Up Your Sandwich Game!

 Unbeknownst to me, August was National Sandwich Month.  So while you may have missed your opportunity to celebrate your favorite lunchbox component (this year!), you are still probably going to eat a sandwich every now and again.  So why not try something different?  Check out one of our many sandwich recipe books!:

Funky Lunch by Mark Northeast.
Call No.: 641.84 NOR
Find it in the catalog!

Want to make all the other kids jealous of your child's lunch? Check out this book.  This is less of a recipe book, and more of a food craft book.  You can find how to make a sandwich that looks like a rooster, a piano, or even the Loch Ness monster.

Adorable Sandwiches:  Chomp, chomp! (Caterpillar sandwich, p. 13), Make it snappy! (crocodile sandwich, p.21), Nessy (p.39), and Take Things Slowly (snail sandwich, p. 77).

Lunchbox Horror!:  Clowning around (p.65).

Grilled Cheese, Please! by Laura Werlin
Call No.: 641.84 WER
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Bread and cheese are probably my two favorite types of food ever, so I'm definitely a fan of grilled cheese sandwiches.  This book has tips for grilled cheese perfection and loads of different recipes.

Looks yummy:  Smoky Kim-Cheese (Kimchi, gouda, and ham on baguette, p. 34), Camembert and Comte with Mushrooms (p. 65), and the Cubano (p. 87).

Insanewiches by Adrian Fiorino
Call No.: 641.84 FIO
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Like Funky Lunch, this is more of an art book than a sandwich book.  There are lots of sandwiches that resemble objects or people (the Hulk hoagie, p. 82), or are just plain weird.  I don't think I'd attempt to make anything in here.  However, it is an incredibly fun book to flip through.

Adorable Sandwiches:  Eggo-ticons (p. 30), One Tough Cookie (p.90), the Cordless Mousewich with USB Cheesestick (p. 152), the 'Stachewich (p. 154), Flatbread Fred (p. 162) and the Curious Carrot Cake Sandwich (p. 212).

Eww...:  The Quadruple Down (four fried chicken breasts layered with bacon, cheese and special sauce between, p. 110), The Sumo Sandwich (p.116), Banana Split Trickwich (p. 122), and The Bananconator (bananas, chocolate and bacon, p. 150).

Panini Express by Daniel Leader and Lauren Chattman
Call No.: 641.84 LEA
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Do you still have a panini maker lying around your house from when paninis were all the rage several years ago?  You're in luck.  While panini's may no longer be the "it" sandwich, they are still pretty yummy.  Even if you tossed the panini grill ages ago, you can make one stove top (just use another frying pan as a press).

Looks good:  Grilled asparagus, taleggio and prosciutto (p. 56), Manchego, chorizo and caramelized onions (p. 70), Fresh salmon croque madame (p. 108), and Shrimp, avocado, and mango salsa quesadillas (p. 116).

The Big New York Sandwich Book by Sarah Reistad-Long and Jean Tang.
Call No.: 641.84 REI
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This book compiles 99 sandwich recipes from NYC chefs and restaurants.  Even hardcore foodies will find something new to try!

Looks yummy:  Smoked brisket with cheese and smoked chili jam (p. 124), Baguette bahn mi with daikon pickle (p. 176), Adobo pulled pork bun (p. 184),  and Chilorio tortas (p. 196).

Roadfood Sandwiches by Jane and Micheal Stearn
Call No.: 641.84 STE
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Whether you are looking for a new (or retro) sandwich recipe, or a place to stop on your next road trip, this book will help you find something delicious.  Jane and Michael Stern have compiled sandwich recipes from across the United States and you can definitely spot the regional flare.

Looks good!:  Carnitas  from Roque's Carnitas Wagon in Sante Fe, NM (p. 34), Crab Bruschetta from Bread and Ink Cafe in Portland, OR (p. 55), Diana's Different Drummer (Brisket on Rye) from Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, MI (p. 66), and Smoked Salmon Spread from Smoke House Restaurant in Forks, WA (p.212).

'Wichcraft by Tom Colicchio
Call No. 641.84 COL
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Last but not least, 'Wichcraft is definitely my favorite sandwich book of the bunch.  By Top Chef host Tom Colicchio, this book is full of enviable looking sandwiches and gorgeous photographs.  Don't look at it on an empty stomach!

Looks good!:  Pretty much everything, but especially: Chopped chickpeas with roasted peppers, black olives, lemon confit, and parsley (p. 59), Roasted shrimp salad with tomatoes and olives (p. 75), and Fried squid po-boy with avocado and black chile oil (p. 110). 

Happy Record Shop Day!

Remember back in the olden days, when you used to buy music in actual stores?  As a kid, I always wished I lived in an area where we had a cool independent record shop, like Reckless or Permanent Records.  Instead, I was stuck ordering all my weird indie rock CDs online, and once a year or so, heading to Chicago or Madison (home of B-Side Records) to check out actual records stores.  Now it seems like everyone purchases their music online.  I, for one, still prefer the cramped, messy record stores to the convenient but austere and sonically inferior route of purchasing digital music online.  In honor of Record Store Day, here is a few books about records and Rock n' Roll:

Record Store Days: From Vinyl to Digital and Back Again by Gary Calamar and Phil Gallo (2009).
Call #: 780.266 CAL
Find it in the catalog!

An appreciation of music stores past and present, this book explores the history of record stores and their place in the community.

Wish You Were Here: An Essential Guide to Your Favorite Music Scenes- From Punk to Indie and Everything In Between by Leslie Simon (2009).
Call #: 780.66 SIM
Find it in the catalog!

Sort of like a travel guide for music geeks, this books has primers on major music scenes, as well as locations to visit in the different cities profiled, including even obscure sights like the Dunkin Donuts on Clark St. in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago aka. "Punkin Donuts," supposedly a popular punk hangout since the 80s.


The Show I'll Never Forget: 50 Writers Relive Their Most Memorable Concert Going Experience (2007). 
Call #: 781.66 MAN
Find it in the catalog! 

Record and music geeks will probably relate to these stories about unforgettable shows.

Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 by Simon Reynolds.
Call #:  781.66 REY
Find it in the catalog!

Profiles a very cool era of music history, featuring the formation of bands like Gang of Four, Joy Division, and Talking Heads. 

Recommended read: The Alternative Hero

The Alternative Hero by Tim Thornton
NEW FICTION THORNTON
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Thirty-something Clive Beresford lives in London and works at a boring insurance job. One day Clive discovers that Lance Webster, former lead singer of his favorite band The Thieving Magpipes, lives on the same block as him. The Thieving Magpipes were popular during the late '80s and early '90s and broke up after a drunk Webster lost control on stage at the Aylesbury Festival in August 1995. Webster released a solo album in 1997 but nothing from the Thieving Magpipes has been released since then. Clive hopes to interview Webster about what happened at that festival gig in 1995 so he will not only let Thieving Magpipes fans know what happened that fateful day, but to redeem Webster. Clive feels that The Thieving Magpipes haven't gotten the respect that other bands have, and can't fathom the idea that Webster now goes by Geoff, his given name, and is living out of the spotlight. Clive's devotion to Webster leads to some funny situations as Clive embarks on his plan to meet Webster and win his trust to do an interview.

In addition to the status of his mission to meet Webster, Clive recounts moments from his youth when he and his friend Alan bonded over obsessing over The Thieving Magpipes and creating their own fanzines. Alan still has his scrapbook/journal filled with concert reviews, ticket stubs, and photos from the gigs he attended, but he gave up on The Thieving Magpipes at that Ayesbury Festival gig in '95.

The Thieving Magpipes is a fictional band made real by the author. Through album reviews and the fanzine reviews of Clive and Alan, Thornton gives the reader an in-depth history of the band, quoting their songs and expanding on gigs, and explaining how their music fit alongside other popular bands of the day. Thornton also includes a discography of the band at the end of the book.

I really like the character of Clive. Any music fan who at some point lived each day having a fixation with a particular band or singer will identify with Clive’s obsessive fan-following for The Thieving Magpipes. I enjoyed the way fiction and fact mixed together in this novel and I thought it was clever how the author told the stories of both Clive and The Thieving Magpipes through multiple viewpoints: gig reviews, fanzine excerpts, lyrics, emails, and even scribbled notes. I highly recommend The Alternative Hero, and I think music fans especially will enjoy the characters and stories in this book. Thornton not only demonstrates how music and song lyrics become an important part of our memories of the past, but how the support of devoted fans affects musicians in the bands themselves.