It has been some time since I've been back to Big Star Sandwich Co. It was way back when their original location in New West when it first opened. Despite enjoying their fully-loaded sammies, especially the ones filled with Hickory Sticks, I never actually made it back. They are now up to 9 locations and their newest is on Broadway at Willow in Vancouver. Perfectly situated for all the hospital staff and visitors! Jackie and I made our way down there to check things out.
We ended up ordering a variety of sandwiches that featured different proteins. Also, we had all 3 sizes including snack, regular and large (so that we can compare the difference). For our first, we went for The OG (#4) in snack size. This had roast beef, bacon, cheddar, hickory sticks (missing in this one for some reason), lettuce and tomato. What you see here was the snack size and it was more than enough for small appetites. If you were a bit more hungry, a regular would be the best choice. A large might be hard to finish unless you were famished.
Sandwiched in between the same fluffy marble rye, we found roast beef, cheddar, lettuce, pickles, onions & Mack Sauce, the Big Mack (#14) did live up to its namesake. Look at the amount of stuff in this! Try to open your mouth wide enough for a bite. With the addition of Hickory Sticks, there was crunchy salty smokiness to go with the real roast beef and cheddar. Loved the soft bread as it helped accentuate the other textures.
Something along the same lines, we found the Tony Montana (#21) on the same rye bread with Pulled Pork, Ham, Swiss, Hickory Sticks, Lettuce, Pickles & Smoky Mustard. This was a touch more salty due to the use of ham. Texturally, it was a bit more tender due to the brined meat as opposed to the real roast beef. With Swiss, there was a mustier flavour rather than the mild cheddar. Once again, the Hickory Sticks provided crunch, saltiness and smokiness.
So the most surprising sandwich had to be the Beef Dip. Okay, a beef dip isn't necessarily anything special, but this one was legitimately delicious. First off, we had the use of real roast beef that was tender and well, tasted like roast beef (not that salty brined Arby's stuff). Then, we had the dip itself. It was meaty and impactful with a slightly thick viscosity. Hence, it not only soaked the bread, it also clung onto the meat as well. This created a super saucy and savoury treat that I didn't want to stop eating.
Something that seemed rather familiar was the Turkey Day (#1) with its combination of real turkey, house-made stuffing, cranberry sauce & cranberry mayo. I said familiar because it reminded me of a turkey dinner, but also it resembled something I've had at another sandwich place. The one big difference was the lack of gravy in the sandwich. In that sense, the bread didn't become soggy while the other ingredients stood out more. I think the best way to do this sandwich would be a gravy dip on the side much like the beef dip (but with turkey gravy of course). Otherwise, the turkey had a moist natural texture and the stuffing was nicely seasoned. Would've liked to see more cranberry though.
With all of the fully-stuffed sandwich creations we had tried so far, the Santa Monica (#2) was more on the simpler side. We got it in the snack size and it featured turkey, bacon, cheddar, guacamole, lettuce, tomato and creamy honey mustard. Again, really appreciated the use of real turkey meat that was moist and tender. The addition of bacon was key as it provided the necessary saltiness for the mild turkey meat. Guac added a bright creaminess while the honey mustard provided sweetness and extra moisture.
Completely the opposite of the previous sandwich, the Inferno (#9) offered up plenty of impact with ham, capocollo, bacon, habanero jack, lettuce, tomato, pepperoncini and chipotle mayo. Despite its namesake, this sandwich wasn't super spicy. Rather, it was flavourful with hits of spice from the capocollo and jack cheese, but then had equal parts saltiness, smokiness and brightness. Once again, this was in snack size, but still was fufilling.
Back to the overstuffed sammies, we had the Mack Daddy (#25) that sported turkey, bacon, provolone, crispy onions, lettuce, tomato and Mack sauce, This was a bit similar to the Big Mack, but with turkey and provolone instead of roast beef and cheddar. Hence, this was not as heavy in terms of the meat, but with the more robust bread compared to the fluffy rye, it was still filling. The combination of crispy onions and Hickory Sticks made for lots of texture and added flavour.
Lastly, we had the Neeson (#28) that crammed roast beef, bacon, habanero jack, hickory sticks, lettuce, tomato, onions, chipotle mayo and bold BBQ sauce. This was named after the Liam Neeson as he was filming in New West back in 2017. He was offered a free meal and he showed up! So this sandwich does live up to its namesake with a robust amount of meat (since Liam plays macho revenge-type characters) within a hearty sandwich. Overall, all the sammies we tried were all stuffed full of meat (that was weighed, so the pictures are legitimate representations) and were not longing for flavour. Sure, they cost more than Subway, but the quality of the meats and bread are superior. In reality, it isn't even a comparison. I think I need to visit Big Star more often because I like myself a good sandwich, especially with real meat.
*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*
The Good:
- Quality ingredients
- Real meat
- Hickory sticks!
The Bad:
- Will cost you more, but worth it IMO
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