The Charlottesville 29

Brooklyn-style subs in Charlottesville?

Check out Morgan’s Hot Wet Beef at the new sandwich shop at Kitchen Catering & Events, run by Vivace and The Whiskey Jar veterans Morgan Hurt and Gabe Garcia. A sandwich freak like me, Hurt calls sandwiches “God’s gift to the world,” and the hot wet beef is inspired by one from a recent trip to Brooklyn. On a sesame seed sub roll, Hurt piles house roast beef, slices of fried eggplant, fresh mozzarella, and herbed aioli.  Then she soaks it all in the jus from the roast beef.

My passion for sandwiches may be a reaction to my British upbringing. In England, sandwiches can mean two crustless, thinly sliced, buttered pieces of bread, with a trace of something to fill them. Here in the States, particularly in regions known for subs, things are much different. Thumbing our noses at our former rulers, sandwiches are massive, two-fisters that inspire guys like Guy Fieri to assume the sandwich position – feet wide and leaning forward, just to pry one’s teeth around the behemoths.

Morgan’s Hot Wet beef is of this ilk. An English sandwich might include just one of its ingredients. You might have a roast beef sandwich. Or a cheese sandwich. Or an eggplant sandwich, er, aubergine. You’d be presumed batty if you asked for a sandwich with all three.

OK, Morgan’s Hot Wet Beef is big. But, is it good?

Yep. Delicious. And, the complimentary side salad of curried chick peas is addictive. (You’ve been warned.)

Other sandwiches on the opening menu include a Cuban, chicken salad, Italian, and a riff on the Provencal classic pan bagnat.  Kitchen Catering & Events is on Rivanna Ave., off Harris St. Sandwich shop hours are Wednesday through Friday from 11 am to 3 pm.