Last year, I went to the 1st FXBG Sandwich Invitational. I had fun and I loved it. So when tickets went on sale for the 2nd one I got my ticket. It was $30. A little pricey in my opinion. Last year, was only $25. Anyways, I took a few days off from work to use up some vacation time.
I ended up not knowing anyone who was going so I went by myself.
I was actually a little disappointed in how rude people are in my town. People cutting in line especially. RIDICULOUS and uncalled for. :(
I went around collecting my first sandwiches. Here's one of the first places I stopped at.
Here's all the restaurants that participated. Happy Clam was a no show and there was no explanation why. There was a place last year that didn't show as well. Very disappointing. As you pick up your sandwich it gets checked off so you know which ones you've tried.
Some had lines and I patiently waited. Of course, some people didn't care that there were lines and just cut. That annoyed me every time.
FoodE is one of my favorites. Joy and Beth recognized me from meeting them at a private event a week prior. Beth called me love and said she was glad to see me again. :)
I filled up my plate with 6 sandwiches and found a place to sit. I sat with a lady, her husband and their teenage daughter. The husband didn't like anything that contained sour cream, mustard, fruit, mayo based dishes, pickles, spice, and the list goes on and on. I don't even know how he even tried anything. I think a lot of his stuff was wasted. Kinda weird that he even went. A married couple sat in the other 2 chairs at the table. They were really nice. Later on, some young couple sat at the table and didn't like the fact that I came back to finish my food. They looked at me like I was rude. I had been sitting there the whole time. They got up and walked away and the nice couple and I couldn't believe what their problem was. The tables were for sharing. You can't hog a whole table for yourself. GEEZ....what is my town coming to? BLECH
Moving on....
Here's my first plate. So many delicious sandwiches.
My second plate.
Executive Chef making my taco.
Last plate. The line for that taco was extremely long and they ran out of power once I got up there but it came back on. The fresh pico on the taco was perfect. It was a bit messy to eat but it was very flavorful. I loved it.
This year, they actually had a celebrity judge. Stacy from the Boston Top Chef, which the FoodE chef, Joy was one. They are friends so that's pretty cool. I wanted to meet Stacy but she stayed at the judges table the whole time and it felt awkward to just go up there. LOL
The people voted on their favorite for people's choice and Stacy and the other judges voted for their favorite who was crowned sandwich king.
It was a hard decision trying to vote. I wanted to vote for the taco but the wait was just way to long. That took points off for me. It was the only one where you had to wait. It seemed like eternity. And then when I was so close to the front and the power went out. UGH The guy in front of me got so angry that he walked away. I figured I'd wait it out some more since it was my last sandwich I needed. Finally I got my taco but the wait was bad. Sprelly was good but with all the sandwiches I didn't want a crepe to win. Though it was the best crepe in the entire world for sure. :) Same for Paul's Bakery. They had a cookie with a brownie, icing and a donut hole. It was very good but again, I didn't want my vote to go to a dessert. My favorite that I gave my vote to was to FoodE. The sandwich was the perfect size considering you're eating a ton of sandwiches. It wasn't messy. 2 bites and you were done. The pork was the best flavored meat out of all the sandwiches I tasted that day. Some were way too spicy. The little fruit (I think it was mango) on top of the meat really just made the sandwich for me. :) FoodE won the overall sandwich king last year.
People's choice 2015: Sprelly
Sandwich King 2015: Eileen's Bakery
I liked Eileen's sandwich but it wasn't one of my top favorites. I felt there was a few others that were more flavorful. But congrats to Eileen's.
While walking out I stopped at some vendors for freebies. I got a cookie and a biscotti. They were good. I left so stuffed. I didn't want to look at another sandwich ever again. LOL
Here's some popcorn samples I got.
I'm not sure if I'm going to go back next year. The event could be so much more fun. The volunteer staff really needs to be more happy and personable. Some I tried talking to, just had no social skills at all at the entrance/exit. There also needs to be stage announcements. Some people had no idea what to do because they didn't go last year. More seating would be nice too.
Good things......There was some bottled water this year and that was awesome. The food was good. The participants are always nice and conversational.
If I do go next year, I will make someone join me. I will also bring a beach chair, and a box lid to collect all of my plates on at once. :)
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