I didn’t realize it until it was over, but this was a week of stacked sandwiches. I guess my heart pointed me in that direction.

It started on Tuesday when I went to Russell’s on Macklind for lunch. Going to Russell’s blew my mind for a couple reasons. One, because I didn’t know they existed until about a week ago, and I grew up in St. Louis. Two, because their food is so delicious and I’m just finding that out now. Better late than never.

Russell’s has indoor and outdoor seating but I opted for the patio because it was a beautiful day. I ordered the “BLAT” which tastes a lot better than it sounds. It’s a tower of crispy bacon layered with, as the name suggests, avocado, tomato, and lettuce.

I like that Russell’s doesn’t skimp on the bacon. It got to the point where some of it was falling out of the sandwich, which made me love it even more. I didn’t want the experience to end. I resignedly ate my potato chips and started planning when I was going to come back for round two.

Yesterday was rainy and gloomy so I decided to hit up my favorite local coffee shop, Rise. Even though Rise is best known for their coffee and tea, their food is actually what I keep coming back for. Their menu is small but everything on it is fresh and delicious.

I decided to try the “Lunch Sandwich” with giardiniera, or pickled vegetables, cucumber, arugula, cheddar spread, and avocado. It’s served on Union Loafers bread (which I’ve already gushed about here).

This sandwich is one of the best ones I’ve had in St. Louis. It might even be the best one. The bread is crisp, buttery, and toasted to perfection. The pickled vegetables are tangy and slightly sweet and the cheese balances out the flavors. I’d recommend adding avocado like I did because it cuts through the other ingredients and rounds out the flavor profile. Un. real.

After I was done eating the sandwich I saw this poem against the wall. It inspired me to read more of Georgia Douglas Johnson’s poetry. Here’s one of my favorites.
And here’s a song to take you into the weekend. It’s good for driving around with all the windows rolled down and blasting the music at full volume.