Bobby O

Archived MySpace blog
Category: Food and Restaurants

I fear I may be eating a sandwich named after a Bruin.

Yeah, OK, I'm odd. I'm odd for thinking about it, and even odder for caring. But you're reading it now, so here's the deal.

TJ's Deli, formerly TJ's Breakaway, and/or Breakaway Deli, makes a sandwich called the "Bobby O". Pastrami, Corned Beef, Russian Dressing, and Cole Slaw. I get mine on Rye. It's kinda their take on the Reuben.

But anyway... way back when, when New Haven was still a hockey town, and the legacy of the Blades, the Nighthawks, and... dare I say... the Beast were still part of the fabric of this burgh, Breakaway Deli celebrated this fact. Hockey memorabilia everywhere. Now, post even the New Haven Knights, in the shadow of a dismantling New Haven Coliseum, TJ's pays its allegiance to the Red Sox, the Patriots, and Nascar. But some of the sandwich names remain... Bobby O, and of course, The Beast.

Bobby Orr played during the hay-day of hockey. His number 4 hangs from the rafters at the Banknorth Garden in Boston.

Why is this important? Its not. The Boston Bruins, and their history, mean nothing to me. That's my point. Why am I eating a sandwich named after a Boston Bruin?

OK, OCD much? Why do I care? I'm just odd that way. I'd probably order the Guy LaFleur even if it was made with head Cheese on Pumpernickel. I'm like that. I consume with a bias that makes no rational sense. I'm always excited to purchase Irish- and Canadian-made products, and somehow I'm upset to eat a really good sandwich that's likely named after an ex-Bruin.

I need some serious help I think.

Or, I need Tom to make a tasty sandwich named after Kenny Dryden.