In search of London’s best sandwich since sliced bread
Finding a theme for March has been about as easy as resolving the financial crisis. It’s tough out there. Initially the theme for this month was spring lamb; but finding a lamb sandwich worthy of the Sandwichist proved impossible. Then the theme excitingly switched to Indian, to tie in with the Indian festival of Holi on March 11th. We turned up at a much lauded Indian sandwich shop in Covent Garden only to find out it had been closed for year. Feeling numb and despondent things changed when we heard about Konstam’s unusual ox tongue sandwich. A perfect tie in for Mothering Sunday. But circumstances again contrived to shatter this idyllic dream. At our Nadir we even thought about reviewing M&S’s new 75p jam sandwich. That’s how low things got!
Konstam (the place where 85% of the produce comes from within the M25) in the end was our saviour. Our theme for this month has come about by accident. But that’s no bad thing. And certainly better than no theme at all. Given that it was no less a culinary luminary than Malcolm Eggs, from the esteemed London Review of Breakfast, who suggested Konstam in the first place it makes perfect sense for March’s theme to be “breakfast”.
We both had Konstam’s bacon and marmalade sandwich which quite brilliantly combines the best bits of breakfast into a lunch time meal. We’re just glad they chose bacon and marmalade and not poached egg and Coco Pops. The layout of Konstam is very communal, so it was great to see Oliver Rowe, the genius behind the restaurant, manning the frying pan that cooked our bacon. Take a leaf Ramsay et al. Watching the care and skill that went into our sandwiches’ preparation made them taste even better as did the friendliness of everyone who works there. We’re just sorry the place wasn’t full to bursting as it has been on previous visits.
The home cured, Amersham bacon was crispy in the right places and flabby where it should be too. The homemade marmalade gave the sandwich a clever layer of bitter-sweet gravitas that transformed this from merely being a bacon sandwich into something a bit more special. Dense sourdough bread was exceptionally good with a chewy crust that gave us a free jaw work out. A scattering of emerald green salad was one of the few unexpected bonuses anyone will get all year. We left with our appetites sated and fears over March’s theme dismissed. As ever bacon had come to the rescue.
We’re going to return once they have finished brining the ox tongue. In the meantime you can tuck into their hearty sandwiches below.
