On a recent weekend getaway to Yountville and Inverness, we stopped for breakfast at the Fremont Diner in Sonoma. From the outside, it looks like an old-timey roadside diner. But inside, it's a modern practitioner of sustainable cooking, using farm-fresh ingredients, whole-hog cooking, and local produce.
I think the diner may even have its own farm, and I spied chickens milling about the picnic table area. That didn't stop us from ordering the special "snack" sandwich featuring fried chicken and pickles on a grilled bun. We were too stuffed from breakfast to eat it right away, so Andrew carried it around in his pocket for a few hours. (It's like the little slider was designed for a pocket!) Even after its long journey, it tasted outstanding.
Just when you thought the KFC Double Down sandwich was the unhealthiest sandwich imaginable, someone raises the stakes. Last week, while I was eating and drinking my way through New Orleans (stay tuned for sandwiches), the Top Cultured blog dreamed up the KFC Double Down Luther Burger.
For those of you unfamiliar, a Luther burger is a hamburger made with a glazed donut (preferably from Krispy Kreme) sliced in half in place of a bun. For this monstrous variation, Top Cultured suggests hitting up a KFC situated near a KK (a frighteningly common occurrence, I'm sure), purchasing the bacon and cheese sandwich made with fried chicken instead of a bun, then sandwiching that between a Krispy Kreme classic glazed.
As if that weren't enough, the fast foodies recommend extra KFC Colonel's Sauce. I'm not one to shy away from grease, but I'll take a humble fried oyster po'boy any day over this. Would you take a bite?
In August, I reported that KFC was testing a sandwich called the Double Down, which uses fried chicken patties in place of bread. After an apparently successful run in Nebraska and Rhode Island, the Double Down will become a standard KFC menu offering.
The sandwich will make its decadent debut today. The chain lists the nutritional info if you're interested (hint: it's bad for you) along with this description:
two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken fillets (Original Recipe or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce. This product is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!
As one Facebook reader commented the first time I wrote about this, when does it stop being a sandwich and start being chicken cordon bleu? Good question. Another might be, when does fried food stop being good and just start being gross? Probably when you're deep-frying a sandwich made with French fries. Would you gamble on the Double Down?
Source: Flickr User Daves Cupboard
Bakesale Betty's famous fried chicken sandwich didn't make it onto 7x7's Big Eat list, but it has been on mine for a while, and I'm not alone. The sandwich has a cult following that reaches far beyond Oakland; LA chef Vinny Dotolo gets one every time he's up north. This weekend I finally got to meet Betty — er, her sandwich — and it was a dream come true. Click through to take a 'wich trip.
KFC is testing a new offering called the
double down sandwich, which shuns a bun for two patties of fried chicken, filled with bacon and cheese. Apparently it is being test-marketed in Rhode Island and Nebraska.
A review on
Food Geekery says it's definitely worth $5. As someone who has been lusting after the
jibarito sandwich, made with fried plantains instead of bread, I'm hardly one to judge. Would you eat the double down, or at least take a bite?
I feel like a bad sandwich blogger because I've never been to Bakesale Betty, the Oakland outpost famous for its fried chicken sandwiches. If it weren't across the Bay Bridge, I'd probably be there too often, but as it is, I've never tasted this East Bay delicacy.
Thankfully, my friend Ben, the managing editor at MotorMouths.com, lives in the East Bay and snapped this photo of the fried chicken feast. He also recently tried Bakesale Betty's brisket sandwich and says it's maybe even better than the chicken. His advice: bring a friend and get both to share.
Want to share your own sandwich photos? Email them to nancy@betweenthebreadblog.com, along with a description of what's on your sandwich.
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