“MAX’S ENCHANTS AUBURN DINERS WITH ‘WICHCRAFT.”
How can something so simple be so spectacular?
Anyone who’s ever bitten into a well-made sandwich knows that with the right bread - for me, that’s rye - stacked with cheese - pepper jack, sharp cheddar or smoky gouda, please-and meat - oven-roasted turkey with salami - you can bring the hungry to their knees.
Just don’t give me shredded iceberg, or else things could get ugly.
I think the time of year sandwiches really shine is summer, mainly because you don’t have to go anywhere near that hot, nasty stove.
Sandwich maven Max Berkowitz, owner of Max’s Deli and Catering Company in Auburn, invited me over to his shop on a recent Friday.
Max’s has undergone some renovations but has remained at the same spot, at 11960 Heritage Oak Plaza, since Berkowitz opened the place in 1993.
“I never, before this, even worked in a sandwich shop before,” he said. “I guess you could say I’m infatuated with sandwiches. I like sandwiches. As a child growing up, friends would come over and I’d go to town. I don’t know what the passion is, but I like sandwiches.”
Berkowitz especially likes fresh sandwiches, the only kind you’ll find in his deli.
“The use of good breads, the use of quality ingredients, the use of aioli - flavored mayonnaise - everything on our menu, you could find anywhere else,” he said. “The question remains is, how fresh it is.”
On the menu for this Sous Chef assignment was something known as the “Rolie Polie Bento Box.”
Hhh-what?
“It’s confusing,” Berkowitz said, as I peered into the cold case. “People never know what to call it. They say, ‘I want one of those.’ If we could name it, ‘One of Those’ we probably would.”
The rolie polie is just another name for a gorgeously colorful rolled, pinwheel-style sandwich, putting a literal twist on your basic deli-type wrap.
Berkowitz said Max’s has been rolling sandwiches like the rolie polie for a few years, and for a couple different reasons.
“I was always fascinated with the look of sushi … I just love the presentation of sushi, and wanted that but wanted to stay with the reality of deli,” he said. “We were playing around with it one day. We made them different colors but we found that the red, the sun-dried tomato, always sold out.”
The rolie polie bento box you’ll find at Max’s for $5.50 features a six-piece “roll” made up of the aforementioned red tortilla, whipped cream cheese, sliced turkey, organic greens and shredded purple cabbage. The rolie polie comes with seasonal fruit and a Thai peanut ginger sauce - it’s not made in house, so I can’t share the recipe, but it is mighty tasty.
“It’s healthy, it’s cool, it’s crunchy,” Berkowitz said. “The Thai peanut ginger sauce, it’s got kind of a cool spice. The color pops. People eat with their eyes, first and foremost.”
The process for making this sandwich is quite speedy, which I learned in no time.
We started out with red, sun-dried tomato tortillas - the bigger, the better. After smearing whipped cream cheese - easier to manage, Berkowitz said - on half of a tortilla, we added a heaping handful of shredded purple cabbage, another handful of organic baby greens and topped the pile with some sliced turkey. I was surprised by how much stuff actually goes into what ends up being a tight, compact roll. Packing everything into a bite-sized hockey puck is pretty easy, and reminded me of rolling sushi. I mimicked Berkowitz as he folded one side of the tortilla to the center, enough to cover the goodies. You’ve got to then get a good hold on the chubby side and kind of fold it over to start the roll, continuing until the cream cheese side of the tortilla is wrapped around everything nice and tight. The cream cheese on the tortilla also acts as a sealing agent to keep everything together.
The final touch is cutting the roll into about six, 1-inch pieces, the perfect size for dipping into the Thai sauce, the zip and zing of which really gives you an idea of how deli and sushi can become one cool, summer-friendly lunch.
Call (530) 823-6297 or visit eatatmaxs.com for more information.
The Journal’s Loryll Nicolaisen can be reached at lorylln@goldcountrymedia.com, or post a comment online at auburnjournal.com.
Recipe: Rolie Polie Bento Box Sandwiches
These sandwiches are so easy to make you don’t really need a technical recipe. You will, however, need the following ingredients:
Sliced deli-style turkey
Large tortillas (Max’s uses sun-dried tomato tortillas) Whipped cream cheese
Field greens or baby lettuce, washed
Purple cabbage, shredded
To assemble, cover half the tortilla with cream cheese, adding handfuls of your filler, and rolling, first by folding the tortilla in half and then rolling from the folded side in. Cut the ends if you’re a stickler for presentation before cutting the roll into inch-wide pieces.
