West Virginia: Fried Bologna

Sandwich served: May 24, 2013

For over a year I've been inviting friends and family over for a sandwich. I say I, but the truth is there is a we. Allow me to introduce Kyle who has been by my side since the beginning. He's helped track down crazy ingredients, mastered deep frying, become my editor, sounding board, and many other things. It was high time to make a sandwich for Kyle.

When we first started dating, I had the great idea to take a road trip together from his home in Chicago back to college in Virginia. Even though Kyle's car is stick shift and I only drive automatic, we jumped into the car for the 817 mile ride.

I was quite nervous. What if we ran out of things to talk about? What if he found out I was an irrationally nervous passenger [thanks mom!]?

We spent the night in Ohio and swerved through the mountains of West Virginia the following day. Having each broken down in West Virginia on separate road trips, I probably should have held my breath, but this time we simply enjoyed each other's company. As soon as we left the "wild and wonderful" state, I knew we were golden.

On this particular day - roughly five years later - we spent a Friday afternoon on our front stoop eating sandwiches. Growing up I seriously loved bologna sandwiches, so the fried version was right up my alley. Truthfully, the sandwich tasted a lot like a hot dog [which I also love, so no complaints here!]. The weather was wonderful, and the company was too. I look forward to eating many more sandwiches with Kyle.

The making of sandwich #28: