We Mailed a Sandwich to Mario Batali

Photograph courtesy Bunk

Tommy Habetz may be getting into the pizza game, as Eater reports, but his main squeeze will always be sandwiches. The owner of Portland, Oregon’s Bunk Sandwiches along with his partner Nick Wood, Habetz prefers “un-pretty but tasty” and “low-brow” food to the kind plated with “tweezers and microplanes.”

“It’s refreshing that we’re getting beyond the over-manipulated, overplayed, artistically curated sandwich,” Habetz told us. “René Redzepi and all these great chefs taking modern cuisine and pushing it? I think it’s beautiful what they do on a plate. But I also think a sandwich oozing with great ingredients that has a thick crust and a good chew is great, too. It’s like pop art compared to fine art.”

"These [sandwiches] are very gutsy and sloppy, with big, bold flavors.”

Mario Batali, for whom was Habetz was a sous chef at New York City Italian spot Lupa, knows this about “Puff Daddy Habetz.” (That’s Batali’s own special nickname for Habetz. We didn’t ask why.) ”Having worked through the fun at high-end restaurants, Puff granted the wishes of those who love simple gustatory pleasures like a sandwich,” Batali wrote in “Coco: 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs.” “Habetz’s knack for understanding and creating food for everyone is a great achievement.”

So… Can you believe that Batali has never set foot inside Bunk? “I keep trying!” said Habetz.

Yahoo Food had to step in. We helped Habetz overnight two pork belly Cubanos, two smoked turkey banh mi sandwiches, and two muffulettas to Batali’s New York City office. One insulated shipping container, 20 frozen gel packs, some clarified butter packets, and $180 later, the goods were in Batali’s hands.

“Delicious” he commented, and then kept chomping away at that pickle-heavy—and yes, gutsy and sloppy—Cubano.

Photograph: Mario Batali/Instagram

If you’re in Portland for Feast this weekend, check out Bunk!