Meat Cheese Bread

after a much too late start at the PSU farmers market, lunch was in order. Wanted to try the new Spicy Beef sandwich and the GF hadnt been to MCB, so that was the plan.

Spicy beef comes on a rather soft bun, which could have been a bit more sturdy, but that wasnt my problem with it. It lacked character in the sense of a hint of sweetness or yeast. The actual meat in the sandwich is quite nice. Juicy, tender and they let the meat flavor shine instead of feeling the need to bury the flavor under some sauce. The real bummer of the Spicy Beef is the pickled radish. the earthy almost bitter flavor of the radish tastes really disjointed and out of place with the smokey meat. A very easy fix would be to replace them with some Pickled Onion(they have them on other sandwiches)or some pickled peppers(something with sweetness and moderate heat).

That being said, The Girlfriends Park Kitchen was a stellar as ever.

Stopped into MBC for lunch today, always a solid choice. Two new sandwiches on the menu for the warm weather. They have a spring chicken salad sandwich that was nice and bright with fresh dill on it and an asparagus and hard-boiled egg sandwich with bacon relish. The flavor was reminiscent of Bunk with that salty, unctuous, high fat flavor, but, of course, a tasty treat.

An observation about MCB, based on multiple visits: their clientele is almost exclusively male, not sure why.

I'm the latest convert to the ways of MeatCheeseBread. I think the sandwiches are really well-balanced flavorwise, offering big flavors without being overly rich. Even something as simple as the ham sandwich is elevated to something extraordinary, thanks in part certainly to the house made roll on which it (as well as the spicy beef) is served.

Park Kitchen Sandwich

Ham Sandwich (and Fentiman's Ginger Beer)

Spicy Beef Sandwich

The space is incredibly comfortable and the sidewalk seating is really shady, too. I can see why Markovitch camped out here.

yeah never understood why they don't get more love, nice to see they are making (using) more of those rolls

Got a chance to try the green bean sandwich, which replaced the asparagus sandwich, as well as the roasted mushroom. Of those veggie driven ones, I prefer the roasted mushroom, though I guess I must be a true carnivore, as I still think the ham sandwich and the Park Kitchen are my favorites.

The BLB, featuring golden beets, is also really nice, replacing the familiar beefsteak tomato with some similarly sized beets.

With the returning heat, I find myself favoring light yet flavorful sandwiches like the Spring Chicken here at Meat Cheese Bread. It's a bit monochromatic in color, true, from the avocado, the green onions, the lettuce and the celery, but it's got a wonderfully refreshing taste as any good chicken salad sandwich should. It's a bit drippy, but then again I'm the type of guy that will happily empty out a bag of chips to catch it all.

I've called ahead and done takeout for a multi-sandwich order here at MCB. Here are a couple more sandwich shots, quartered and plated at home.

BLB

Green Bean

The Spring Chicken sandwich is no longer there, but it's been essentially replaced with a new Smoked Trout sandwich. The menu mentions specifically that it's Podnah's smoked trout, so it's kinda cool that the MCB guys are able to make use of Podnah's new smoker. The elements of the spring chicken are still there: lots of celery and onion to provide crunch, while the mayo base accents the smoke and flavor of trout very well. Yet another winner from Meat Cheese Bread.

Visited MCB twice in the last couple weeks. Tried the Cuban Pulled Pork and Smoked Chicken Salad Sandwich on the first visit.

Cuban Pulled Pork with Orange Mojo was pretty good. It's served with a tasty slaw of jicama, red bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro. The "orange mojo" really carries the sandwich.

The smoked chicken salad sandwich really didn't do anything for me. It's topped with avocados, caramelized onions, and lettuce. Too smoky, too cold. Not bad, just not my thing.

Second visit (with friends) I got another Cuban Pulled Pork; the Turkey with Havarti, Bacon, Sweet Onions, Aioli, and Lettuce on Sourdough; and the Maple Bread Pudding with Sausage, Shaved Fennel, and Spicy Cheddar.

The Cuban Pulled Pork was totally different this time around: bland, bland, bland. I think they even forgot to slap on the orange mojo.

The turkey sandwich sounds like it should be great, but it too was a testament to the bland. The sourdough bread was anything but sour, and there was only one sliver of onion on the whole sandwich. Disappointing.

The Maple Bread Pudding was pretty tasty, but it's so sweet and so rich that I couldn't eat more than a couple bites of it.

Given the other great sandwich options on the east side, including Bunk and Olympic Provisions, I see little reason to return to MCB.