Between the Bread

The insatiable food truck trend means lots of sandwiches on wheels. Last week, I read about a new fancy Italian sandwich truck, Cibo Per Strada, arriving soon in the East Bay. But from LA to the Bay Area and across the country, I've already got five sandwich trucks I need to chase down.

• 3-Sum Eats (San Francisco) From former Top Chef contestant Ryan Scott, this brand-new truck offers three choices in three categories: sandwiches, salads/sides, and sweets. I'm eying the pork sandwich with apple cole slaw and cheddar jalapeno bread (above) and gnocchi tater tots.
• The Grilled Cheese Truck (Los Angeles) Considering I've seen people cooking up grilled cheese sandwiches in the parking lots of Dead concerts, a grilled cheese truck seems like a no-brainer. Choices include brie on cranberry walnut bread and a sammy stuffed with mac 'n' cheese.
• Roli Roti (San Francisco) The porchetta sandwich at this rolling rotisserie — pork loin rolled up with pork belly, served on Acme Bread — gets endless accolades, including landing on San Francisco magazine's sandwich list.
• Gaztro-Wagon (Chicago) Naanwiches served on Indian bread but stuffed with ingredients from a cornucopia of cuisines, including lemongrass pork cheeks, veal picatta, and butternut squash with mascarpone.
• Coolhaus (Los Angeles, Austin, and NYC) Specializing in "architecturally inspired ice cream sandwiches," this dessert version puts homemade ice cream between the cookies of your choice (pictured below).

I promise I'll get to Roli Roti one of these days. Meanwhile, got some more food trucks I need to try? Share them below.

Inspired by this wonderfully Freudian sign comes Sand Wish List, where I'll chronicle the sandwich joints I haven't had the pleasure of visiting but desperately crave. First up: Cole's in Los Angeles, which I had my eye on even before my friend Phil (below left) gave the beef and blue cheese French dip a glowing review. Both Cole's and Philippe the Original claim to have invented the French dip in the early 1900s. Until recently, Cole's was closed, so Philippe won by default. But now Cole's has reopened as both a sandwich mecca and a purveyor of classic cocktails, which is sort of what I think heaven must be like. I am a big Philippe's fan, and really, it doesn't matter who made the French dip first. What matters is whose is better, which is why Cole's is on my Wish List. If you've been to both, let me know what you think is better.