New Adam Richman Show Looks For The Best Sandwich In America
Adam Richman's latest food adventure, Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America, takes the chef and foodie on a road trip across the U.S. in search of America's best sandwich. The 11-episode weekly series premieres Wednesday, June 6 at 9 p.m. on Travel Channel.
Using the NBA March Madness bracket as inspiration, Richman, with help from friends like Bobby Flay and Anthony Bourdain, selected 30 sandwiches from 27 cities in 10 geographical regions across the U.S.
Each week, Richman uses his own BITE scale (B=Bread, I=Interior, T=Taste, E=Eating Experience) to judge the three most mouthwatering masterpieces a region has to offer. After naming a regional favorite, each winning sandwich moves to the finals to face off against each other and two secret wildcards to ultimately earn the title of "Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America."
"It is just your imagination bound by two pieces of bread," said Adam Richman on his passion for sandwiches, particularly his favorite Vietnamese bánh mì, which does not make an appearance on the show. "Everyone loves sandwiches. Every culture has sandwiches."
While some of the sandwiches on the show are his friends' favorites, others are creations Richman found through his years crisscrossing the U.S. One of the sandwiches he discovered by accident during a stay at the W Hotel in Washington, D.C. The chicken club sandwich, which can only be ordered from room service, features some of his favorite sandwich ingredients: avocado and runny egg.
The TV host and author's love affair with food began as a child in Brooklyn, N.Y. His mom's brisket, spinach pie, and latkes, among others, piqued his culinary curiosity, but he credits his father with being a formidable sandwich maker.
"He played with ingredients in a way that I found really cool," said Richman, who never tired of eating sandwiches, particularly breakfast sandwiches in delis, which he considers a sacred place. Even after his years in the kitchen and on the road trying the world's best food, Richman was still surprised and impressed by the sandwich-making process, including the trial and error and meticulous order in which ingredients are placed.
"I was surprised how personal an expression of self the sandwich can be," Richman told The Daily Meal about making Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America.
Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America is his third Travel Channel show. His Man v Food and subsequent Man v Food Nation have gained him legions of food fans, who crisscross America seeking out the restaurants and dishes he has featured in his shows.