[O'brien:] The man behind the Travel Channel's successful series "Man Versus Food" is at it again. This time he has a new quest, which is to find the best sandwich in all of America. In his new series, Adam Richman travels to 10 different regions tasting 30 sandwiches and has one goal in mind, to find the number one sandwich worthy of the ultimate title. "Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America". Take a look.
[Adam Richman, Host, "best Sandwich In America":] For months, I've been on a road trip, traveling countless miles from coast to coast. All in search of my best sandwich in the nation. I sampled 30 amazing creations from 10 different U.S. regions. And in every region, I subjected each sandwich to my trademark BITE scale, declaring one the champ.
[O'brien:] Oh, that looks so good. The season finale of "Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America" airs August 15th. How did you just focus on sandwiches?
[Richman:] You know what; every culture has a sandwich. Every income bracket has a sandwich. And you know I've been saying it a lot, but I do mean it in earnest. I really think the sandwich at its best is really just your imagination bound by two pieces of bread.
[O'brien:] What's the BITE scale?
[Richman:] The BITE scale. Well, we figured there should be one kind of judging tool. So it's an acronym for Bread, Interior, Taste and Eating experience.
[O'brien:] Ok so you're going to on Wednesday pick the best sandwich in America a little pressure.
[Richman:] My right, and it's completely biased. Yes, exactly.
[O'brien:] Yes.
[Richman:] No but truly it's it's my best sandwich. Because I think that you know every human being has their own. This is my pick. But I just solely wanted to at least showcase 30 of the great ones out there and hope that people go on their own journeys.
[O'brien:] You've got 10, and then you added two wild cards.
[Richman:] Correct.
[O'brien:] So if this is your own list, do you sort of self-select just all the interior, for example, that you like?
[Richman:] You know, what I did was I select two of the sandwiches per region. One came from a celebrity pick. So that way in each region, with the exception of one, because I didn't in fact try it, the celebrity pick is brand-new to me. And it was a chance for the audience to discover something as I did too.
[O'brien:] Stretching stretching your bounds.
[Richman:] You've got to grow a little bit every day. My shirt is stretching as well.
[O'brien:] I'm happy to help you here. So tell me what you brought today.
[Richman:] I brought two of my favorite sandwiches in the New York area. The New York classic. So we have Katz's Pastrami, Katz'Deli obviously classic, classic New York Deli on rye bread in their house cake Pastrami.
[O'brien:] Hey I'm going to start with this one.
[Richman:] It's pretty magnificent.
[O'brien:] There really isn't enough mustard on this for my taste.
[Richman:] Mustard, go for it.
[O'brien:] Oh my God yes, ok.
[Richman:] Good stuff, though, right? I usually do the Russian and slaw on the pastrami.
[O'brien:] Yes, it's amazing.
[Richman:] And this one here is a a sandwich that unfortunately I wasn't able to include in the show. This is a Vietnamese sandwich called a "Banh Mi" from Hanko's.
[O'brien:] What's a "Banh Mi"? Where's Hankos?
[Richman:] Hankos is on Smith and Bourbon Street in Brooklyn. I think they maybe opening another one. But it's only rice flour baguette and it's roasted pork, pickled [inaudible], pickled carrot.
[O'brien:] Oh that is so good.
[Richman:] Isn't yummy?
[O'brien:] What else is it?
[Richman:] Cilantro, a little bit of sriracha, some pate. And they grind their pork there. And I find it surprisingly light, even though it looks like it could be a really substantial sandwich.
[O'brien:] I love shows where I just eat through the entire thing while you do all the talking. So is it going to be really, really hard at the end to pick do you think?
[Richman:] I think so.
[O'brien:] Yes.
[Richman:] I think so, I think again, you know people have such fierce hometown associations with sandwiches. And I think that's also why I loved it. It's that you can't talk to someone from Pittsburgh and not mention Pronanti Brothers. You can't talk to someone from Los Angeles and not mention Bay City's or Phillips' , of Son of a Gun, or any of these great sandwiches. So it was difficult. But again, I picked the one that is my best sandwich. But you know, it's a delicious world out there waiting for people like you to eat it.
[O'brien:] It is delicious world right in here. You know if you need an assistant for the last couple of days of the show, let me know.
[Richman:] You got it anytime.
[O'brien:] I'm happy to help you out.
[Richman:] You bring style and class to it.
[O'brien:] I just want to eat. That's all. Adam Richman nice to have you. Thank you.
[Richman:] You bring style. Thank you. Enjoy the sandwiches.
[O'brien:] Mind if I finish these? Is it ok.
[Richman:] Please, go ahead. Eat don't be afraid. It's a sandwich.
[O'brien:] We're back in a moment.