The Sandwich King of India

Hussain has emerged from the lockdown as India’s sandwich king. In July I ordered in the brilliant chicken cutlass Sando which I have listed about before. 

Cubano with the best ham I’ve eaten in India 

On my recent trip I did both O’Pedro and Bombay Canteen. At O’Pedro I had the cubano with pork kebab, house made ham, cheddar at pickled cabbage. Pork kebabs are a real Hussain speciality, juicy and more full bodied than most kebabs and it’s honestly surprising it’s not more widely imitated. But the real hero was the hot glazed smoked ham. I have never eaten ham like this in India. Home made and wet brined for 6 days  and smoked over coconut husk. I think I could just have this ham with mustard and die happy. And no ordinary mustard either but home ground brown mustard, coarse paste finished with coconut vinegar. It’s really one of the best sandwiches I have had, the kind that leads to a cubano being the real star of a movie. 

Red snapper ceviche 

Of course it being O’Pedro, I also had to have my favourite ceviche, with Red Snapper, tamarind dressing, red radish and Bhavnagri chilli salsa. Maybe absence makes the heart grow fonder but the intensity of the flavour and the contrast in textures felt even more ramped up and extraordinary. 

Fig Boulevardier 

And of course I had a drink, a wonderful fig Boulevardier with fig infused bourbon, campari, aromatised wine, ginger and orange bitters. 

Pastrami sandwich 

The next day I was in Bombay Canteen for exactly 25 minutes to eat the pastrami sandwich which I called in and ordered when on my way. Considering there is no beef in Mumbai I was really curious about what to expect. What I got was an outstanding, fully loaded, New York style pastrami sandwich with wet cured water Buffalo brisket, crusted and slow cooked. Smoked over mango and coconut wood after. I asked how Hussain managed to get the New York pastrami sandwich taste and texture working with Buffalo and he said that he had learnt the brine from a Jewish colleague in NYC who showed him the ropes,  hence the close resemblance. Well for all the South Bombay refugees who miss their annual trips to New York thanks to the pandemic, fret no further, Bombay Canteen has brought a bit of New York to you! 

Rum old fashioned 

In an example of the service efficiency of the Bombay Canteen team (and my drinking efficiency), my 25 minutes also included drinking an excellent rum Old Fashioned with Kraken rum.