Sandwich from a local deli in Carmel. Ingredients: ham, pastrami, bacon, monterrey jack, gouda cheese, tomato, half of a avocado, sweet onions, green leaf lettus, and the ultimate topper – alfalfa sprouts. All of this is wrapped between two deliciously baked french roll.

As one may of noticed, it is taller than it is wide. if eating sandwich can be a degree in universities, then this sandwich would be the PhD thesis, and at one’s thesis defense, one must consume the said sandwich ever so gracefully, in front of a panel of distinquished sandwich aficionados.

Food in Europe is good. it’s not the fancy presentation or avant-garde concoction of exotic ingredients. But rather, it’s about the basics, and doing the basics really well. Even the simple bread and cheese is superior to that of American counter parts. When in France, one must try the baguette and cheese. In Spain it’s the Jabugo ham sandwich. It is a deceivingly simple sandwich, consisting of only the bread (flauta, a small baguette), and Jabugo ham.This is what New York Time has to say about it.

what many believe is the world’s best salt-cured ham. Jabugo (just recently available in the United States) is, like prosciutto, cured with no more than salt and air. But it costs around $75 a pound, because down in Jabugo, near Seville, the pigs are special. Let’s just say that the Iberian cerdo negro (black pig) is a good breed, a direct descendant of the local wild boars, carefully raised and eventually set out to pasture, where their diet includes ripe acorns. The results make common prosciutto and even jamón serrano seem, well, common.

it is served in a wax paper wrap, in the most unpresumptuous manner. The bread is crispy to the bite, and moist on the inside. there are two or three slices of the Jabugo ham neatly tucked inside. Since the ham is salty, any more of it, would ruin the sandwich. Frankly, I’m in no position to make any critical review on the taste, since I’ve only taste my first bite of salt-cured ham two months ago in Paris. But it was definitely the best ham sandwich i’ve ever tasted.

Café Viena, La Rambla del Estudis 115, (34-933) 171-492; www.viena.es