Sandwich Challenge: The John Wayne

As one of the many great American icons of the 20th Century, John Wayne (born Marion Morrison in 1907) was among the top box office draws for over three decades.  If you were born after 1990 and have no idea who John Wayne is, close your eyes and picture a cowboy in an old Western film.  Nope, older than Clint Eastwood.  That's John Wayne.  I honestly wouldn't really know either because I'm a dumb millennial that's never seen any of his movies (except the remake of True Grit starring Jeff Bridges).  The 1969 version of True Grit won Wayne his only Academy Award win for Best Actor exactly two decades after his first Academy Award nomination.  Between 1926 and 1977, Wayne appeared in 177 films, most of them being Westerns, as he did not want to compromise his off-screen rugged image.  He is the only actor to appear on every edition of the annual Harris Poll for most popular film actors and the only actor to appear on the poll after his death.  His popularity is still seen to this day, 40 years after his death, and is now immortalized by a sandwich from a deli in a town he had likely never visited. (I wouldn't call New Jersey a hot bed for filming Westerns unless you're at Bruce Springsteen's house.) 

The John Wayne: Mesquite Turkey, Horseradish Cheddar, Tomato, Red Onion, Bistro Pub Sauce

I know what it looks like.  Just another panini.  But let me introduce you to the hottest new cheese in the land, Horseradish Cheddar.  I had no idea horseradish was an option to be made with cheese but now that I know I will never stop thinking about it. It's hard not to have flashbacks from another horseradish infused panini, The Dean Martin which is likely the point since Dean Martin starred alongside John Wayne in 1959's Rio Bravo.  Instead of the roast beef though, we get mesquite turkey, just like in the old West! So very solid, so very American, that's John Wayne.

Overall: 7.9/10 

Also, I bet you didn't realize that John Wayne's final film role was in Star Wars. Well, here are his big scenes as the Mos Eisley spy who gave away the position of the Millennium Falcon to the Storm-troopers. (RIP)