Title: A Tasty Sandwich
Where: Cochon Butcher
City: New Orleans
When I saw Kat Kinsman (Managing Editor of CNN’s Eatocracy food blog) tweet about catching slack for eating the muffaletta at Cochon Butcher and not at Central Grocery in New Orleans it got me salivating for that sandwich again. Like Kat, we ran out of time on our trip there last summer before we could make it to Central Grocery (it’s on the list for our trip there later this year) but after reading her tweets I felt inspired to throw in my vote for that glorious sandwich as well. With Mardi Gras right around the corner the timing couldn’t be better for posting the pics from our visit.
Cochon Butcher is the cured-meat love child of Donald Link’s Cochon and sits just behind it on Tchoupitoulas in New Orleans. Their love of the pig and all things pickled, stuffed, smoked and cured is mecca for charcuterie junkies like myself. And of all the places we had on the agenda for our trip this place was numero uno on the must-eats list.
As we approached the front door the sandwich board outside lured us in with three glorious words – Blackboard Bacon Melt. Mmm…bacon. This was going to make a nice addition to our already growing list of lunch items. Once inside we saddled up to the sandwich counter and ordered.
We were not disappointed. The Blackboard Bacon Melt more than delivered and quenched our need for the holy grail of all cured/smoked meats. Mounds of house-cured bacon, collard greens, Swiss cheese and pickled banana pepper aioli sandwiched between two pieces of griddled white bread caused the cheese to ooze out the sides while the bacon grease wilted the greens just enough. My wife would tell you this was her favorite. Our good friend and travel companion, Kristi Willis (Austin Farm to Table) would tell you the same thing.
My Lord this was a great fucking sandwich, but having already been tipped by our friends Logan and Rachel, my attention was being drawn to the sandwich on the plate next to it – The Cochon Muffaletta.
Piled high with house-cured deli meats, a house-pickled olive salad and slices of provolone cheese tucked in between the perfect sandwich loaf, the Cochon Muffaletta is the perfect embodiment of this signature New Orleans sandwich. Each bite tingles your tastebuds with the distinct flavors of the meats, cheese and salad blending together to send you to sandwich nirvana. No shit. This sandwich will change your life. NOLA purists might claim Central Grocery to be the gold standard – and it may be – but I’ll stack the muffaletta at Cochon Butcher up against any sandwich in the country. It’s that good.
My dad has long held that sandwiches taste better when lovingly made for you by someone else. I couldn’t agree more. Thanks to Cochon Butcher for serving us two of the tastiest sandwiches we’ve ever had.
What’s the best sandwich you’ve ever eaten? Does it taste better when someone else makes it?
We tossed in some boudin and brussels sprouts for good measure. Yeah, these didn’t suck either.
Of course, we had to get something to go too.
