So maybe you remember this classic children's song about sandwiches:
There is one restaurant in the area that makes this heroic feat possible: 100 Montaditos, a Spanish chain specializing in mini-sandwiches with locations in Arlington, Bethesda, and, as of last week, Navy Yard.
The 45 ingredients utilized by the restaurant come together in 100 sandwich permutations, each about the size of an iPhone, for $1.50 to $3 apiece. The menu is divided between classic Iberian combinations -- think serrano ham, or Spanish tortilla with chorizo -- and Americanized combinations that result in offerings of no fixed origin. Pulled pork with manchego, anyone? There also are five dessert sandwiches, served on chocolate bread, just because.
In the interest of sandwich journalism and fun office lunches, we decided to provide a guide to this expansive menu, and to benchmark the success rate of various ingredient pairings for intrepid sandwich creators of the future. We called the 100 Montaditos in Bethesda asked for one of everything, an order which came to a grand total of $251.75, not including tip.
Here's the master list of all 100 sandwich reviews, and critiques from Washington Post staff of the top 10 (and bottom 10) sandwiches in the lot.
The 10 best
14: Meatballs, manchego cheese and piparra (mild pepper from Spain)
"Not sure if it's the peppers or the meatballs, but I want to marry this sandwich and have its babies."
26: Tuna, fresh tomato, lettuce and mayo
"This tuna tastes just as good as my mom's, with just the right amount of mayo."
42: Chicken, crispy onion and ali oli
"Chicken? Aces. Crispy onion? The only way to eat onion. I could eat five more of these."
55: Garlic pork loin, piquillo pepper and mayo
"Feeling very nostalgic for a recent trip to Spain!"
57: Chorizo, tortilla española and green pepper
"Foolproof combination of Spanish classics. Paleo-defying potato omelet on bread equals Iberian genius."
60:Chistorra (Basque-style chorizo sausage), bacon and piquillo pepper
"Piquillo pepper is just the right condiment for this union of pork on pork."
65: Serrano ham, mozzarella and pesto
“This sandwich made me happy. Salty, oily -- but in a great way.”
82: Romerito: shrimp, bacon, hard boiled egg, arugula and honey mustard
“Bacon-wrapped shrimp -- deconstructed and placed on crusty ciabatta bread -- what’s not to like?”
93. Philly steak club: Philly steak, fresh tomato, lettuce and chipotle ali oli
"The chipotle ali oli adds a surprising & tangy kick, making for an A+ combo of flavors."
96. Hazelnut spread with almonds on chocolate bread
"Chocolate in bread with Nutella is the best idea; the almonds make it crunchy and understated enough. Yum!"
The 10 worst:
16: Shrimp, lettuce, hard boiled egg and mayo
"'I wonder why no one has ever put a dry shrimp salad on a roll,' thought the dreamer behind this Montadito"
21: Tuna, fresh tomato and mayo
"If you've ever thought, 'I sure would like a tuna sandwich that tastes only of mayo,' this is the way to go"
24: Tuna, fresh tomato, arugula and mayo (whole grain bread)
"If you weren't making me eat this, I wouldn't."
28:Philly steak, brie cheese and arugula
"The steak had very little flavor, and putting brie and arugula on a cheesesteak feels kind of disrespectful to cheesesteaks."
34: Blue cheese, anchovies, lettuce and fresh tomato
“A salt-on-salt fistfight in my mouth.”
36:Mozzarella, fresh tomato and pesto (whole grain bread)
"So much bread-chewing, so little taste."
41: Hot dog, ketchup and mustard
"This is not the place to get hot dogs."
79: Anchovies, brie cheese, piquillo pepper and arugula
"I love anchovies, but this sandwich is making me seriously reconsider my relationship with them. I need to go drink eight bottles of water."
89. Piripi: garlic pork loin, bacon, cheese, fresh tomato and mayo
"Saw the words 'garlic pork loin' and was sure I'd found the one. I feel lied to."
91.Capresse: Serrano ham, mozzarella, fresh tomato and pesto
"Pesto was not contributing to the team effort in this sandwich at all."