82 ROMERITO: shrimp, bacon, hard boiled egg, arugula and honey mustard

This Spanish sandwich on Italian bread in America just screams "Scandinavia." (Romerito? More like Sven!) This is what I picture eating for lunch in Stockholm or Copenhagen. It's cool, it's dainty. There are no strong flavors or saturated colors.

I like the pairing of shrimp with bacon (though this sandwich could have used a little more bacon). That's what I'm expecting in the "gourmet" section: Ingredient combinations and even ingredients that haven't shown up earlier. This is a successful sandwich all around.

Montaditos down: 82
Montaditos to go: 18
Next: 83 VIKINGO: smoked salmon,hard boiled egg,pepinillo (pickles from Spain) and mayo

20 Shrimp, fresh tomato, piparra and mayo

That's a lot of mayonnaise. This 100 Montaditos offering put me in the mind of a club sandwich, although really all it had in common with a club sandwich was that mayo and the tomato, and I suppose the toasty bread. 

And I can't say it was bad. Tasty, in fact.

So think of a pretty decent shrimp club sandwich, hold the bacon, and with roasted red pepper standing in for lettuce. 

Montaditos down: 20

Montaditos to go: 80

Next: 21 Tuna fresh tomato and mayo

19 Shrimp, lettuce, fresh tomato, pepinillo and mayo

Ah, yes, the pickles from Spain. Just when I was growing disenchanted with the shrimp section of the 100 Montaditos menu, these pickles that they speak of (sweet gherkins, basically) make for the tastiest yet of los montaditos de camarones.

I might even order this one again someday.

Montaditos down: 19

Montaditos to go: 81

Next: 20 Shrimp, fresh tomato, piparra (mild pepper from Spain) and mayo

18 Shrimp, lettuce, piquillo pepper and ali oli

This is the first appearance of piquillo pepper on the 100 Montaditos menu, and I am here to report that it's pretty much the same as the now-ubiquitous-in-America "roasted red pepper."

And it works nicely with the casino-shrimp-cocktail shrimp, though I have to say I doubt I'll be revisiting the shrimp section of the menu once I've finished my first hundred.

Montaditos down: 18

Montaditos to go: 82

Next: 19 Shrimp, lettuce, fresh tomato, pepinillo (pickles from Spain) and mayo

17 Shrimp, lettuce, crispy onion and caesar dressing (whole-grain bread)

This is a big moment: Our first bread shift! Whole-grain! And it's not bad at all. I think I prefer the regular bread, but this is nice for a change.

Crispy onion is always a good thing, and the lettuce didn't assert itself as much as it did in No. 16. There was some sort of dressing or mayonnaise or aioli, but I wouldn't have identified it as Caesar if I hadn't know it was supposed to be Caesar.

Overall, the sandwich is on a par with No. 15, maybe slightly superior.

Montaditos down: 17
Montaditos to go: 83
Next: 18 Shrimp, lettuce, piquillo pepper and ali oli

16 Shrimp, lettuce, hard boiled egg and mayo

This may be the first dud I've experienced at 100 Montaditos.

I like the idea of the hard-boiled egg, but I saw it more than I tasted it. Maybe a little more salt? I'm not sure I'd ever use mayonnaise if I had "ali oil" at my disposal. The shrimp were lost. The lettuce was the predominant flavor. And "hard-boiled" needs a hyphen.

Bright side: The bread shines through in a case like this.

Montaditos down: 16
Montaditos to go: 84
Next: 17 Shrimp, lettuce, crispy onion and caesar dressing

15 Shrimp, lettuce and ali oil

This 100 Montaditos sandwich is a little wan-looking, with a pinkish hue, as George Constanza would say, or like a cherub's bare red ass, as Liz Phair would say, but it tastes just fine.

These are not expense-account-steakhouse-shrimp-cocktail-grade shrimp; they are Las Vegas-$1-shrimp-cocktail-grade shrimp. You get what you pay for, and there's nothing wrong with an inexpensive crustacean now and again. 

Montadito No. 15 makes me nostalgia for the days when the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino was a cozy joint full of frugal downtown gamblers, not a glitzy frat-boy wet dream.

And, of course, there are more cheap shrimp montaditos on the way. Bring 'em on.

Montaditos down: 15

Montaditos to go: 85

Next: 16 Shrimp, lettuce, hard boiled egg and mayo