Have it your way at Which Wich in Orem
The Wicked, a signature sandwich from Which Wich in Orem, features pepperoni, bacon, ham, roast beef, turkey and three different types of cheese. Photographed on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Daniel Burns orders a sandwich by writing his order on a bag at Which Wich in Orem on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Lawren Whipple, left, and Kirstie Andersen create a customized sandwich at Which Wich in Orem on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
I’m sure they don’t have everything that you could eat between two slices of bread at Which Wich in Orem, but there are an astonishing number of ingredients available in a near-limitless array of combinations. You’d have to make several visits to try everything on the menu, but even then you’d just be getting started.
That’s because the 50 (!) different types of sandwich available are, well, flexible. It’s sort of like what Captain Barbossa says to Elizabeth Swann in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” about the pirate’s code: “The code is more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.”
Take, for example, the Wicked, the signature “wich” at Which Wich. (The Wicked Wich — get it?) You get the same five meats every time you order it: turkey, ham, roast beef, pepperoni and bacon. Everything else, however, is up to you. You choose three different cheeses (there are 11 to choose from), choose your own dressings (there are four kinds of mayo and four mustards), add spreads or sauces, salad dressings, oils and spices.
Do you want onions? You can have them caramelized, or get red onions, or get crispy-string-style onions. And what about adding vegetables? There are 11 different options, including coleslaw and sauerkraut. Oh, and you can choose white or wheat (toasted or not toasted), or no bread at all — any wich can be served as a salad on a bed of lettuce (with croutons, if you want them).
The Wicked Wich that we tried had the five meats on white, plus cheddar, provolone and pepper jack, yellow mustard, ranch dressing on the side, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and black olives, with oil, vinegar and garlic. If you don’t like any of that stuff, but the basic idea of five meats and three cheeses is tempting, then your Wicked Wich might be completely different.
I tried the No-Rye Reuben (corned beef, saurkraut and Thousand Island dressing) on wheat, plus swiss cheese, dijon mustard, cucumbers, bell peppers, black olives and avocado, with salt and pepper. Your No-Rye Reuben might have a blueprint that looks nothing like mine.
We also tried the Pepperoni Pizzawich, the Beef & Whiz, the Grinder and the Gyro, and we only stopped there because there are only so many sandwiches that one small party can eat in a single sitting. Frankly, the only thing I regret about our selections is that we didn’t get to make more of them.
Which Wich is a national chain, but the Orem store is the first location in Utah. It’s in a brand new restaurant space at University Village, the University Mall offshoot on 800 South anchored by the Cinemark University Mall movie theater.
The sandwiches are prepared sub-style on hoagie rolls, and the price — depending on whether you include one of the four extras: bacon, avocado, double meat or double cheese — is the same for every kind of sandwich but the Wicked (which costs a little extra depending on what size you order). It’s $5.25 for a regular (7 inches), $7.25 for a large (10.5 inches), or $9.25 for a super (14 inches.)
To order a sandwich, you choose a brown paper bag from one of the 10 sandwich categories (including a Vegetarian category), then use a red marker to design your sandwich by filling in the appropriate circles on the front of the bag. (All these years after high school and college, your Scantron test-taking skills finally have a real-world application.) Frankly, ordering a Which Wich wich is almost as fun as eating one.
Well, OK, not really. The ordering system is fun, but the sandwiches themselves are fantastic. All of the ingredients are fresh, and the sandwich rolls have a nice crust and don’t compress down to doughy goo in the middle. There’s also a Kids Wich menu, with five options for younger palates.
If you like a good sandwich, then you could feed (and entertain) yourself for years to come at Which Wich. I wasn’t quite bold enough to try the Monte Cristo (ham, turkey, grape jelly and powdered sugar) on our visit, and I didn’t even realize that there’s an Elviswich (peanut butter, honey, banana slices and bacon) until after we’d left the restaurant.
That just means there’s a reason to hustle on back. I’ve got a feeling I could use a hunk, a hunk of burnin’ sandwich love.
Which Wich
Where: 1077 S. 750 East, Orem
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday
Prices: Sandwiches $5.25-$9.25; various drinks, desserts and sides available
Info: (801) 224-9424, www.whichwich.com