What’s in a sandwich? Grilled cheese? A few cold cuts with a sheaf of lettuce? Peanut butter and bananas? The typical American sandwich pales when compared to the national sandwich of Uruguay, the chivito.
You’ll come face to face with this monster at Square Barrels, where new chef Aneil Luhan is making his presence known with a round of new dishes, from sandwiches to kim chee mac n’ cheese.
Luhan grew up in the U.K., then ate and cooked his way across the globe to bring all he’s learned in his adventures to the table.
The chivito stands about 6 inches tall, a Kaiser roll stacked with steak, ham, bacon, slices of boiled egg, a slab of deep-fried mozzarella, spicy goat cheese, roasted red peppers and a duxelle mushroom paste, with horseradish mayo and olive tapenade. The combination is delicious from top to bottom.
The name of the sandwich derives from the diminutive of “chivo,” or goat, because kid meat is popular in Argentina. It’s said that a variation of a chivito sandwich rose to popularity after an Argentinian woman tried to order it at El Mejillon Bar in 1946. The Uruguay restaurant had no goat meat and served beef in its place.
Available at Square Barrels only after 2 p.m., it comes at a hefty price of $27, but is weighty enough to be shared by two.
After I mentioned it on Facebook, someone asked me how to eat it. Really?
Cut it in half. (It helps when someone holds it down.) Open wide.
Also worth trying: a chorizo chipotle burger ($18) and an homage to In-N-Out’s Animal Style Double Double burger, the “2nd Row” burger ($16) with 8 ounces of house-ground beef, American cheese and caramelized onions.
Square Barrels is at Bishop Square, 1001 Bishop St.
