In Search of the Perfect Meatloaf Sandwich

November 1, 2009

It's Time To Loaf
Ligonier locals love Carol & Dave's Roadhouse, the kind of place where everyone is welcome and the owners will likely accept your invitation to pull up a chair. Dave Cassler was executive chef for a big-time hotel chain, but he and wife Carol chucked it all for this Laurel Highlands tavern. Carol's Slovak mother made her lean, flavorful meatloaf with beef — no pork or veal. Serve on white bread with brown gravy. Smooth mashed Yukon gold potatoes give a nice textural contrast. Any leftovers? Try your sandwich cold. Carol & Dave's style — on italian bread with tomato and lettuce.

Ingredients
2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 loaf white bread, cut in half-inch cubes
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. diced onions, sauteed

Method
Mix all ingredients, make into a loaf, and bake at 350 degrees in 90 minutes.
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The chase for the perfect bite intrigues and entices. You've explored hideaway bistros and shimmering five-star restaurants. You are a self-proclaimed foodie, always on the hunt for delectable eats. And you'll find them in Pennsylvania.

But on a chilly winter's day, as you extract your steam clams in dried chili butter broth, you must confess: You'd rather warm your belly with a meatloaf sandwich.

Hesitant? What if I said that you could have your meatloaf and eat it too? A journey awaits to find the meatloaf sandwich reinvented — spiced or demi-glazed or topped with smoked tomato ketchup. Yes I said "demi-glazed" and "meatloaf" in the same sentence, so put down that fig-and-walnut-stuffed quail and come with me. First stop: Pittsburgh's funky-cool Six Penn Kitchen. My meatloaf sandwich arrives, and it's as tall as a Heinz ketchup bottle. I am a brave soul, forging forward, wrapping my paws around it. But my first bite collapses this tower of two-inch-thick grilled meatloaf, crispy fries, horseradish sauce, coleslaw and roasted tomatoes on an onion roll.

You can attempt to reconstruct this architectural achievement, but I dive in with knife and fork. I takea. bite — and pure bliss. Sweet, tangy and savory flavors roll in waves. Thirty ingredients and seasonings constitute this meatloaf — the natural flavoritngs of ground-up mushrooms, onions, carrots and celery come through  — but it's not too dense, not too airy.


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Written by: M. Diane McCormick
Photography By: Michael Ray



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