andamu

Rule #4: Crustless cucumber sandwiches at High Tea are not the only kind of sandwich in England.

The British seem very good at inventing things, and then losing the knack for it after a while. Take soccer for instance, or cricket. These days they struggle just to get anywhere in the final eight in competitions (and in cricket there are only ten countries competing!)

One thing that bucked the trend seems to be sandwiches: reportedly invented by the Earl of Sandwich (or more likely his cook or butler), the humble meal is still made exceptionally well in Britain.

Sandwiches in the U.S. mean anything edible that has two bread-like objects stuck on either side of a filling. The range includes hamburgers and subs all the way to the humble peanut butter and jelly on Wonderbread. In vending machines and gas station convenience stores it also applies to soggy bread and bland contents packed in a transparent triangular plastic container.
The sandwiches in Britain to which I frequently refer in the Travelogue bear little resemblane to any of these, apart from the triangular plastic containers. The closest you can come in American terms are true NY deli sandwiches, but with lots more flair.

Compared to the average American sandwich, the first difference is that these actually are made with real bread; good bread that has taste and texture, and frequently even specialty breads that complement the fillings.
Which is a perfect segue to the second difference: the fillings themselves. The list is long and varied, imaginative and tasty. Obviously the omnivores have the largest variety, but at every level of dietary restriction there are options, and even for vegetarians there are usually at least four or five choices. An extract of one menu reads like this:

All Day Breakfast Big BLT Big Prawn & Spinach Big Roast Beef Chicken and Avocado Chicken Caesar Chicken Salad Mayo Frais Coronation Chicken Crayfish & Rocket Egg and Tomato on Rye Egg Mayo Fresh Herb Chicken

Ham, Cheese & Mustard Ham & Eggs Bloomer Ham Salad Mayo Frais Houmous & Oven Roasted Tomato Mature Cheddar & Pickle More Than Mozzarella Smoked Salmon Super Club Thai Chicken Tuna Mayo Turkey Club

Every large grocery store and drug store has a section stacked every morning with a large number of freshly made sandwiches, and several dedicated sandwich shops like Pret-A-Manger have sprung up. By now, most of these have followed the usual pattern of slowly expanding their range to include sushi, baguettes, wraps and soups, but they started as sandwich (and cappuccino) shops.
The commuting workers' routine includes dashing through their favorite store and picking up a sandwich for lunch on the way to work. If they wait until lunch, the once solidly-packed shelves will likely be mostly bare.
These sandwiches are a wonderful resource for the astute traveler. Picking up a couple allows you to explore without reference to time. They don't need to be heated (unlike many American sandwiches) and fill the spot perfectly if you get an attack of the munchies after the hard work of exploring and clambering all over the place. Having them for lunch cuts a fair bit from the budget, and if you happen to lunch in a pub or restaurant or teashop instead, the sandwiches will keep well for the next day. (Obviously exercise care and common sense if you bought a shrimp or rare roast beef sandwich and it has spent some time in the sun!)