SCANWICHES

By CARA BAYLES

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All Star Sandwich Bar's dedication to putting delicious things between slices of bread goes beyond beginner's shit like grilled cheese. The falafel burger ($8.95) pairs the hearty patty with tomatoes, onions, sprouts, cucumbers and tahini on whole wheat, grills the hell out of it, then adds slaw and a pickle on the side.

[1245 Cambridge St., Inman Sq., Cambridge. 617.868.3065. allstarsandwichbar.com]

Despite its disturbing logo of Alfred E. Newman's grandfather gorging himself on his own fingers and a bun exploding with ham, Sam La Grassa's is one of the best delis in the universe. Their Famous Rumanian Pastrami ($8.95) features thinly sliced, cured and smoked beef, arranged with frills that would put any tutu to shame.

[44 Province St., Boston. 617.357.6861. samlagrassas.com]

Known for fresh ingredients and vegetarian options that go beyond lettuce and mustard, Blue Shirt Café combines flavors that pop in the scanner and in your mouth, like the California Dreamin' ($5.95), which includes tofu, bright red peppers, buttery green avocado and some freakin' horseradish.

[424 Highland Ave., Somerville. 617.629.7641. blueshirtcafedavis.com]

Scans by Jon Campolo

JON CHONKO | SCANWICHES

Lunch has never been the same for Jon Chonko since he started his ghostly food porn blog in February 2009.

Does your scanner smell like mayo?

The scanner's actually surprisingly still pretty clean. It's scanned, I think, over 200 sandwiches at this point. ... The cleaner it is, the crisper the scan, so I have an interest in keeping it in top shape.

Do you eat the sandwiches after you scan them?

I eat every sandwich, and the sandwiches I don't eat are my friends' sandwiches.

What are some of the challenges of scanning a sandwich?

Hot sandwiches will fog up the scanner. So it's important to scan those as quickly as you can before they really steam up, or to actually put them on the scanner and let them cool for a little bit, so that you don't get that condensation. ... Another challenge is the sandwiches that are really tall ... will just fall apart. Usually I take a wooden skewer and put it through the entire height of the sandwich. ... There's a lot of oil-based sandwich fixings that cloud up the scanner even if you wash it a lot. It's sort of a constant battle against condiments.

Can you still look at a sandwich without checking it out?

I was at the point where I was seriously, seriously considering the look of the sandwich more than the taste of it. And I put together some interesting sandwiches, with lots of color in them, that I would never order and probably will never order again. If there's a sandwich I really like that I've already scanned, I may order it to eat, but I won't scan it again.

So, is there an inverse correlation between aesthetics and deliciousness?

Oh, definitely not. I don't think there's any pattern at all between the way a sandwich looks and the way it tastes.