Candy is great. Nobody is saying candy isn’t wonderful. Settle down. But while sweet treats are the norm for Halloween, there is another ghoulish gastronomic delight that is frightfully tasty. The Sand Witches (sometimes misspelled as “sandwiches”) are a bunch of sorceresses who can concoct amazing bread-based meals you can carry with you. Magic!

— by Greg Elwell,

photos by Mark Hancock

and Garett Fisbeck

OKG Eat: Sand witches
Garett Fisbeck
Bib Fortuna at The Sandwich Club in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015.

The Sandwich Club

3703 N. Western Ave.

thesandwichclubokc.com

525-0799

Alan and Isaac are weird guys. For one thing, they’re obsessed with the 1980s. For another, they quit working in the go-nowhere tech industry to make the big bucks in Oklahoma City’s burgeoning sandwich market. One of their signature dishes is the Bib Fortuna, which brings together a dream team of fixings with tuna, bacon, cheddar, avocado and mayo. And just like its creators, this sandwich is a wonderful addition to OKC.

OKG Eat: Sand witches
Garett Fisbeck
Garden Gobbler at City Bites in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015.

City Bites

3939 N. MacArthur Blvd.

citybites.net

495-3444

Laverne: “What if we remind people what a turkey sounds like when it’s alive while they’re eating a sandwich made of a turkey?”

Dave: “I don’t think people would wa—”

Laverne: “We’ll call it the Garden Gobbler!”

Dave: [audible sigh]

And that’s how a turkey, provolone, vegetable and ranch sandwich was born.

OKG Eat: Sand witches
Mark Hancock
Kamp's 1910 Cafe, the Smokestack Cuban sandwich basket, 10-5-15.

Kamp’s 1910 Café

10 NE 10th St.

kamps1910cafe.net

230-1910

In Havana, it’s illegal to leave the word “sandwich” off the term “Cuban sandwich” after a series of cannibal-related incidents. Luckily, when you go to Kamp’s 1910 Café and say, “I’d like to devour a Cuban,” they just make you a delicious Smokestack Cuban sandwich piled high with pulled pork, ham, Swiss cheese and mustard instead of tackling you to the ground while the police are called.

OKG Eat: Sand witches
Mark Hancock
Falafel sandwich at Shawarma Vite in Norman, 10-15-15.

Shawarma Vite

1129 Elm Ave., Norman

shawarmavite.com

329-1401

There is a secret anti-chickpea organization quietly working behind the scenes to sully the name of garbanzo beans everywhere. Why else would the extremely delicious fried mashed chickpea ball be called “falafel”? That rhymes with awful! And there is nothing awful about the Shawarma Vite falafel sandwich, unless you count that feeling you get when you realize you’ve taken the last bite and the falafel is gone.

OKG Eat: Sand witches
Mark Hancock
The Egg Salad with bacon sandwich at Penny Hill Deli in Norman, 10-15-15.

Penny Hill Deli & Subs

1424 W. Lindsey St., Norman

phdeli.com

217-8339

Whoever invented egg salad is a hero. Not a gyro; a hero. He or she was likely a farmer raising chickens and lettuce when the drought came. Suddenly, the lettuce crop was gone. No romaine. No baby kale. No iceberg. But everybody still wanted salad. They demanded it. And he or she, like the wise folks at Penny Hill Deli, decided to use what was available — delicious eggs — and create a “salad” so tasty it could make the gods weep.

OKG Eat: Sand witches
Garett Fisbeck
Philly cheesesteak hogie at Hobby's Hogie's in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015.

Hobby’s Hoagies

222 S. Santa Fe Ave., Edmond

hobbyshoagies.com

348-2214

If you haven’t eaten a cheesesteak, here is a short quiz for you:

Are you a) a vegetarian, b) allergic to happiness (aka cheese) or c) a cow?

If none of those are applicable, you have no excuse for avoiding one of the finest foods on this earth, the Hobby’s Hoagies Philly cheesesteak. It has beef, it has cheese, it has a tangy mix of chopped cherry peppers — it’s perfection in an Italian roll.

OKG Eat: Sand witches
Mark Hancock
The grilled chichen on bahn mi bread at Quoc Bao Bakery, 10-5-15.

Quoc Bao Bakery

2501 N. Classen Blvd.

760-6322

Ban me?! What did I do? I’m just a guy who wants a delicious Vietnamese sandwich on a freshly baked baguette, maybe with some roast pork and jalapeños and carrots! What kind of a world do we live in where you get kicked out of a restaurant for requesting a sandwich? ... Oh. You said “Bánh mì,” not “ban me.” Sorry. Yes, I’ll take one of those, please. And what do you mean I need to put on some pants first?

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