{"id":12354,"date":"2019-02-01T10:43:05","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T16:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/?p=12354"},"modified":"2019-07-19T00:10:56","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T05:10:56","slug":"madison-sandwiches-crema-cafe-hot-chick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/madison-sandwiches-crema-cafe-hot-chick\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Sandwich Quest: Crema Cafe’s hot chick"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have been called a sandwich snob. That accusation is false. However, I do believe in something called <\/em>sandwich theory<\/em><\/a>. This is my quest to find the greatest sandwiches in Madison. Send me your sandwich recommendations by <\/em>email<\/em><\/a> or on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/span>\n

Located in a strip mall on the corner of Monona Drive and Buckeye Road, Crema Cafe<\/a> has a vintage look and feel with funky \u201970s yellow walls and retro dishes. During the recent snowpocalypse, I decided to get warm with their hot chick sandwich, which is grilled free-range chicken, roasted tomatoes, bacon, aged cheddar and chipotle mayo, all on whole grain bread.<\/span>\n

Bread: 4\/5<\/h3>\n

The bread, grilled to toasty, crunchy perfection, was simple and sufficient. Sometimes your bread can get lost if there\u2019s a lot going on, but it held up just fine under the stress of some serious sandwich makings and sauces.<\/span>\n

Makings: 4.25\/5<\/h3>\n

The grilled chicken was generous, very flavorful and not dried out. The bacon added a little extra crunch and wasn\u2019t greasy. Aged cheddar cheese brought some fattiness and paired well with the bacon and chicken. The roasted tomatoes weren\u2019t overcooked, but were a little mushy. Yet all the fillings were really fresh, like you had whipped up the sandwich in your own kitchen.<\/span>\n

Architecture: 3.75\/5<\/h3>\n

I had some inconsistent bites because the chicken was in varying size pieces and not spread out well. That led to some makings sliding out the backside of the sandwich. The cheese and bacon helped protect the top piece of bread from sogginess, but the bottom half suffered a little bit because of the combined moisture from the tomatoes, chicken and chipotle mayo.<\/span>\n

Value: 3.5\/5<\/h3>\n

At $9.25, the price is in the same neighborhood as a sandwich from a big bakery chain like Panera. You get some El Rey tortilla chips (think homemade Doritos from a Mexican grocer in Milwaukee) on the side. The sandwich is not super-sized, but it\u2019s filling thanks to the richness of the makings.<\/span>\n

Overall: 3.8\/5<\/h3>\n

The hot chick was solid, but didn\u2019t knock my socks off. It\u2019s also a near carbon copy of the chipotle chicken panini that used to be on the Panera menu. (There\u2019s a group of folks petitioning Panera\u00a0to bring that sandwich back<\/a>. Click the link, it\u2019s actually frigging great.) Crema\u2019s hot chick is a better, fresher, more generous, locally sourced version of that sandwich. If you want to try it yourself, take note that the hot chick is only available for lunch Monday through Friday.<\/span>\n