Charrúa
131 Essex St. (Lower East Side)
8/12/16
Chivito, El Canadiense (filet mignon, bacon, mozzarella, ham, hard-boiled egg, caramelized onion, roasted red peppers, olives, lettuce, tomato, mayo)
~Side: Homemade fries
The visuals of this sandwich were great, from the colorful inner layers (center) to the overall look and bread sheen (right). Of course it doesn't hurt that on my first glimpse, it was peeking out from behind a pile of golden fries (left).
The chivito marked the 10th week of Sandwich Friday '16 and, in my opinion, the best sandwich of the summer. It was the first sandwich that I scored as a 5, much to Sarah's disbelief (who was not a fan of the chivito and found it reminiscent of a burger from Wendy's).
And the overall score wasn't a perfect 5.0, but hear me out. I love veggies, it had veggies (both cooked and fresh). I love texture, it had texture; the chewiness of the meat was actually one of my favorite parts. Add all of that with bacon, ham, egg, and eggy bread... and how could you go wrong? Everyone agreed that the fries were on point, as well.
Quite a few folks expressed initial apprehension at the fact that the chivito seemed to be packed with every ingredient under the sun, but they were pleasantly surprised at what they got. "It's crazy. I like crazy," said Woody during his review. You could distinctly taste each individual ingredient, yet they somehow all melded well together. Even Santania, who doesn't typically like egg, enjoyed it in this sandwich.
However, there were some (supposed) missteps with this sandwich. The bread was a tad soft, and the bottom bun in particular had some trouble holding up. The meat and cheese were also of subpar quality for some people. Nick, while he felt that it was a very solid sandwich, pointed out that there was no "flavor bomb" or a special something that made it particularly exciting after the first few bites.
Overall, most people enjoyed the sandwich. It had good consistency and was quite flavorful. It might just be a matter of taste on some aspects, but I, for one, will probably be dreaming about that sandwich for many weeks to come.
And what glorious dreams they'll be.
FINAL SCORE:
4.0/5.0