Mortadella is a cured meat product that originated in Bologna, Italy, but has had an outsized influence on American sandwich culture. So it's perhaps not surprising that when Fra' Mani, the Bay Area salumi and charcuterie company, asked 19 favorite delis and shops from around the U.S. to create a mortadella sandwich to compete in a contest, some very delicious-looking, almost freakishly well-thought-out entrants appeared.
As Appetito reported last week, the voting ran through this past Sunday, and now, Fra' Mani has shared the results! The winners are, for the popular vote, Zingerman's Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the Mike’s Marvelous Morty Masterpiece. What is that, you ask? As you can see in the above image, it's a massive sandwich, and it's made with Fra’ Mani Mortadella with garlic scape mayo, beer-battered tomatillos and Michigan arugula, set between slices of Zingerman’s Bakehouse white bread.
Fra' Mani also selected a second winner, Alidoro, which is an Italian sandwich shop with five locations in New York City. Their entry, "Il Ruscello" (the stream") features Fra' Mani fresh mortadella, house-made whipped ricotta with chili honey, and lemon-basil pesto—a refreshing summer sandwich on Italian bread.
The two winners each receive $1,500 to donate to a favorite charity, and bonus meats from Fra' Mani. Congratulations, all.
