Adding a Little Zest...

Kudos to the brilliant blogging duo at BostonZest (Boston for grownups). It's a good idea to be a regular reader because you'll learn a lot about local food, wine, events, dogs, and more. I was in Brookline Village (and hungry) today and, thanks to Penny and Ed, I knew about a small sandwich shop called Cutty's where I could order a "spuckie." You can read what Ed and Penny had to say about Cutty's here; I didn't know what a spuckie was until they explained, but now I will need one periodically.

Mine was eggplant on crusty ciabatta, with fresh mozzarella and carrot-olive salad. A half sandwich is $3 and change; it was enough to hit the spot:

I know this sandwich would have no appeal to some people, including the people I'm married to at the moment, because they don't like eggplant, olives, ciabatta loaves, and so on. But that leaves more for the rest of us. Really — they make one extremely long sandwich and slice off a section when you order it. It's a clever blend of flavors and textures, with the tang of vinegar, the saltiness of olives, the rich oiliness of the eggplant, plus crunchy carrots, melded all together with creamy cheese..... mmm.  My kind of fast food.

So make sure you go alone or with a bunch of people who hate olives. More for you.