PLACERVILLE, Ca. (Susana Guerrero, SFGATE) — When it comes to sandwiches, Timothy Swischuk has a hard-and-fast rule: Don’t make them boring.
It’s a principle he takes seriously at his sandwich shop, Timmy’s Brown Bag, which has served massive and unique sandwiches in Placerville since 2016. A quick glance at the shop’s funky menu reveals items inspired by culinary dishes like biscuits and gravy, chicken satay, and Spam and kimchi — all served in sandwich form.
“It’s not your standard stuff. We try to keep it interesting,” Swischuk said.
Timmy’s Brown Bag recently ranked 100th on Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat, which also included two Bay Area restaurants among a selection of other U.S. eateries. The win was a complete surprise to Swischuk, who considers Timmy’s Brown Bag, a tiny 192-square-foot space, as a hole-in-the-wall business. But that hasn’t stopped locals or visitors on their way to Tahoe from finding the restaurant and picking up a hefty $14.25 sandwich.
“We try to keep it interesting”: A sign inside Timmy’s Brown Bag sandwich shop advertises the “Chicken Tinga Torta and Takis,” left; a smoked oyster sandwich, upper right; the shop’s banh mi sandwich. (Images via Yelp)
“We do treat it as a destination spot,” Swischuk said. “You can’t get [these sandwiches] anywhere else.”
‘Sandwiches have big bandwidth’
Swischuk’s passion for cooking came early in childhood when he spent hours tuning in to culinary legends Julia Child on “The French Chef,” Graham Kerr on “The Galloping Gourmet” and Martin Yan on “Yan Can Cook.” While his passion for the culinary arts began to take shape, so did his appreciation for cuisines around the world.
Before a sandwich ends up on the Timmy’s Brown Bag menu, Swischuk likes to spend ample time researching a specific entree that might be featured at the restaurant. After studying a dish, Swischuk takes a stab at creating his own interpretation of it, which is served between two slices of bread. Such is the case with the “potsticker *it’s not a cheeseburger cheeseburger* sandwich.”
“It’s an entire meal in one bite, and it has complexity,” Swischuk said.
Kevin Gomez/Special to SFGATE
Swischuk shared that he never wanted to serve traditional potstickers on their own at his restaurant. Instead, his potsticker sandwich blends Asian flavors with the classic American staple and serves it on a soft brioche bun. In lieu of a hamburger patty, the item comes stuffed with pork and veggie potstickers; miso, sesame and scallion mayonnaise; hot and sweet tomato chili sauce; pickles; onions; and a slice of American cheese. For an added kick, customers can drizzle crunchy chili garlic sauce on top.
The menu at Timmy’s Brown Bag changes whenever a new idea strikes Swischuk. Every now and then, he features a seasonal Tang BLT sandwich, which is prepared with bacon, mixed greens, local heirloom tomatoes and an unexpected ingredient: custom-ordered grapefruit-flavored pop rocks. He believes that the crackling childhood treat pairs quite well with tomatoes.
There’s a certain methodology Swischuk follows when building a sandwich at Timmy’s Brown Bag. Each menu item must feature a protein, that crunch factor, and a savory mayonnaise or aioli at its base. Swischuk believes that the sauces he creates are the vehicle that makes each sub “culturally invigorating,” thanks to the blend of spices and ingredients used.
“For me, [sandwiches] are a nice abstract piece of food,” Swischuk said. “Sandwiches have big bandwidth. The sauce is where you can get a whole lot of information.”
Years before Swischuk opened Timmy’s Brown Bag, he was an architecture professor at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, with previous stints at Syracuse University and the University of Oregon, among others. While in San Francisco, Swischuk couldn’t help but feel motivated by the vast selection of diverse restaurants around the city.
After 16 years in academia, Swischuk decided to switch things up and enrolled in San Francisco’s California Culinary Academy, a branch of Le Cordon Bleu. For his part, the switch to culinary school was natural. Not only had Swischuk cooked all his life, but he had also done plenty of cultural exploration and research as an architecture professor to draw inspiration from. To understand the architectural form, you first need to understand the cultural place, in addition to its literature, art and cuisine, Swischuk said.
“Architecture is a slow art — a real slow art. It’s mentally labor intensive and takes a really long time, and with cooking, it’s the exact opposite,” he said. “Cooking is a hyperfast art. There’s something about the speed and intensity of it that’s exciting. You make it, eat it, and then it’s gone.”
Swischuk eventually graduated from the California Culinary Academy in 2008 and soon landed a job at chef Michael Chiarello’s Napa restaurant, Bottega. After seven years of culinary experience in a fast-paced kitchen, Swischuk decided to venture off to debut his own restaurant, Timmy’s Brown Bag, in 2016.
It’s been a successful run for Swischuk, who has earned praise for his eclectic subs, including a nod from AAA, which named Timmy’s Brown Bag among “The West’s Best Sandwiches” in 2018.
Image via Yelp
