Meal deals are a lifesaver for many, but let’s face it, it can be difficult to look forward to a fridge-cold sandwich, an oversized bag of Walkers and a bottle of Fanta/Coke/Water (delete as applicable), whether it costs £3 for the lot or not.
On the other hand, the gourmet sandwich market can come at a bit of an eye-watering premium. It might be the best sub in town, but Fat Pat’s for example will set you back a rather robust £14 with a drink for their Philly Cheesesteak (£16 with some chips too), though it could probably feed two.
That’s a birthday sandwich. Or getting a promotion at work sandwich. Or perhaps a small scratch card win sandwich.
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Rack, in Stockport, has been knocking out upscaled (but only slightly) daily sandwiches from a mobile van since 2018, and then from its first actual sandwich shop since 2021, on Lawrence Street, just near the famous Plaza theatre.
And while it’s not coming in at three quid, for what’s coming out of the door, it’s a bargain, and hardly more than your average bill at either Pret A Manger or Subway. Plus you’re supporting a growing indie business.
Sandwiches like its viral ‘lasandwich’, which emerged around Christmas (it’s what it sounds like; a slab of oozing lasagna in a toastie), might have sounded gimmicky, but what’s not to like? A trip today wasn’t quite as boundary challenging, but still absolutely hit the spot.
The special was a take on the tuna nicoise salad, complete with little fried potatoes, but it was the reuben which was calling. Legend has it that it was devised in the 1920s at the request of Reuben Kulakofsky, a grocer who demanded a late-night snack comprising corned beef and sauerkraut during a game of poker at a hotel in Nebraska.
And while maybe it’s not quite the new school gourmet option these days, it is when you grew up with ham salad and egg mayo, and done right, it’s one of the best sandwiches on the planet, layered up with slabs of salt beef or pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing.
At Rack, it comes on sourdough, and it’s toasted. It’s thin, pressed in the sandwich press and not really the stacked beast that you would expect when you’ve ordered a rueben, but at £6.50, economics dictate that it probably can’t be. The pastrami is peppery almost to a fault, and they're not holding back on the soothing thousand island.
It’s a decent sandwich. A better rueben - the best I’ve had in Manchester - is to be found at Gooey in the Northern Quarter, but at £12.50 will cost you almost double.
But it was the humble chicken bloomer (a very reasonable £5.50) that unexpectedly walloped its transatlantic counterpart for six. The bloomer loaf was as fresh as could be, soft like a pillow.
Indoors, it was packed, overflowing with chicken - leg, thigh, breast, the lot - and even (good heavens) some chicken skin in there too. Pleasingly old school, it felt like that leftovers sandwich you’re almost looking forward to more than eating your Sunday roast.
There’s crunchy iceberg, tomato and there are proper chunks of good quality smokey bacon, not the pre-crisped packet stuff. They’re not in the least bit shy on the herby mayo either.
There are also crisps in there; shards of ready salted, an addition that raises this sandwich to the top tier of sandwiches in this fine city and beyond. A morello cherry blondie was another couple of quid, and well worth it.
Rack are planning another spot in Sale, which they’re in the process of renovating. It’ll be doing its rotation of specials - their Mexican brisket with dipping broth is very much on the radar. And so are the breakfast brioches.
And yes, it’s not quite a three quid meal deal, but out of this and Pret A Manger? I know where I’m going, any day of the week.
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