Sandwich Tour of Dallas Part 2

My Sandwich Sense is telling me that it's time for Part 2 of our Sandwich Tour of Dallas (you can find Part 1 here).

My first stop was a home run. Jimmy's Food Store at Bryan Street & Fitzhugh is part specialty food shop, part sandwich shop and all Italian. It's a small place but it is packed with wine, meat, cheese, sauces, spices and everything that you would need to cook an authentic Italian meal but can't find anywhere else.

The lunch rush was busy but manageable for a newbie like me. Sandwiches are ordered (and made) in the back at a butcher station where you could also pick up any number of meats and cheeses. You can tell the quality of a food spot by a good mix of clientele. Yuppies, hippies and everything in between were ordering the day I went. Good food is truly a unifying force.

But on to my order...check out the Muffuletta. This was a good life lesson for me. Apparently I have no sense of size because I ordered the 9 inch muffuletta instead of the 6 inch and was staggered at how big it was. It could easily feed three people (maybe more). It comes with Mortadella, Ham, Provolone, Genoa Salami, Olive Salad.

The olives were great and meat and cheese are very complimentary to each other. If I have any complaint it's that there was a lot of olive oil. It was really good olive oil but there was too much of it. That being said, I still haven't finished this monster (but I will soon). Next time I'll get the smaller one.

The Angry Dog in Deep Ellum is known for its heavy-sitting, yet tasty bar food. I usually get their signature chili dog but thought I'd go with something lighter to cleanse the palate. They offer a vegetarian sandwich called "The Natural" so I decided to be "that guy."

The Natural comes with Guacamole, Grilled mushrooms, sprouts and Monterrey Jack. While it may seem somewhat minimalist, it actually works well as a filling meal. The large size doesn't hurt either. The guacamole was smooth and creamy and I could have actually used a little more of it (of course, I really like guacamole) but it was relegated to the supporting role that condiments must play in the theater of sandwich.

The mushrooms work well as the "meat" but I could have used a little more "zing" in the seasoning. The bread was soft and for once the texture of toasted bread didn't irritate me. I usually don't get sides (I'm all about the star attraction) but this comes with fries. I would give you some flowery detailed breakdown of them but...eh...fries are fries.

The Angry Dog may be known for its "Angry Dog" but Wild About Harry's in uptown also slings wieners for the masses.   Or it least it did for a good, long while.  Unfortunately, this location recently closed but they do still have their Deep Ellum location.

They were known primarily for their elaborate hot dog menu and custom custard but, you know me, I'm all about the sandwich (I don't count hot dogs as sandwiches. Hot dogs are hot dogs and sandwiches are sandwiches.)

I picked up the Italian Beef Sandwich and didn't regret it. Not too big, not too small. The main difference between this and your standard cheese steak sandwich is that they use mozzarella instead of provolone and I have to say I'm glad they did. It creates a melty, gooey mesh with the beef and adds another level of texture to what could have been a by-the-numbers meal.

The meat wasn't fatty but it could have used a little salt or seasoning. The Au jus (which may just be my favorite all time liquid) was great and was readily soaked up by the soft bun.

What other wonders does this town have snugly nestled between tow slices of bread? We'll just have to wait and see.

Tour of Duty

Sad Sack was a wartime comic strip about the misadventures of a well meaning goofball in the U.S. Army.  The strip was originally published in the military magazine Yank before becoming a comic book published by Harvey Comics.  I don't have a lot of info but at some point in the 70's Harvey published "Sad Sack U.S.A." featuring issues that focused on individual U.S. states...including Texas!

Again, I don't have a ton of info on the series.  I'm not sure how long it ran or how many states were featured.  Texas was issue #4 and other states like New York, Illinois, Washington and Michigan got their own issues.  I'd like to think they got around to all 50 states but for today we're just focused on their Lone Star State road trip:

There isn't much of a story.  The premise seems to be that Sack, Sarge and Sadie have car trouble in the middle of Texas and need to walk to Dallas.  They weren't sticklers for geography in this book since they seem to start in the dessert and after a brisk hike end up in Big D:

I guess they showed up in October because Big Tex is out to welcome them.  No mention of the rest of the State Fair but from this point the locations are fast and furious, many of them only getting one panel.  After a quick stop to ride a nondescript roller coaster at Six Flags, the gang takes in the Fort Worth Convention Center and then decides it would be a good idea to head to Denison:

If you've never visited, you should.  Mainly because it's an important piece of Texas history but also so you can decide for yourself how good the likeness from this issue is.  Or you can just check out the pic from my last visit:

Not too shabby.  For some reason the crew heads right back to Fort Worth to see the Log Cabin village and then off to the panhandle for some Palo Duro Canyon sightseeing.   While they're up there they stop by Lubbock, Muleshoe and Happy, TX before heading south to San Antonio:

Like many of us do, Sack and his pals took some time to relax on the River Walk.  Now did this 1972 comic book inspire the filmmakers of the 1984 Dabney Coleman/Henry Thomas film Cloak & Dagger to set a scene on the River Walk?

Probably not, but I'd like to think so.  After a few drinks and some mariachi music, our intrepid explorers were finally willing to brave the humidity of Houston.  Along the way they pick up a hitchhiker who lets them know that Houston has a few surprises in store for them:

After a quick stop at the Battleship Texas it was beach time!  Sun, surf and sand greeting our weary travelers.

These guys just can't seem to sit still though because after a few beach shenanigans they began the long trek towards West Texas.  Anyone who's done that trip knows what a long haul it is.  Luckily, the gang found some interesting stuff along the way:

Just like Big Tex, the World's Largest Jackrabbit is colored all white in the comic.  I assume it's some weird publishing thing or a cost cutting measure or maybe they just mistakenly thought it was white.  For the record, here's what it looked like on my last trip:

Galveston, El Paso, Glen Rose and on and on.  Our trio or sightseers weren't slowing down and the cities, landmarks and attractions were piling up.  What could possibly bring this trip to its conclusion, you ask?

Yep, apparently Texas is so big that they ran out of pages before the gang could see it all.  I guarantee you don't see that kid of thing happen in New Hampshire comics.

And Now These Messages...

As many of you may remember, the state of Texas celebrated its Sesquicentennial in 1986.  In case you don't remember, a Sesquicentennial is a celebration of 150 years.  The entire year was a great big Texas Party and you couldn't look anywhere without seeing signs of the celebration...even on TV as Miller Lite produced at least one commercial in the "Lite Moments in Texas History" series:

I assume there were others but so far this is the only one I could find.  It highlights the famous Spindletop Oil Well which kicked off the Texas Oil Boom and it stars a comedy legend:

Rodney Dangerfield stars as a Texas oil tycoon who is upset that his well is coming up dry.  A swift kick to the rig is all it takes to get that gusher gushing.  Who knew oil exploration was that easy?!

And with that, good Ol' Rodney goes from down and out to full-on tycoon mode as he showers his special lady friend with some greenbacks!  And thus, we have learned a little bit of Texas history.

And that was a good representation of the mood during the year of 1986: good natured Texas celebrating with a tall, frosty glass of history.  You can watch it yourself to relive the glory: