· 2 min read

The Jack at Eunice Gourmet Cafe

Pastrami, cheese on unstated bread. Sandwich Score 38, rough. At Eunice Gourmet Cafe, Albany.

The Jack at Eunice Gourmet Cafe: an illustration of the sandwich.
Illustration, AI-generated

A sandwich at Eunice Gourmet Cafe, a cafe in Albany, California.

Bread (generic)Cheese (generic)PastramiBread (generic)
38
Sandwich Score
out of 100 · rough

Rough, with one move worth +13.

Uncharted, two of six roles, few layers have a partner.

Holding the summit: a finished composition, a third role on the board (an acid, a sauce, an aroma or a crunch)

Balance
89
Harmony
58
Contrast
15
Structure
84
Focus
100
Composition
21
Quality
100
Envelope
92

−5 a wet layer on soft bread

More salt than 90% of the catalog.

Each bar is one pillar of the score, 0 to 100. The tick marks what a sandwich at the summit needs; an amber bar is the one holding this sandwich back.

bread not stated, served cold: pastrami; cheese.

Balance

salt2.8 · 90thacid0.8 · 62ndfat2.8 · 74thsweet0.0umami2.8 · 90thheat0.4 · 80thbitter0.0
Flavor axes
AxisValueCatalog percentile
salt2.890th
acid0.862nd
fat2.874th
sweet0.0n/a
umami2.890th
heat0.480th
bitter0.0n/a

90 Balance, out of 100

The seven flavor axes of the whole sandwich, each summed across its layers. The shaded ring is the catalog's middle 80%; the small number under each axis is where this sandwich falls in the catalog. A shape that sits inside the ring is in the range most sandwiches live in; a spike past it is where this one stands apart.

What each layer brings

LayerRoleFlavor and texturePoints
pastramiproteinsalt 4 umami 4 fat 3 soft silky tender−1
cheesescored as Cheese (generic)proteinfat 4 salt 3 umami 3 creamy soft gooey+4

Points: what the Sandwich Score would lose if that one layer were left out, everything else the same. A negative number means the sandwich scores higher without it. Flavor runs 0 to 5 on each axis.

How to raise it

Build this sandwich

Load its stack into the Sandwich Builder. Swap a layer, watch the score move.

Open in the builder

Read next

Veggie at Diablo Foods

Lettuce, onions, tomatoes, pickles, peppers, sprouts, cucumbers, avocados, roasted red peppers, sunflower seeds, oil and vinegar, cheese on unstated bread. Sandwich Score 74, very good. At Diablo Foods, Lafayette.

Andrew Lekashman
Andrew Lekashman
· 2 min read

The Explosion at Diablo Foods

Roast beef, pepper jack, lettuce, tomato, onion, pepperoncini, jalapeños, biyn mustard, horseradish sauce, oil and vinegar on sourdough roll. Sandwich Score 76, excellent. At Diablo Foods, Lafayette.

Andrew Lekashman
Andrew Lekashman
· 2 min read