Trader Joe's Almost Sabich Pita Sandwich Kit

I've had a lot of sandwiches but never a sabich. It was briefly mentioned in one of the TJ podcast episodes from the end of last year, and it sounded intriguing. I love Mediterranean food, and even though I've seen recipes for a home-cooked version of sabich, I've never attempted it. Fried eggplant in a sandwich? Yes please! The Italians have that...so why can't we have a Mediterranean version of it in all of the falafel shops? And what could be better than Mediterranean for hiking food? Yes. I picked this up at a California TJs and took it on a hike through the woods. 

Almost Sabich - it's a tongue-in-cheek way to be politically correct. Basically it's saying, "here's something ethnically different, but it was impossible or really difficult to attempt the 'real deal' so here's our take. Hope you like it but don't hate us if it ain't the real deal." I like almost sabich better than "Mediterranean-inspired." It means there was some kind of target they were trying to hit. 

(PSA: It's pronounced like 'sah-beak.' Not 'sa-beach' LOL)...but what does "middle eastern inspired" sandwich mean? And is it a breakfast sandwich? I didn't know anything about sabiches before picking up this product, and the ignorance was nice because I didn't have any preexisting expectations (that would be shattered). And maybe that's a good way to try nearly every ethnic TJ's food. :P

Nutrition facts continued: I can't imagine sharing this container with anyone unless you're a child or eat like one. 

The kit comes with two pita halves, a couple slices of baked eggplant, a dry cabbage blend, pickled cabbage, tahini sauce, and a spicy mango sauce. As mentioned on the packaging, a typical sabich comes with hardboiled egg but it has been omitted here to keep it vegan.

Just a reminder that removing unsightly packaging, decent lighting, and VSCO app editing can make anything look irresistible. A two hour hike with no prospect of food anywhere also helps, hah.

1) The eggplant is cooked decently. It has some flavor of its own from the garlic, cumin, oregano, and peppers. No complaints.

2) I really dislike the dry vegetable blend (not a fan of slaw blends generally speaking), but this is a necessary evil for a sandwich kit that can sit for a little bit on the shelf. For me, I have to drench it in the sauce to make it edible.

3) Not a fan of the pita. My big pet peeve of mass produced pita is the fact that even when you attempt to open the pita pocket with surgical finesse, the pocket almost always breaks. Which means you can't stuff the pita to make a sandwich. Might as well pack a tortilla cuz this sandwich is ending up in a wrap.

4) Everything in combination works pretty well. The tahini is creamy and savory. The pickled cabbage adds an acidity that certainly helps out the cabbage. But the star of this show is the pickled mango sauce. It just brings everything together. It has good mango flavor. It's sweet but not too sweet thanks to acidity (it's not too acidic though so don't worry if you don't like pickled stuff), and it's nicely seasoned with various spices.

5) They need to bottle that pickled mango sauce and sell it. I'll buy it and throw it on all my salads. Seriously, it's that good. I even forgot that the sandwich is vegan.

6) $4.99 for this kit. Not bad at all.

7) I guess almost isn't always a bad thing. Almost retired. Almost a millionaire. Almost in love. Ooo..maybe not the last one.

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Almost Sabich Pita Sandwich Kit. Must use entire contents of package for best results. Also waiting for the day the pickled mango sauce drops its solo debut. 7 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? Until a better sabich comes along, I'll settle for almost.