Homegrown: A Stellar Sandwich in Melrose Market

I have a secret crush on Melrose Market.  It’s got a butcher, cheese counter, a bar, a flower shop, a shellfish dealer, a couple eateries.  This is what I imagine heaven to be like.  I’ve been wanting to try both Homegrown and Sitka & Spruce for a while now, but I’ve never been over there at meal time!  But yesterday I was in the neighborhood with a friend, and we were in search of lunch.  So I dragged her to my foodie paradise and let her pick between the two (for the record Taylor Shellfish Farms also does lunch, but I wasn’t feeling like oysters or chowder).  She was slightly intimidated by Sitka & Spruce’s high-brow menu, so she opted for Homegrown—a simple sandwich shop featuring local and organic ingredients.  They have 8 regular sandwiches on their menu and one seasonal special.  They also do a few breakfast sandwiches (served all day), a couple soups, and a couple salads.  For a sandwich, it’s a little pricey (half a sandwich is $7, $12 for a whole).  It doesn’t come with chips or soda or soup, just a sandwich.  On the bright side, you probably won’t over eat; and you can be comforted by the fact that all of their ingredients are local or organic.  We each got a half sandwich, and I got pickles on the side for $1.  I love pickles.  I once almost broke up with a boyfriend for stealing my pickle.  Anyway, N got the Turkey, Bacon, and Avocado sandwich; I had the Roast Pork.

Her sandwich was a very good rendition of a classic.  Good quality turkey, mashed avocado, garlic aioli, greens, gouda, and bacon.  Although, I had no idea there was gouda in it until I read the description just now.  I love cheese more than the average person, but so often it is unnecessary in a sandwich.  But the avocado was ripe, the turkey was moist, the bacon was thick and cooked to perfection.  She ordered it on whole wheat bread which was toasty and delicious.  It was a really good, although not very exciting, sandwich.

Turkey, bacon, and avocado.

My Roast Pork sandwich contained coffee and cayenne rubbed pork loin, pickled red onions, greens, apple butter, and sage aioli.  Talk about exciting!  The pork was flavorful and moist (although I’m not sure the coffee or cayenne really came through), and I’m always a fan of a pickled red onion (so much better than just raw onion!).  But what really made this sandwich amazing was the combination of sage aioli and apple butter.  Of course, apple and pork is a bit of a no brainer; but using apple butter was a bold choice.  It was very sweet and strongly spiced with cinnamon.  Alone it would have been overpowering.  Fortunately, the sage aioli was there to provide balance.  Its savory creaminess was the perfect counterpoint to the sweet apple butter.  All together it ended up tasting strangely like that leftover thanksgiving sandwich I always have with turkey and cranberry sauce and mayo.  Well, it didn’t actually taste like it, but it reminded me strongly of that—and definitely in a good way.  I plan to make some sage aioli of my own sometime soon.  It was that good.  Although the rest of my sandwich was cold, my bread was still toasty warm and a great weight and texture for a sandwich.  My pickles were disappointing.  The flavor was OK, but they weren’t crunchy enough.  In fact, they were pretty soggy.  So skip the pickles.  They had some really delicious looking cookies by the cash register, and I’m guessing their chips are good, too.

Roast pork with apple butter and sage aioli. Ignore the pickles.

Overall, Homegrown was as wonderful as I thought it would be—thoughtfully crafted sandwiches with quality local or organic ingredients.  By the way, Homegrown’s website lists the sources for all of their ingredients and their guidelines for choosing vendors.  Everything they use is either compostable or recyclable.  They’re pretty serious about sustainability.   I want to go back and try a breakfast sandwich.  And maybe a cookie.  Who wants to have lunch with me?