Serious Eats
Serious Sandwiches: The Gage's Brisket Sandwich
Photograph from Fabrizio Rizzo on Flickr
Whiskey can be an amazing or terrible cooking ingredient depending on who is using it. For example, Jack Daniels in the hands of an old college roommate led to some pretty obscenely terrible "bourbon burgers," "bourbon whipped cream," "bourbon marinated steaks," and "bourbon everything else he ever cooked"—and none of it could've been eaten in enough volume to fill you up before it got you trashed.
On the other hand, give Dirk Flanigan, chef at the Gage in Chicago, a bottle of Jameson and a brisket and he'll make you a serious sandwich that is so obscenely good, you'll have no problem getting stuffed on it.
The brisket sandwich from the Gage starts over two days before it ends up on the plate in front of you. Chef Flanigan takes a six-pound beef brisket and sears it on all sides before braising it in a mixture of Jameson, house-made veal stock, mirepoix, garlic, and a ton of herbs, including thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and parsley, to name a few. After spending a whopping 48 hours braising, the meat is sliced and piled on top of a slice of Pullman brioche from the Fulton St. Baking Company that is cut lengthwise, toasted and brushed with English mustard. On top of that goes slices of Steiner's smoked baby swiss cheese, before being finished off with arugula and shaved granny smith apples tossed with salt, pepper and extra-virgin olive oil. It's only available at lunch, and finishing it may not get you trashed, but it will certainly leave you stuffed (and in some sort of meat-induced coma).
About the author: Zach Brooks is the proprietor of Midtown Lunch, where he blogs about affordable lunchtime eats in Midtown Manhattan. The guy knows his sandwiches.
The Gage
Address: 24 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603 (map)
Phone: 312-372-4243
Website: thegagechicago.com