How do YOU like to kick up a sandwich?

I have been taking more or less the same sandwich to work for about ten years now. Whole grain bread, mayo, two slices of cheese (different kinds), and a bunch of lunch meat (usually turkey or chicken). Rarely, I'll sub a good mustard in for the mayo. Or I'll add tomato slices or avocado. A while back, my wife pickled some cucumbers so I had homemade pickles on my sandwiches. For a good while now since then, she's been pickling jalapenos for me to put on the sandwiches.

If I didn't have that, I'd probably reach for my spicy BBQ sauce or Sriracha from Underwood Ranch. They're not paying me, but I really want them to succeed so I can keep buying their sauces. They got fucked over by that green cap rooster brand that makes Sriracha, so now instead of supplying their peppers to them, they just make their own shit and it's amazing. They have a garlic pepper sauce that I blew through really quickly. That shit would probably slap on my sandwiches too, but it didn't last long enough to try lol. It was good in mac and cheese though. And stir fry.

Is it weird that I try to make sure to say fuck somewhere whenever I recommend any specific product just to avoid any accusations of it being an ad? This isn't an ad. Fuck Disney. Cum on a Big Mac. Shit on a Bugs Bunny plushie. There, now no corporation would want to be associated with this comment.

I'm not a man, can I still share?

Pickles. Specifically pickled onions and peppers. They make every sandwich so much better!

Roast beef, pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomato, olives, pickles, sometimes mushrooms, on practically any kind of sandwich bread or burger bun.

I'm not usually into wheat bread though, but given all the other flavors combined, wheat bread works too.

Edit: I totally forgot the mayo, extra mayo for me. Failing any mayo, ranch dressing works for me too. But hey, to each their own..

Sometimes, when I feel like treating myself, I'll toast the bread.

I've grown with years of a frozen bread/salami slice/bread sandwich for school break and later work lunch break. In winter it didn't even thaw fully so eating frozen sandwich (I was preparing them in bulk). When told this to my wife she was appaled. Now I have my own (sourdough of course) wholemeal bread, some cured meat, homemade kimchi or sirarcha (or just mayo sometimes). Maybe roasted peppers or something similar if at hand (but it's rare).

Horseradish sauce will spice up pretty much any meat based sandwich that normally has mayo.

Grill it!

I like to add some chunks of brie cheese to my BLT. I make my PBJ with blueberry preserves instead of jelly.

I always use horseradish Mustard on my sandwiches, but my "kick it up a notch" is putting cool ranch doritos on em. Many different chips and doritos make a sandwich awesome better, including just salted potato chips, but cool ranch is my favorite.

Throw some doritos on it. Or a few jalapeños

I do spinach in lieu of lettuce. It's something.

I presume this is a very well-understood fact, but l also find that a sandwich prepared the day prior and given a night in the fridge before being carted to work is superior to one prepped and eaten immediately or only left in a lunchbox for a handful of hours from that morning. The bread softens up nicely as it passively takes on moisture from the spread and toppings.

I will sometimes stir fry mushrooms and add to any sandwich with cheese and ham for some extra juice and flavor. Or slice a boiled egg. Also cherry tomatoes. Or a slice of a larger tomato. Or grilled vegetables…. So many variations you can make. For a break from the yellow cheese and ham I will sometimes get some smoked salmon or whatever fish I can with some creamy cheese and lettuce. Avocado too goes well with… well… all of the above.

I don't often do sandwiches, but a pickle is classic. Or maybe some crisps, or like a lot of lettuce.

For me the crunch is the juice

While in England last year, wife and I stopped in this pub for beers and rest. We were tired from walking all day. When we smelled a grilled cheese being cooked, we both were about salivating! I went up to the bar, and asked the guy if he could make another. He did, and when he brought it out, he said, “I added a little pickle in case you want it.” I just nodded at first, but pretty quickly realized there was not a pickle anywhere on the plate. Or in the sandwich. Instead, he meant Branston Pickle in a little portion cup next to the sandwich. I smelled some, and tried a little on my half of the toastie. SO. GOOD. I had ordered some on Amazon before we left for home.

U can really step up a sandwich with a nice "fresh" style mozzarella. Also a little bit of tomato paste adds a great kick of umami.

I need pickles on all my classic sandwiches, including burgers and fries chicken

Balsamic vinegarette does wonders to even something as simple as a bologna and cheese. It soaks into the bread nicely giving it a zesty flavor.

I'm a simple man. Toast, mayo, tomatoes, salt.

Hot sauce. For instance a simple peanut butter or cheese sandwich and hot sauce. Omelet of two eggs whisked with hot sauce.

There are very few sandwiches not immediately improved by the addition of crisps..

My go to "spices" that almost never fail are ketchup and/or Sriracha

Two things. On many sandwiches add a little hummus.

On grilled cheese sandwiches I like to put a little garlic salt on the outside.

Not necessarily all at once, but a few minutes in the toaster oven, thinly sliced onions, sauerkraut, sriracha mayo, and most importantly that fancy diagonal cut will turn my sandwiches up a notch

Forgot to mention in my original post, but hummus is fantastic on a chicken or turkey sandwich! Slather it on in place of mayo to add moisture and a nice garlic kick.

I love adding German Hot Mustard on the bottom slice of bread, veg, cheese, and meat, followed by a normal creamy mayo. That gives my sandwiches a kick of flavor. Sometimes, I’ll season my mayo with hot sauce, cumin, cilantro, and everything seasoning. That also elevates a sandwich for me.

This isn't a "one extra ingredient" but this is as close an outlet that I'll have for this sandwich I made for the first time over the summer.

Sear a ribeye on both sides, cut into strips and cook again in Japanese BBQ sauce.

Take some white bread, preferably milk bread, spread some Kewpie mayo on both pieces

Add kimchi to the bread that will be your sandwiches crown

Add the steak to the sandwiches heel

Close sandwich and enjoy

I’m a sandwich fiend too, with tastes similar to yours. In the pursuit of ever-increasing dullness, I’ve been trying to get away from eating nitrates every single day, and damned if all the grocery store brands of lunch meat aren’t packed with ‘em. Even the ones that say “no nitrates added” have an asterisk where they explain that yes, they do have added nitrates, but they’re produced the natural way, by putting celery sticks in particle accelerators.

Costco has deli-sliced turkey that fits the bill, but the sandwich doesn’t come out the same. It’s a different sandwich, really.

I may have to give up on nitrate avoidance. One person can only be expected to do so much.

Branston Pickles is one way. Or a slice of pickled cucumber from "Spice Girl" in Rotterdam - they pickle their cucumbers with habaneros.

Pepper butter is another way to improve a sandwich. Or tomato butter made from blended dried tomato in oil mixed with butter. The addition of oil makes it an easier spread, too, but don't use olive oil here, it easily gets bitter in the blender.