We can eat heroes, if just for one day*

An article in today's New York Times turned my thoughts to the mighty hero, that noble, filling concoction of bread, meat, cheese and sauce that, if done right, can leave you with a heady bliss that lasts clear past lunch and on through the afternoon. The new trend, if you trust the Times (which you should, because they have someone on the hero beat), is multicultural sandwiches, like this:

"It was at Milanes, a modest Dominican storefront restaurant in Chelsea, that I had the chicken sandwich that sent me into orbit. Grecia Milanes, who opened her doors in 1995, strips the flesh and skin from a quarter roasted chicken and fills a Latino-style hero roll, which she toasts in the sandwich press with the meat and skin before layering lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on the sandwich.

The crispy skin, in combination with the other components, elevate this sandwich to near-mythic status. The sweetness of the mayonnaise, the gamy meatiness of the dark meat chicken and the crispy skin make for the Dominican equivalent of a Peking duck hero."

That may be worth the $35 Washington Deluxe round-trip fare alone. But can you get a really good blue-collar sandwich down here? Aside from the Subways that seem to be popping up on every corner not already occupied by a Starbucks, the best I can come up with is the Chicken Madness, made by Wisemiller's Deli of Georgetown.

For $5.45, you get "Mounds of grilled chicken breast, onions, sweet peppers, garlic, hot peppers, bacon and provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise," all mashed up on the grill and served with a complimentary soda.

Health-related note: If you plan on cutting calories by ordering a Chicken Madness without mayo, don't. Like the slaves running ahead of the stone blocks with brushes and oil on the way to the Pyramids' construction site, sometimes big wonders of the world need lubrication. In other words, you can't comfortably eat a Chicken Madness without the mayo.

Do you have a favorite D.C. sandwich? Tell us in the comments!

Wisemiller's - 1236 36th Street, NW - (202) 333-8254

* Alternate titles for this post considered for this post but discarded because they bear no relation to heroes include "Spatzle Oddity," "John, I'm Only Dicing" and "Moonpie Daydream." I apologize.**

** Upon additional reflection, all three titles mentioned in the above sentence describe things I've done recently. Whoa.