It’s not often that a person will walk into a restaurant and see a sandwich bearing their name. (Unless your name is Reuben… or Submarine or Tuna Salad.) But, at The Lunchbox Sandwich Shop, there it is: The Sandor. I am touched.
Turns out, it’s not named after me. Sigh. It’s named for the owner’s father and grandfather. In Hungary, “Sándor” is a common surname, and an even more common given name. That’s because it’s the Hungarian translation of “Alexander.” But, I am going to pretend that it’s named after me, because my ego prefers it that way.
So, what’s in the Sandor? If your first guess was “Hungarian salami?” you’d be right. Peppers, of course, are a necessity. Hungarians will eat peppers for breakfast, lunch and dinner — usually accompanied by some sort of spirit that could peel the paint off your car. But, honestly, Hungarian salami is one of the sweetest and richest cold cuts you can find, so it’s made to be eaten alongside acidic peppers. You’ll also find marble cheese, Genoa salami, lettuce and Italian sauce on this sandwich. (None of these things are Hungarian.)
If you bite into The Sandor (which, when I write that, makes me feel like I’m about to be attacked by zombies), don’t be afraid to embrace what it would be like to be Hungarian; the everlasting melancholy, the inability to make the “w” sound, and the strange obsession to watch water polo.
Honestly, it did remind me of a sandwich I once bought in a train station in Bratislava — it sticks with me because it was one of the best sandwiches I ever had. Now, you’ll say “Bratislava’s in Slovakia,” but, at one time, that city was the capital of Hungary before borders were drawn and redrawn umpteen times.
Because the sandwich was good, I’ve decided not to sue The Lunchbox for some sort of name infringement. I can live with the idea that there is another Sandor in my neighbourhood.
The Lunchbox Sandwich Shop
Oliver | 9707 110 St NW | 780.667.3691 | thelunchboxyeg.com
