Sandwich creation is about as far into “fusion cuisine” as I tend to get. Whereas that term tends to indicate a level of fanciness far removed from how lazy I feel on a Tuesday night, splitting open a sandwich roll tends to free me to use the tastiest stuff in the fridge as quickly as possible. Flank steak? Sure. Feta cheese? If I’ve been on a run of Greek food recently. Sriracha? What the hell – it makes everything better. It’s a very fluid process, and it always ends well. The result leaves me charged up, much like the distinguished members of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All in that video up there – conveniently titled “Sandwiches.”

This particular sandwich was eaten on Cinco de Mayo, not long after I got yelled at on our Facebook wall for posting Greek food. It’s got a marinade from a dusty generic Mexican cookbook I got awhile back, some pickled veggies left over from some pork I had made, and a mixture of the two cheeses I had in the fridge. It’s served on a mini-baguette from the Vietnamese bahn mi shop down the street. And for something so throw together, I’ve got to tell you, it certainly works out in the end. Try it for yourself. Improvise, even – clearly I did.

The Setup

Meat
- 1 lb flank steak
- 5 tbsp lime juice
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced or run through a press
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 can of chipotles en adobo, chiles chopped and juices reserved
- Salt

Pickled Onions and Jalapeños
- 1 red onion, cut in half, halves bisected and cut into strips
- 2 jalapeños, cut into slices
- 1 c cider vinegar
- 1 c water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Avocado spread
- 2 avocados
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- Salt
- Chopped cilantro, to taste
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper

- 4 bahn mi rolls or French rolls, cut 3/4 through, with some of the bread removed
- 1 c crumbled feta
- 1 c crumbled queso fresco
- Hot sauce

Cooking

1. Cut a few half inch-deep slashes in both sides of the steak, going against the grain. Place the steak in a zip-top bag. Stir the marinade ingredients together and pour over the steak. Let marinade at room temperature for a half hour. Don’t go longer – especially overnight – or the lime juice will break down the steak to a disgusting mush-like texture.

2. Dissolve the sugar in a small saucepan with the balsamic vinegar, water, and cider vinegar. Place the red onion slices in a medium glass or metal bowl – not plastic. Bring the pickling liquid to a boil, remove from heat, and pour over the onion slices. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 minutes.

3. Mash the avocados in a medium-sized bowl and fold in the rest of the spread ingredients. Cover with plastic and let sit in the fridge.

4. Preheat your grill or grill pan to medium-high. Scrape and oil the grate. Remove steak from marinade and throw on the grill. Cook six minutes, flip, and cook another six. You don’t want a chewy steak here, and if you can get some good caramelized texture, it’s all the better.

5. Remove the steak to rest for five minutes and preheat the oven to 350.

6. Cut the steak into manageable bite-sized pieces. Spread both sides of the sandwich roll with the avocado. Top with steak, pickled veggies, a generous handful of cheese, and the hot sauce.

7. Place sandwiches on a foil-lined baking sheet and throw them in the oven 3-4 minutes to let the cheese soften, the roll toast, and the flavors combine.

8. Serve the sandwiches with plantain chips and the extra avocado spread as a dip.

9. Hell yes. Step 9 is helllllll yes.