Comments Come True: Jaleo's Vegetable Bocata

Eating my way through your advice, an ambitious list of vegetarian sandwiches from 24 different restaurants. More Comments Come True.

It’s not surprising that the long-celebrated Jaleo made it twice onto the list for best vegetarian sandwich. Spanish cuisine, at least under José Andrés‘ knife, celebrates vegetables. Small-plate-serving restaurants become quick friends of the non-meat eater. Drawing from a few different dishes of food makes for a fun, adventurous and varied way to eat a meal. But looking beyond the tapas portion of the menu is a safe bet at Jaleo.

I’ve already anointed Jaleo’s Grilled Cheese with Manchego, Murcia, Valdeón, and goat cheese with truffle oil as the winner of the Comments Come True: Battle of the Grilled Cheese. While it’s hard to live up to four types of cheese together in one sandwich, the Vegetable Bocata makes its case with an assortment of tender vegetables (asparagus, roasted peppers, onion and spinach), combined with Manchego cheese and served with an addicting romesco sauce. You’ll want to save the bread, meant for a dredge in olive oil, and use it for any leftovers of the tomato-based sauce blended with peppers, almonds and hazelnuts.

This pressed sandwich stays together, thankfully, a fate that many veggie sandwiches cannot fulfill. It’s also filling (says my meat-eater friend), which is another common complaint bestowed upon meatless sandwiches. And, priced at $9.50, it surely beats the uninspired deli meat sandwich at many of the over-priced lunch counters downtown, usually costing about the same.

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