Kelly Pratt, a Chicago design graduate student at Chicago Portfolio School, loves sandwiches.
In an attempt to marry her love for design and good eats, Pratt has started a website called Stately Sandwiches to showcase the 50 states through tasty sandwich creations she makes herself.
Click here to check out some Stately Sandwiches >
"(Stately Sandwiches) combines my love of cooking — especially sandwiches — and the love of getting together with friends and meeting new people in Chicago," Pratt said about the website, where she posts mouthwatering pictures of her work.
Pratt credits her school with inspiring her to create the website.
"Being in a creative profession is challenging," Pratt said. "(Chicago Portfolio School) always promoted the idea of finding your own project and doing something you're passionate about."
To make sure she accurately represents each state, Pratt does extensive research on what sandwich combinations are popular, then authentically prepares each sandwich with help from family and friends.
Pratt posted her first sandwich creation — the Illinois Italian beef — on Jan. 29. Since then, she has researched, created, eaten and posted 11 more state sandwiches on the website.
For every stately sandwich Pratt makes, she invites people over to try it. There's one caveat, though — they must take a "first bite" photo.
"I just think food brings people together," Pratt said. "Food unites people in a way nothing else does."
Since January, Stately Sandwiches has garnered more than 150,000 page views. Because of Stately Sandwiches' popularity, Pratt has also made Facebook and Twitter accounts for the website. She says people email her suggestions for new sandwiches all the time.
Pratt just moved into a new apartment, so she's taking a quick hiatus from sandwich making. But she plans to poll Stately Sandwiches' Facebook fans soon to decide what sandwich she should research next — Indiana, Iowa or Wisconsin.
If any of these sandwiches look particularly tantalizing, make one yourself or order a poster/print of a sandwich from Stately Sandwiches' Fab.com sale, open until 6 p.m. Friday. After then, you can still order prints from the website.
CALIFORNIA: The powerhouse is a vegetarian's dream sandwich (and the perfect concoction for a California beach bum). It consists of avocados, sprouts, tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers and chive spread.
CONNECTICUT: Pratt says on the website that she's spent more than half her life in Connecticut, so trust her on this pick. The chicken parmigiana sandwich consists of chicken and melted provolone smothered with marinara sauce.
ILLINOIS: The Italian beef sandwich has beef roast dressed with bell peppers and "giardiniera" (pickled vegetables). This was Pratt's first Stately Sandwich creation.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider