I had some very special guests for this week's sandwich hunt: San Antonio's own Julián and Joaquin Castro. They both took time out of their incredibly busy schedules to meet me at one of their favorite local sandwich spots. And since we shot a video of it, I'm not sure how many people will take the time to read this entry. But for those of you who have made it this far, keep going! I assure you the following paragraphs will cover content the video does not.
Let me start off by saying the Castro brothers are two of the nicest guys I've ever met. Yes, we undertook the usual sandwich hunting activities: we ordered our sandwiches, I interviewed them while we waited for our food to arrive, and I rated the sandwiches... it was great.
But two things stood out to me.
The first is that Julián and Joaquin actually took the time to eat their food. That alone proves the legitimacy of their recommendation. This was no PR stunt. They really wanted me to find the hoagie grail and were committed to the endeavor just as much as I was. Also, considering they both have very demanding jobs AND young families at home, I was half expecting them to "stage" the eating part of the meal so as to expedite their time commitment. But not the Castro brothers. They both earned my respect as honorary sandwich hunters.
Which leads to the second thing that really impressed me. After I finished asking my interview questions and we began to dig in to our sandwiches, I was amazed at how effortless the conversation was. To be quite honest, it was a blast. They were both very down to earth and humble. We talked about everything from how the season has been going to throwing "Frozen" themed birthday parties.
Alright, let's get down to the nitty gritty. Here are some important aspects of Fast Gourmet worth mentioning:
1. Zagat gave it a 27 rating for food... Take THAT Coach Pop.
2. They carry old school cheese curls. How awesome is that? When's the last time you even saw old school cheese curls? I didn't even know they still made them.
3. They have a really cool looking HUGE Bob Marley painting. It goes perfect with the "Bob Marley" line of beverages:
Bob Marley and a line of consumer beverages... not the most obvious pairing but I'm not one to talk:
4. Check this out:
Here's a little known fact: sandwich shops that carry 2 liters of soda are almost always really good. Fast Gourmet is no exception to this rule.
Now for the food:
Since I was ordering lupper (lunch + supper), I went with the "Chivito" AND a "Cubano." I missed lunch, because we were at the White House for most of the day and food wasn't provided. I was secretly hoping for a Presidential sandwich platter, but no such luck.
The "Chivito" was the house specialty and the "Cubano" also came highly recommended. The "Cubano" was a traditional "Cuban" sandwich and the Chivito consisted of tenderloin, mozzarella, Black Forest Ham, bacon, green olives, egg and escabeche (like a pickled mushroom). Needless to say, I was very intrigued by the uniqueness of the "Chivito".
For our sides, we ordered eggplant fries. It's no secret that I have a subconscious aversion to eggplant thanks to the Eggplant Wizards from the Nintendo game Kid Icarus. But the owner assured me they were delicious. They came with two house made sauces for dipping. One of them, unbeknownst to me, was made with habanero peppers... Wicked spicy!
The food was all excellent. The Castro brothers have great taste. But was it the hoagie grail? You'll have to check out the end of the video to find out.