'Proper' sandwiches at the Dolphin
Here's a sneak peek at the new sandwich line-up at Sydney's the Dolphin Hotel in Surry Hills.
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Bye-bye burger and sayonara sushi. The simple sanger is sexy again and most definitely not soggy.
From noon on Monday, March 13, the new-look Dolphin Hotel in Sydney's Surry Hills will be serving up a rotating menu of five gourmet sandwiches each weekday as part of its "proper sandwich lunch program".
At $12 each, they won't be the cheapest lunch option in the city. But with locally smoked meats from LP's Quality Meats, deli goods from Victor Churchill and bread from Brickfields in Chippendale, they could be contenders for the tastiest.
Restaurateur Maurice Terzini (also of Bondi Icebergs and Da Orazio) and executive chef Monty Koludrovic have come up with 16 options, each with its own catchy moniker.
There's the "go getta porchetta" with herb-roasted pork, crackling, lettuce, mustard and sage aioli; "the Italian job" with LP's mortadella, salami, asiago cheese, rocket and aioli; and the "O.D.B blaaat" (an allusion to the American rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard) with double bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato and chilli.
Old-school options include the "Tokyo 7/11" with egg and Kewpie mayo on sliced white bread and the open "c(ap)razy" with heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.
"Monty has really taken the idea of the sandwich to the next level," Terzini says. "Just the bread and the right amount of filling and the seasoning – he's really put a lot of love into it."
Terzini says the sandwich menu captures the spirit and flavours of the American-Italian deli, as well as the years he spent in Italy as a young man, when his afternoon ritual often consisted of devouring a panino with mozzarella, prosciutto and tomatoes.
"It's about the simplicity of a sandwich – I think the Dolphin represents that, doing good quality food but at the same time a simple product people can just enjoy."
If you can't make the trek to Surry Hills, the word is the Dolphin will be taking online and delivery orders soon.
Sandwiches available Mon-Fri noon-3pm or until sold out, the Dolphin, 412 Crown Street, Surry Hills, dolphinhotel.com.au