48 BBQ pulled pork, cheddar cheese, lettuce and mustard

I have to admit, I didn't "get" this one. I wouldn't put anything other than cole slaw on barbecue pork. Cheddar cheese? Yellow mustard? And that's not the first weird use of yellow mustard I've encountered at 100 Montaditos -- maybe them Spaniard types have a different relationship with yellow mustard than we do?

But the darn sandwich was pretty good. And then I had an epiphany: chili dog. We put yellow mustard, improbably, on chili dogs. Cheddar cheese, too, at least sometimes, sometimes, for that matter.

Against my better judgment, I really liked this sandwich.

Montaditos down: 48
Montaditos to go: 52
Next: 49 BBQ pulled pork, crispy onion and chipotle alioli

39 Burger, cheddar cheese, bacon, crispy onion and chipotle alioli

We now come to an odd section of the 100 Montaditos menu that I have to conclude -- though it isn't labeled as such -- is intended as the children's menu. In fact, I'm just going to give these hamburger- and hot-dog-themed montaditos that label.

Now to the first of the two burgers. Man, that is one ugly gray nugget of beef. And the taste is pretty similar to the look. Now, if they had called this meatloaf instead of a burger, I'd buy it. And it would probably taste better. So that's the trick here: Think "burger" and you'll be disappointed. Think "meatloaf" and, well, if you like meatloaf, you might be in luck.

This, by the way, is the first appearance on the menu of chipotle aioli, or "chipotleaioli." (Why it's not "chipotle ali oil," I don't know.) The bites with this new condiment were my favorite bits of this meatloaf, er, burger.

Montaditos down: 39
Montaditos to go: 61
Next: 40 Burger, bacon, lettuce, fresh tomato and mayo

30 Philly steak, cheddar cheese, fresh tomato and lettuce

A wise amateur culinary historian named Joe H. wrote a message-board post some years back explaining the difference between the Philly cheesesteak and the popular-in-D.C. "steak and cheese." Before I read that post, I had rolled my eyes at the offer of "lettuce, tomato and mayo?" with such a sandwich. I was in Philly mode, and I wanted fried onions, hot peppers and maybe ketchup with that hot sandwich, not hamburger condiments.

So 100 Montaditos' No. 30 starts to sound like a steak-and-cheese, but once I get my mind set for those, I'm wanting mayo. Where's my mayonnaise? Without it, the effect is more along the lines of a very bland, boring cheeseburger.

Montaditos down: 30
Montaditos to go: 70
Next: 31 Philly steak, blue cheese, green pepper and ali oil

29 Philly steak, cheddar cheese, piquillo pepper and crispy onion

The piquillo pepper is the star of this sandwich, which is odd, given that it hasn't stepped to the forefront in any of its previous appearances, and given that we're talking beef and cheddar here. (It's also not visible in the photo.)

But that's what I'm tasting first and foremost, and that's not such a bad thing.

Montaditos down: 29
Montaditos to go: 71
Next: 30 Philly steak, cheddar cheese, fresh tomato and lettuce

27 Philly steak and cheddar cheese

We have come to the "Philly steak" portion of the 100 Montaditos menu, and let me say this about that: Spain is a long way from Philadelphia.

The meat doesn't taste so bad -- it's not too chewy, and there's a nice black-pepper tang -- but it looks awful and the cut is all wrong. These are thick chunks of gray meat, not paper-thin slices that you watch turn from red to brown on a flat-top griddle.

The cheese is a decent cheddar (making its menu debut), but again it's not anything close to the Cheez Whiz or provolone or American that you'd be offered in Philadelphia.

And the bare-bones beef-plus-cheese combination is missing something. It tastes like something an annoyingly picky eater might order.

"That's it, sir, beef and cheese? No mayo?"
"Eew -- I hate mayonnaise."

"No hot peppers?"
"Eew. Tongue go burnie-burnie!"

"No sweet peppers?"
"Still eew."

"Not even lettuce and tomato?"
"Vegetables? What are you, my mom?"

Montaditos down: 27
Montaditos to go: 73
Next: 28 Philly steak, brie cheese and arugula