Long Live The Club Sandwich 🥪
delicious double decker deli delight...
It was not so long ago that I was properly introduced to the correct definition of a CLUB Sandwich. Before you keep reading, take a guess right here.
For those of you who said “Chicken, Lettuce under Bacon,” the popular opinion says you are correct. If however, you thought the name originated due to its frequent appearance as a sandwich on club menus, then you are perhaps correct as well. The “Club Sandwich” was a menu staple as early as the late 19th century and was noted to be a favorite of former King Edward VIII of England and his wife, Wallis Simpson.
The most popular theory about its origin says that it was invented in 1894 at Saratoga Club-House in New York, so much so that Saratoga even has it on its official website.
In any event, this is quite a random issue but certainly important information. See you next week.
Cole
Long Live The Room Service Club Sandwich (Eater)
It’s a familiar scene: Exhausted by a long flight and frazzled by jet lag, a traveler checks in takes a long shower, dons a hotel robe, reclines on the ginormous crisp-sheeted bed, and picks up the phone to order a club sandwich. The trope is so common among actual travelers that the double-decker creation accounts for a significant proportion of hotels’ room service sales (more).
Mapping The World’s Best Club Sandwiches (TASTE)
Evan Saunders has eaten more than 200 club sandwiches—and those are just the ones he’s written about. As the voice behind Club Sandwich Reviews, a blog dedicated entirely to the iconic layered sandwich, Saunders has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles with one objective in mind. “My goal is very much to be the world’s leading expert on the club sandwich,” Saunders boasts. He’s definitely on his way. (more)
Gut list of favorite CLUB sandwiches in no particular order…
Palace Hotel Lobby Bar (Gstaad, CH)
Villa d’Este (Lake Como, IT)
Beverly Hills Hotel (Los Angeles, USA)
Ruby’s Cafe (NYC, USA)
Jack’s Point (Queenstown, New Zealand)
The oldest recipe for the club sandwich was published in the Good Housekeeping Everyday Cook Book, by Isabel Gordon Curtis in 1903. The recipe states:
“Club Sandwich – Toast a slice of bread evenly and lightly butter it. On one half put, first, a thin slice of bacon which has been broiled till dry and tender, next to a slice of the white meat of either turkey or chicken. Over one half of this place, a circle cut from a ripe tomato and over the other half a tender leaf of lettuce. Cover these with a generous layer of mayonnaise, and complete this delicious “whole meal” sandwich with the remaining piece of toast.”
**endnote: I applaud you for making it through this issue. On that note, what is your favorite club sandwich?**