The American sandwich problem

Evidently Americans have a big sandwich problem. There is no other way to put it. I am not talking here about the (delicious) hamburgers or pulled pork types of sandwiches (we will talk about them sooner or later). I am talking about what US people call "subs" and everybody else in the world calls sandwiches: bread (often baguette type) with some type of cold cuts inside.

I am not joking when I say that in Italy you grow up eating at least one of this a day. They are very simple: two slices of bread, or a roll, or a focaccia piece with EITHER mortadella OR salami, OR prosciutto inside. Americans must have seen this, but somehow the EITHER/OR part was lost in translation. The result are messy sandwich with absolutely every type of meat you can find. And more.

The perfect sandwich: focaccia bread with mortadella. Nothing else.

The problem seems particularly acute in the so called US "Italian sandwiches", like the muffoletta. This is a typical sandwich from New Orleans that Americans are convinced is typical Italian. Look at this photo: layers and layers of different types of meat, cheese, plus giardiniera. Can you spot a difference with the focaccia with mortadella of the photo above?

The "Italian" muffoletta: I don't think there is enough meat here. But hey, can you spot a difference with the photo above?

Or look about this other monster: a baguette filled with mortadella, coppa (another cold cut), onions, olive oil, three type of cheese. WTF people? Each of these ingredients would be delicious enjoyed on its own with bread. The BEST sandwich is the one where the filling complements the texture and the flavor of the bread. Saying this doesn't mean being snob or not being open to new foods. Adding up ten good things into one doesn't always result in a better thing. On the contrary...

This "Italian" sandwich really allows you to appreciate each of its flavors...

But there is nothing I can do about this. When I dared to mention that this thing was just a flavor mess, I was  told that I didn't know anything about Italian sandwiches. Of course...I just grew up with them, but hey what do I know?

I had already talked about the US tendency to make completely crazy flavors and food associations. It works like this: do you like donuts? Do you like pork chops? Then you will LOVE our pork chops flavored donuts! And this is what I think happened with the "Italian sandwich": if I like a mortadella sandwich, and a prosciutto sandwich, and a tuna sandwich, and a turkey sandwich and a salami sandwich, then obviously I will LOVE a mortadella-prosciutto-tuna-turkey sandwich, with blue cheese and emmenthal and provolone and asiago on top!

And don't forget those olives, or else the flavor will be a tad bland...