Three Little Piggy Sandwich

No less an authority than my man Anthony Bourdain proclaimed the Three Little Piggy sandwich at Chicago's tiny Silver Palm as the best sandwich in the United States and the "apex of the sandwich-making art."

Intrigued, I visited recently to test it out. The dining room is a 1947 railroad car transported from California and lovingly restored to look as if you were actually sitting in a moving railroad dining car making the trip from New York to Miami in the 40's.

I sat down and asked for "The Sandwich" and five minutes later, resting on a pile of superfluous French fries, the Three Little Piggy was presented on a gargantuan open-faced brioche bun. My heart stopped. The insides of both halves of the bun had been covered in melted Gruyère giving off immediately, the aroma of a Swiss fondue. Crispy bacon strips sat beneath a colossal fried onion ring, which acted as the repository for a beautifully fried sunny-side up egg. Hand-sliced, rosy pink smoked ham adorned the other half, obscuring a boneless fried pork schnitzel. I added the pepperoncini for crunch and stood up to better press down on the insane creation so as to be able to fit it into my mouth.

This sandwich is so right while being so wrong. The crunch of the onion ring, bacon, pepper and schnitzel, the alternating piggy porky porcine flavors, the saltiness, the richness of the yolk, and the melted cheese all came together into the perfect sandwich meld. Others in my dining car who also ordered the $13.95 sandwich were splitting it among three people, but this little piggy managed to eat the whole thing. If there was ever a reason to outlaw a sandwich as being too good, too excessive, and too delicious, this is it.

Silver Palm 768 N. Milwaukee Chicago, IL 60642 – (312) 666-9322