On the other hand, Costello's has exactly what you're looking for if you're into insufferable smarmots grinding broken glass into the eyes of Bob Marley's legacy by playing sub-Jack-Johnson covers of "Redemption Song."

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  2. Coleslaw and fries? Whatever. I know they go crazy for that stuff in Pittsburgh, PA.

    But coleslaw and chili? That's a staple of the North Carolina flavor profile.

    Wendy franchises down there even sell Carolina Classics, a cheeseburger topped with chili and coleslaw, seasonal-like. They're pitched by Woody Durham, a friend to every good North Carolinian.

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  3. Hank: How can Costello's be hugely overrated? Is it even rated somehow? It's just a local sandwich shop with some regrettably bad decor. Their sandwiches are good and diverse, and they are always updating the menu, unlike the Potbelly's or Jimmy John's monolith. If you're not reaching for the stars, you will be forever tethered to the sandwichscape of the populous.

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  4. Bill: Tamalehawk thanks you for the regional report. He supports seasonal selections, local color, outrageous sandwiches, Wendy's, and a dialog about all of the above with a southern gentleman.

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  5. The very fact of its continued existence is a testament to the regard in which it is held by some. If it were a single overpriced sandwich shop, that would be one thing, but there are a chain of these offenses against cost-effective sandwich-eating spread across this city like chicken pox on a preschooler.

    Their sandwiches are not terrible in and of themselves, but their inflated price makes them an almost comically poor choice, like paying $50,000 for a Toyota Corolla. The Corolla is a fine automobile, but it is simply not worth that much money.

    And their continual updating of the menu doesn't say to me "restless pursuit of excellence in all its varieties"; it says "enough awareness to recognize mediocrity without the talent to correct it." In short, Costello's is not reaching for the stars -- instead, like moths, they simply flit around street lights while believing they have reached the firmament.

    This is the most I've ever written about sandwiches.

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  6. Since when is $5.95 too much for a sandwich? Man. You get chips with that as well. When you go deluxe for 2 dollars more, you get another side and a fountain drink. It all seems fairly reasonable for a sandwich venue in the city. Not everything can conjure the fiscal excitement of a $2.99 Daily Special at Subway.

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  7. It would be shameful how cheaply your allegiance is bought were it not so expensive. At least Subway is wise enough to embrace its mediocrity and reflect such in its prices. That you would pay more than $6.50 (including tax) for a marginally -- marginally -- superior sandwich and a bag of chips worth no more than 60 additional cents speaks poorly.

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  8. Oh crap. This comment section is a brouhaha. I'm out of here.

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  9. Mmmm, cheap mediocrity! Such an appetizing lunch option. Tamalehawk knows that in your day sandwiches cost a nickel and were only available when the government could ration the bread, but $6.50 is not expensive for lunch, Grandpa.

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  10. I saw 9 comments and assumed they were all congratulatory for the 100posts. I did not expect culinary tilting and gentle admonishments.

    Hank, I think Costello's is wonderful. And Potbelly's has live music equally as grating. Probably the same guy.
    The only thing Potbelly's has over Costello's is the breakfast sandwiches. They are served until
    1pm(!), and you get to put all the regular toppings on.
    Hank, did Costello's insult your prom date or touch you inappropriately?

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  11. Congrats on 100 posts.

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  12. False. You are all incorrect. Potbelly's is awful. Even QG, somewhere deep in his subconscious, recognizes this sordid truth amidst burps of pickles and their one uninventive cookie. Costello's is only marginally more palatable from my perspective, as I've only been forced to go there once, thus limiting the ennui brought on by their seriously boring "spicy" macaroni side.

    But, why does anyone even like sandwiches anyway? Aside from Matt's capacity for nostalgia (which is imressive, I'll admit) why would you want to take good ingredients and cram them together into the highest-density bite imaginable? What happened to savoring our food? Is it even possible to savor a sandwich? (Okay, sandwiches with less than three ingredients are given a pass. Savor on.) By definition, a typical american sandwich glosses over the flavor profiles of each of its 12 (on average) fine ingredients for the melting-pot sludge that is the sum of it's parts. Truly a one-bite-wonder.

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  13. Tamalehawk knew a fevered sandwich debate would lure KLH from her nest high above the pedestrian palettes of the public. He'll concur with her pseudo-praise of the simple sandwich; it is an all too often overlooked occurrence. But to disregard centuries of sandwich innovation so callously is akin to clipping the wings of a dove because you like the way he perches; a cruel and selfish pursuit.

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