Andrew Vermilyea has been dreaming of this sandwich since he was a kid. Well, not this sandwich per se, but the inspiration behind it.
"I always loved that scene in the Sword In The Stone, where the guy puts an entire turkey leg in his mouth and pulls out the bone, clean," he said.
The scene stuck with him, and when he opened The Speakeatery in Asbury Park, New Jersey, he decided he needed something on the menu that paid homage to that moment. What he created was the Hand Grenade, a hot dog bun stuffed with an entire barbecue dinner in it — pureed baked beans, macaroni and cheese (featuring five cheeses, because this is a go big or go home sort of meal), cole slaw, whiskey barbecue sauce, and a bone-in rib. That's where The Sword In The Stone comes in — the ribs are smoked for hours, until the meat's so tender you can actually squeeze the sandwich and pull the bone out cleanly.
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We didn't believe it either until we tried it (just see the video above).
"I don't read these stories or the comments anymore," Vermilyea said. "When somebody first wrote about the Hand Grenade, there were people saying, 'oh what? He just puts a bone in the sandwich for no reason?' It comes out so clean that people swore I was faking it. Like yeah, I just threw a bone in there for fun."
The dish is just one of the sandwiches that's gotten people's attention. The Speakeatery's also gotten a cult following for its Down-N-Out burger (their take on In-N-Out's classic patty) and its Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, which come topped with red onions, hot cherry peppers, and a blanket of American cheese.
"Honestly, we rip apart anything that comes from Philly. These cheesesteaks are legit," he said. "We had a guy from Philly in here the other day, and he was stunned. He had no words, and I was like, 'It's okay. We both understand how you feel. I'm not going to make you say it, but we both know how good this is.'"
The nod alone spoke volumes.
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