One of my favorite cookbooks is super upsetting. Prospective readers are warned of that fact right up front. A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches by Chef Tyler Kord makes good on that threat right away, combining sweet and savory with such reckless creativity that it’s a marvel it all fits between two slices of bread. Though the book is hardly new, having been on shelves since its initial release in 2016, I still find myself thinking about it regularly, randomly, to this day. It’s the kind of cookbook that you actually want to read, cover to cover, before turning out the lights for bed, rather than doom scrolling through the darkness. It’s captivating, curious, confounding, infuriating, and shocking in all the right proportions. Oh yes, and from what I’ve tested and tasted, quite delicious.
I don’t subscribe to the idea of guilty pleasures, because all forms of joy should be embraced, but this is the closest I might come to that definition. I’ve kept this fixation to myself for years, despite it bubbling back up to the surface, demanding to be shared. The fact of the matter is, the recipes are almost besides the point. The stories are captivating, written in biting, self-aware, sarcastic and yet smart prose, like a stream of consciousness spontaneously composed at 2am after some regrettable decisions on the town. There is no fourth wall—there never has been—as you’re invited into the conversations between Mr. Kord and his editor, as if you’re there reviewing the raw manuscript with them.
Cookbook Photos by Noah Fecks
Sadly, No. 7 Sub, the sandwich shops in Midtown Manhattan and Brooklyn where it all started, is no more. Its memory lives on in these pages, left to home cooks to recreate, or further bend to their whims. Most famous perhaps is the Broccoli Classic, noteworthy for its inclusion of pickled lychees and crispy fried shallots. The Zucchini Parm is a bit more tame, making the obvious vegetable swap, but also adding BBQ potato chips, “just because I wanted them,” the author explains. Mr. Kord does marvelous things with meatless protein as well, as evidenced by the General Tso’s Tofu Sub, exemplifying fusion cuisine done right. Though not a vegan book or former restaurant by any means, it’s not hard to translate with the convenience of modern substitutions these days.
From my personal experience, The #2 Best New Sandwich In America In 2012 According To The Huffington Post, AKA Terrible and Unhealthy Cauliflower Sandwiches, are a brilliant combination, showcasing Mr. Kord’s understanding of flavor and textural contrasts, pushing the boundaries of classically accepted pairings into a new, wholly successful culinary realm. Roasted cauliflower is the centerpiece, supported by a raisin and scallion relish, smoked French dressing, and crushed potato chips. Because I’m a similar kind of crazy, I tweaked my assembly to use less oil in the dressing, turning it into more of a spread, and swapping the golden raisins for lightly sweetened cranberries. Sorry, not sorry for using store-bought chips; the merits of this combination still stand up to scrutiny.
If you want to be mildly disturbed by some authentically off-kilter, unconventionally intelligent ideas in food, you’ve come to the right place. I have yet to find a contemporary cookbook with nearly such reckless creativity, fearlessly self-aware of how marvelously upsetting it could be.
