Notable Sandwich Special: Flashback

A meal-time time machine

Welcome back to Notable Sandwiches, a weekly feature in which Talia and I nibble our way through the bonkers document that is Wikipedia’s List of Notable Sandwiches, in alphabetical order. This week, in a change of pace we look at thirteen ghosts of sandwiches past: Supper sandwiches courtesy of Life Magazine in 1952, and Summer sandwiches from New York magazine in 1985. Hopefully these will inspire your lunchtime adventures until next week, when we return with our a Portuguese sandwich extravaganza.

From Life Magazine, June 30, 1952

Full Supper Sandwiches

THEY MAKE AN EASY BIG MEAL

The full supper sandwich marks a sharp break with most sandwich tradi-tions. It is not a crustless tea snack nor a neatly stacked store concoction.

It is a meal in the hand put together by diners who, in helping themselves and varying the proportions, satisfy both their appetites and creative urges. How varied the ingredients of other supper sandwiches may be, how many kinds of crusty bread may be used, and how attractively the meal may be served is shown on the next pages. Following them are recipes.

The pink onion sandwich above is made of marinated pink onions (in bowl), Liederkranz cheese (on cheese board) and sour rye bread. Some of the sandwiches, like the New Orleans Poor Boy, have plebeian origins and have long been known to laborers' lunch boxes. Others, such as the Riviera, a favorite of the Côte d'Azur, have a stylish past. All are easy to pre-pare. A sandwich supper does not spoil if guests are late, can be served at any time, and after the meal the housewife has few plates, knives or forks to wash, and even inveterate meat-and-potato men have had enough to eat.

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HOW TO PREPARE THEM

Pink Onions and Liederkranz
Serve 1 package of Liederkranz cheese for each person. The cheese should be at room temperature and slightly soft. Slice 1 sweet Italian onion per person into bowl. Cover every six onions with I cup olive oil, ¼ cup wine vinegar, ¾ teaspoon salt, plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Marinate for one hour. Provide a variety of dark breads — sour rye, pumpernickel, Kommissbrot. Diners spread Liederkranz on bread of their choice, top it with a heap of the marinated pink onion slices. Serve with beer.

Poor Boy
Get longest loaf of French bread available. Cut lengthwise. Butter both sides.
Cover ⅓ of the bottom of the loaf with thinly sliced salami, lapping slices over one another generously. Cover next ⅓ of loaf with sliced cheese, and last ⅓ with thinly sliced ham. Or layers of salami, cheese and ham can be put on top of one another throughout loaf. Place top of bread over filling. One loaf serves 4.
For a special tart mustard to serve with sandwich, mix 4 tablespoons of dry mustard with 1 tablespoon of the dry white wine which is served with the sandwiches.

Pizza
Cut unbaked Brown'n Serve French loaves in lengthwise halves. Scoop out some dough, leaving rim around the edges. Brush with olive oil. Cover with pieces of fresh or drained canned tomatoes. Put grated Parmesan cheese and sliced mozzarella or Münster cheese over tomatoes. Put a few fillets of anchovies or sliced, canned meatballs on cheese. Sprinkle with oregano, basil and marjoram or thyme, using at least ½ teaspoon fresh or ⅛ teaspoon dried herbs to each pizza. Brush with more olive oil, bake 10 to 15 minutes in a hot oven (400° F). Serve 1 pizza as a portion.

Fish Fry
Thaw quick-frozen fillets of flounder long enough to separate the pieces. Cut fillets into sections to fit bread slices, pat them dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dip in flour, then in slightly beaten egg, finally in cracker crumbs or corn meal. Fry 2 or 3 sections at a time in salad oil which has been preheated to 370°F. Fat should stand at least 1 inch deep in the pan. When the fish is golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes, drain on paper tow. els. Serve on old-fashioned buttered white bread with spiced cole slaw. To make spiced slaw: add to each cup of regular slaw, made at home or bought, ⅓ teaspoon caraway, celery or dill seed, or 1 tablespoonful of finely chopped onion; and ½-eup finely chopped green pepper or diced, tart apple. Garnish with leaves of fennel or dill and sprinkle finely chopped sprigs of fennel or dill on top of slaw.

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New York Magazine Jul 29, 1985

Summer Pick-me-ups

BY BARBARA COSTIKYAN

Unlike its winter counterpart, the monumental midnight Dagwood, the summer sandwich is the soul of lightness. It's often loaded with ripe, runny tomatoes and sprinkled with lots of fresh herbs. Cut it in half, and you see bright stripes of filling. Here are nine of New York's most tempting pick-me-ups.
The serious sandwich is back.

Arcadia
The sandwich star of the summer is Arcadia's triple-decker lobster club ($19.50), an intricate play of light, luxurious textures. Its base is the house brioche bread, toasted and spread with lemon mayonnaise: brioche and mayo are luscious complements to lobster. Very crisp bacon provides another counterpoint to the lobster, while ripe tomato slices and salad greens, warmed slightly by the heat of the toast, add color. Chef-owner Anne Rosenzweig thought her lunch regulars (elegant wheeler-dealers) would oblect to the informality of a sandwich, but they love it. (21 Eass 62nd Street, 223-2900)

Old-Fashioned Mr. Jennings
No. 18 — Chopped egg salad with anchovy fillets, ripe tomato, and a sprig or two of watercress instead of lettuce on buttered toast ($4.95) — isn't an overstuffed sandwich, but it is filling. “I never overwhelm the Fifth Avenue lady with too much food,” says Louis Jennings, a sandwich connoisseur since 1938. In fact, he balances everything so artfully, there's still room for an ice-cream soda. With this classic English sandwich, have his café glace: cooled coffee with coffee ice cream and whipped cream. (12 West 55th Street, 582-2238)

E.A.T.
Eli Zabar’s “Tower of Bagel” sandwich ($5) is a monument to deliciousness. Four extra-thin, untoasted bagel slices are first spread with natural cream cheese, then with E.A.T.'s own raspberry jam. Finally, some overripe fruit is pressed onto the jam and cheese. (Right now, it's raspberries.) The sandwich is a bit messy, but its sweet, tart taste is so good you won't mind getting sticky fingers. Two can share one over morning coffee or afternoon tea at E.A.T.'s gleaming new café — or take it home. (1064 Madison Avenue, near 80th Street, 879-4017)

Sachs & Horne
The Muffuletta, a sandwich from down New Orleans way looks like an Italian hero and tastes faintly like one, too — except for its sensational olive salad, which gives the concoction a terrific tang. The minced black and green olives, carrots, garlic, and cauliflower, marinated in a red-wine vinaigrette, are pressed into a small hero loaf from Policastro, which is then layered with prosciutto, salami, and provolone. The six-inch muffuletta, which costs $4.50, is made to order for takeout only. (782 Lexington Avenue, near 61st Street, 319-8030)

Safari Grill
An American sandwich with an oriental touch, chef John Terczak’s sashimi club is a new twist on tuna fish. The triple-decker combination of raw ruby tuna, prosciutto, tomato, Boston lettuce, scallions, and sesame seeds on wholewheat toast ($9) is garnished with three salads, pickled ginger, and wasabi, the searing Japanese horseradish. Add wasabi and ginger to the tuna layer, and feel the fire. The sashimi club is served at lunch all summer, or as long as the tuna are running. (1115 Third Avenue. near 65th Sireet. 371-9090)

Barney Greengrass
A Nova Scotia-and-sturgeon sandwich is a late-morning breakfast beloved by New Yorkers, and the best place for it is Barney Greengrass. A bagel is traditional, but have the combo on rye or pumpernickel instead, and ask for an onion slice on top. Its acidity cuts the velvet lushness of the fish, and its crispness adds textural con-trast. Some people like a layer of scallion cream cheese, too, but purists call it overkill. Take the Sunday sandwich ($8.50) home, or eat it there. (541 Amsterdam Avenue, near 86th Street, 724-4707)

Donald Sachs SoHo
Our favorite summertime sandwich at Donald Sachs's shop is the prosciutto, mozzarella, red onion, tomato, and marinated sweet peppers on semolina bread ($4.75); the bread sops up the combined juices of the tomato, red peppers, cheese, and onion. The taste is spicy, mellow, superfresh. “People love to watch us construct the sandwiches.” says Sacks. “It's theater.” Take this combo on a boat, eat it in the park, or munch it in a car, because there are only ten seats at Sacks's place. (120 Prince Street, 226-0165)

Mangia
It’s just a coincidence that Mangia's marvelous sandwich looks like the Italian flag, because its main ingredient is chèvre d'oc, a tangy goat cheese from south-central France. Combining it with the pungency of Italian sun-dried tomatoes and sprigs of crisp watercress on semolina adds up to a taste that is incredibly fresh. Try this beauty for your next picnic on a windswept hill, along with a bottle of wine and a nice com-panion. Made to order, it costs $4.95. (Takeout and delivery: 54 West 56th Street, 582-3061. Delivery only: 37 West 46th Street. 869-0404.)

The Ballroom
What’s unusual about Felipe Rojas-Lombardi's ham sandwich is the ham. It's jamón serrano, which is cured with Spanish paprika and pepper, and is sweeter, moister, and less salty than prosciutto. It's combined with slices of ripe tomato on a loaf from Policastro. Add the fiery red-onion relish — it will make your mouth tingle. This sandwich, here garnished with alcaparrónes (pickled caper fruit), is $3.50 at the tapas bar or in the cabaret; a larger version is $6.50. (253 West 28th Street, 244-3005)