The Art of the Sandwich/Deli Blog

     I noticed we observed National Grilled Cheese Day earlier this week. Ahh, who doesn't like the grilled cheese sandwich.
     I don't recall my first grilled cheese. It might have been in San Antonio. A neighbor lady would make them for me with tomato soup. She always made the soup with milk not water. She said "that's the way LBJ likes 'em."

     Since those days and likely before, I've been a nut for sandwiches. I'd say sandwiches are my favorite food. I put mustard on anything. I will always have chips. And, I prefer a warm sandwich versus a cold one. It's definitely safe to say that I take my sandwiches seriously.

    So I guess it's no wonder that when we started The Big Apple Deli, I took extra time when it came to our menu. The sandwiches had to have a fun name and even more fun description.  No matter your order, if you wanted a certain sandwich on a Monday and wanted the same sandwich again on any other day, it had to look and taste the same every time. And every sandwich at B.A.D. had one simple but crucial ingredient.

The B.A.D. Ruben

     Take for example our best seller, The B.A.D. Ruben. This sandwich's origins date back years ago to a Lithuanian grocer in Omaha, Nebraska. My version dates back to 1976(ish) where I learned to make it at The Caterie in Baton Rouge, LA.
      The key then as it was during our deli days was: Four ounces of shaved corned beef, one-third cup drained sauerkraut, a hefty dollop of Thousand Island Dressing, two slices of Swiss cheese on a good rye bread... and a pickle spear, of course.
     But like all of our sandwiches, I was very particular about the way a sandwich looked, sounded and was presented. Certain breads had to be toasted to the same color every time. Each sandwich required what we called "the audible crunch." That meant, I wanted the sandwich 'dresser' to actually hear the crunch, a soft crunch-not the hard crunch of overly toasted bread, with they cut it, diagonally, of course. And, each sandwich had to be placed in its basket to look good. The best motto I ever heard from my waiting tables days in NOLA was: "Everyone eats first with their eyes."

B.A.D. Muffaletta

      
     The key ingredient to all of our sandwiches was butter. We buttered both slices of bread before they ever touched our grill. We also pre-heated all the meat on our grills so you'd get a steamy mouthful in every bite
       Some sandwiches didn't exactly prove successful, no matter how much I liked them. Our B.A.D. Muffaletta for example was an expensive bust.
      I love 'em. We flew in the special bread from Gambino's Bakery in NOLA. We flew in their special Olive Dressing too. But, the MUFF didn't take off.
      I blame its failure on price. Once we combined all the ingredients and added up the costs, we needed to charge upwards of $16 for a whole muffaletta or at least $8 for half and those were prices we needed to charge before adding a side and drink. Maybe in NOLA or even Dallas customers can pay that much for a sandwich, but not Snyder.
       Another thing I learned was, Snyder loves soup. We didn't start with soup but after enough requests we began offering it as a side. Our very first was Baja Enchilada Chicken Soup. Customers wanted it year round, even when it was above 100-degrees outside.
       We finally made up a story that the National Weather Service advised not eating hot foods for lunch when the temperature was above 90-degrees or so. Funny thing was, we'd tell people that. They'd say, "Oh, that makes sense." Then, they'd order a hot sandwich.
       The deli's a goner these days. But, I still love to make sandwiches. Here's a tip for your next hum-drum sandwich.... Butter the bread, build your sandwich, put it in the skillet like grilled cheese. Viola!

Bill Robertson, In honor of Nat'l Grilled Cheese day, try an opened faced-hot pimento cheese topped with bacon and tomato. As one customer put it: "It's a symphony in my mouth."