A burger at Sprankles Deli, a deli in Benicia, California.
out of 100 · outstanding
Outstanding, with one move worth +9.
A burger with layers outside the form; six of six roles.
−8 heat past the catalog
More heat 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.
toasty bun, toasted: burger patty; homemade chipotle mayonnaise (house-made); pickled jalapenos; lettuce; tomato; red onion; melted pepper jack; cheddar cheese.
Worth a look: house-made: Chipotle Mayo.
Balance
| Axis | Value | Catalog percentile |
|---|---|---|
| salt | 1.4 | 68th |
| acid | 1.1 | 75th |
| fat | 2.4 | 59th |
| sweet | 0.3 | 44th |
| umami | 1.6 | 56th |
| heat | 0.8 | 90th |
| bitter | 0.1 | 47th |
99 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
| Layer | Role | Flavor and texture | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| toasty bunscored as Burger Bun | bread | sweet 2 soft springy | the frame |
| burger pattyscored as Beef | protein | fat 3 umami 3 juicy chewy tender | +2 |
| homemade chipotle mayonnaise (house-made)scored as Chipotle Mayo | sauce | fat 5 heat 2 creamy saucy | −8 |
| pickled jalapenosscored as Pickled Jalapeño | acid | acid 4 heat 3 pickled wet | −2 |
| lettuce | texture | crunchy juicy fresh | 0 |
| tomato | texture | acid 3 umami 3 sweet 2 juicy soft fresh | +1 |
| red onionscored as Onion | texture | sweet 2 crunchy juicy fresh | −9 |
| melted pepper jackscored as Monterey Jack | protein | fat 3 salt 2 umami 2 soft creamy melty | +1 |
| cheddar cheese | protein | fat 4 salt 3 umami 3 soft gooey melty | +3 |
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.
Pairings
- Beef + Pickled Jalapeño: pickle brine against rich beef
- Beef + Onion: onions sweeten seared beef, philly style
- Beef + Cheddar Cheese: the cheeseburger pair: sharp on seared beef
- Chipotle Mayo + Tomato: summer tomato sandwich: acid on rich
- Chipotle Mayo + Cheddar Cheese: smoky heat in sharp fat, the southwest melt
- Pickled Jalapeño + Cheddar Cheese: jalapeno cheddar: green heat in sharp fat
- Tomato + Cheddar Cheese: grilled cheese and tomato, the lunch pair
- Onion + Cheddar Cheese: cheddar and onion, the ploughman's pair
- Monterey Jack + Cheddar Cheese: sharp and mild, the taco-shop blend
How to raise it
- Clear the board: heat past the catalog (-8).
All the sandwiches at Sprankles Deli · The menu this was read from · Build your own in the Sandwich Builder