French’s makes a dijon mustard with chardonnay. It is a great time to make a sandwich! I am a sandwich guy. Have been for a very long time. I remember summers, watching my dad at home for lunch, pile ham and Swiss on rye bread with lettuce and tomatoes and salt and pepper, maybe a little mayo or some mustard — “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?
‘But of course!”
The sandwich was cut in half and placed on a plate with a pile of regular lays potato chips and a root beer — Barq’s, Biloxi’s own — was carefully poured into a frosted mug. That mix of flavors fires off all kind of feelings, memories and sensations for me. I remember the mix of flavors. The tangy mustard and creamy mayonnaise with the earthy and sour rye bread provided a sharp wake up to the palate.
Crunchy lettuce and juicy tomatoes, tastes I was probably a ways off from acquiring at the time, did their thing to the point that you could easily forget the presumed main attraction, fatty, salty, smokey ham and funky Swiss cheese.
Follow that up with a greasy chip and a generous swig of sweet root beer, frosty and complex, and you have just experienced an embarrassment of flavorful riches.
So much of sandwich making is about feel. It is hard to nail down hard and fast rules and or central ingredients that make a sandwich great, though I tend to say pickles are a surefire way to bring crunch and acid and juice to any sandwich.
Either way, I wanted to know if I could nail down some rules, both general and specific.
Dan Blumenthal, one of the masterminds behind such established Jackson area eateries as Sal and Mookies, Bravo and Broadstreet, said that there are no rules for sandwich-making though keeping certain ingredients in mind is a sure way to ensure balance.
“To me a sandwich is a filling housed between two pieces of bread,” Blumenthal said. “Simple as that. There is no secret sauce to making the perfect sandwich, hot or cold. Use the best quality ingredients and try to balance those ingredients in terms of salty, sweet and acidic.”
Blumenthal admits that he has a soft spot for certain ingredients. Having cheese in the equation is always a plus to me and a really tasty bread makes all of the difference to me,” he said.
Bread is probably the first question that would be answered when making a sandwich. What am I putting all of this on?
Nathan Glenn, owner of Basils, knows a thing or two about making sandwiches. In addition to owning Basils, his family-founded Roosters in Fondren, an eatery known for its chicken sandwiches and cheeseburgers.
“We are the sandwich people in town,” Glenn said.
He noted that sandwiches are appealing because they are often inexpensive, easy to make and travel well. He operates under a theory that sandwich making is all about construction, regardless of ingredients.
“Think the best sandwiches give you a bit of product in every bite,” he said.
Which brings him to the bread. Basils bakes about 50 loaves of focaccia bread fresh every day. It is the base they build their sandwiches on. He said that if everything is properly layered and the bread is hearty enough, the last bites of a sandwich should be the best.
“I think some of the last few bites of one of our sandwiches is the best,” Glenn said. “Everything has been pushed to the back, the bread has soaked up any juices. The flavors are just trapped back there.”
Hunter Evans, chef and co-owner of Elvie’s Restaurant a new outfit in Jackson that emphasizes fresh and well-sourced ingredients inspired by French cafes, said that he tries to build flavors with each layer contributing something to fat, acid or texture of the whole sandwich.
Lately, Evans said they have been making vegetable-forward sandwiches at his restaurant lately. One special was an asparagus sandwich. It was fat asparagus, blanched and thrown on the grill with a fatty parmesan aioli, almonds and some lemon.
“I think I tend to like simpler sandwiches,” Evans said.
It does not get much simpler than bacon, lettuce and tomatoes sandwich, the B.L.T.
“You can't beat a BLT,” Evans said. “If the tomatoes are in season, if they aren’t I don’t mess with them.”
Evans said the most constant ingredient on his sandwiches is Duke’s mayo. Blumenthal echoed that sentiment, saying that mayonnaise or sauce are essential to keep your sandwich from drying out.
“Lastly, have plenty of mayo or sauce to keep the sandwich moist,” Blumenthal said.
Perhaps the most essential truth is that a sandwich can be easily cobbled together with whatever is on hand
“I think anything can go on a sandwich,” Evans said. “I would encourage anyone to look in the fridge and don’t be afraid to put anything between two slices of bread.”
