He prefers the term "builds," of course. "You always build a sandwich," Cooper tells me, "because people who make sandwiches should just make peanut butter and jelly."

At his Blagden Alley restaurant on Monday night, the Rogue Toque fashioned a makeshift panini press out of a small collection of shiny pots, pans, tin foil—and, at one point, even employed the arms of one of his underlings ("I don't have a brick," he explained)—which he used to construct me a pretty substantial sandwich. It consisted of corned beef, sauerkraut, pork belly, and gruyere, dressed with red wine aioli and creole mustard, all crushed between what appeared to be two thinly breaded loaves of butter. "It's all heart healthy," he jokes.

The name of the sandwich? "Shott in the Heart," he tells me. ("Derek came up with that one," he adds, referring to Rogue 24 bartender Derek Brown.)

An appropriate, if somewhat morbid, moniker, what with the Coop preparing to undergo open-heart surgery the following day.

Still, I was feeling pretty honored by the namesake. At least until fellow food scribe Amanda McClements mentioned that the restaurant has a cocktail named after her, too.

The occasion for this bold display of intricate sandwich-making—er, building: a Gilt City soiree toasting the launch of "Rogue Sessions," a series of guest chef dinners taking place at the restaurant over the next several months while Cooper recovers from his operation. The $185-per-person dinners kick off Tuesday night with Volt's Bryan Voltaggio in the guest slot.

For a guy facing life-threatening health issues, Cooper sure acted good-humored about the whole thing—surreal send-off celebration and all. "It's like when you're in Manhattan and a car flips over and everyone's watching," he tells me while his monstrous sandwich is cooking.

This grand corned beef build-out could be the start of something new for Cooper. The chef tells me he'd like to open his own sandwich shop—one with bread that doesn't rip up the roof of your mouth when you eat it.

Here's to hoping for a successful surgery and speedy recovery, chef, so that your sandwich-making dreams might become a reality.

How does one go about achieving such greatness?

Just head over to the Restaurant Raters main page and let us hear your opinion on any establishment, whether your new favorite joint or an old spot that you can't stand anymore. We'll be selecting a winner on Oct. 1, so time is of the essence. Get those critiques in and make them count.

Once your review is in, you will be automatically entered into the contest to serve as a judge at the Taste of Georgetown, right next to such well-known foodies as Nycci Nellis of The List Are You On It and Amanda McClements of Metrocurean. The winner will be picked based on the entries received before the deadline.

Here's a peek at the list of restaurants that you could be judging. Do you think you have what it takes to stand in judgment of others?

Photo courtesy of  a Taste of Georgetown

Alex Nicholson over at BrightestYoungThings got bored and decided to put together a Google map on where the Obama family has eaten since they moved into the White House. As Nicholson writes, "If you tell your boss you are making an 'Obama Ate Here' Google Map, and she says it's a good idea, it's okay to do it at work."

If you haven't read it yet, the Post's Reliable Source talked to Amanda McClements, Don Rockwell, and me about the Obamas' dining habits, which have already generated a major bump for Ray's Hell Burger and an unwanted bump at the Dairy Godmother.