Between the Bread

We Anglo-Saxons are not known for our culinary sophistication. Apparently, according to most Swiss people I have met, the British Christmas pudding is shaped like a football, because it is, in effect, a football, while American cuisine is all about size over substance. Or so the theories go.

There are many parts of British food culture I miss: one of them is the lunchtime sandwich. A ritual in the UK, the sandwich has become a staple of any workers diet. Egg and Cress. Bacon and Avocado. Shrimp and Mayonnaise. Beef and onion. You name it. you can have it. In a roll, a bap, white sliced or wholewheat. Butter or Marge. Salt and Pepper. With a mug of tea and a bag of ready salted. My mouth is watering already.

A stroll around London’s city and you become aware of how many sandwich stores exist: prêt a manger, Benjys, EAT not to mention a plethora of hole in the wall Italian delis that look as if their vinyl bench seats have not been updated, nor wiped clean, since the 1960s.

So, I wonder where in Zurich are the best sandwiches? I am not talking ciabatta with rucola and parma ham here, that is not a sandwich but an aspirational lifestyle statement. Nor do I mean greasy, mouthburning hot panini (of which a great one can be had on the Zahringerplatz by the way) The sandwiches I am talking about are cold and do not involve melted cheese.

A friend suggested the Manta Bar on Bahnhofstrasse but I can’t go there to check because my Rolex Oyster is getting its battery changed and the Ferrari is having its windscreen washer fluids purified. Currently, my default option is Sprungli who produce the Corn roll with Chicken and Mayonnaise – this to my mind is the closest I will ever get to British sandwich heaven in Zurich.

Now, for an American sandwich, I suppose there is a Subway somewhere in town. Otherwise, there is a burger or two for sure.

My obsessions with hamburgers is a relatively new thing. As a child I distinctly remember going to Macdonalds for the first time, back in the days when the buns still had sesame seeds on them. I remember both the visit and the sesame seeds as I witnessed for the first time in my life, a woman remove her false teeth to dislodge a sesame seed that was stuck to her palette. An amazingly day of firsts for a child of six, I can tell you.

I digress. The Burger went unloved by me for years until recently, when I discovered the joys. My search for a burger in Zurich has lead me up a few blind alleys, one of them ending in a place called hooters that I will not describe in detail here. One of the more successful burger trips was one that ended in the SilberKugel.

Now the SilberKugel, to the unitiated, is a thing to behold. A retro-looking Swiss fast food restaurant, with bar stools and a diner like bar, waitresses that have been on the job since the place opened and round windows that frankly make you feel like you are dining in the mess room of a submarine. The food is – well – functional. The prices reasonable and general atmosphere is pleasant. The day I was there, I sat next to two plumbers, opposite a man who could have been an insurance clerk and next to an elderly, well dressed woman who scarfed a cheese melt like it was a guilty pleasure. I took a Silberburger, I think, a gloriously greasy thing. And enjoyed it very much. Not quite a sandwich but highly recommended. The place looks like it could do with some custom anyhow.

Now, that my appetite is wetted, I am intrigued to find out where there are other burgers and sandwiches in this city… I want to know where your favorite chicken and sweetcorn sandwich is or where you get your best hamburger… Suggestions gratefully received at armitage@hoerkolumnen.ch.