The BLT Edition

On seasonality, balance, and bacon

Gabe Brosbe (GSB) works as a seller for enterprise software startups. In his off hours, he is culturally omnivorous, checking out food, music, and art around New York. We used to work together, and he was always guaranteed to make me laugh. - Noah (NRB)

Gabe Here. As we move through August, I have one thing on my mind: BLTs. The Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato has a humble ranking in the sandwich world. As the sixth-most popular sandwich in the United States, it falls behind the ham, roast beef, turkey, grilled chicken, and grilled cheese sandwiches (Source: Seduced by Bacon by Joanna Pruess).

There is little evidence of BLTs prior to 1900. The BLT is most likely an alteration of the club sandwich, which was introduced in the 1903 Good Housekeeping Everyday Cook Book by Dr. Evan Mee, and includes sliced turkey along with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. The rise of the BLT can be tied to the rapid expansion of supermarkets after World War II, which allowed ingredients to be available year-round. In 1958, in an effort to boost sales, Hellmann’s pushed mayonnaise as the “traditional” BLT condiment, further moving the sandwich into public consciousness. I have to agree with Hellmann’s: although I prefer Duke’s, the BLT is one of the rare times I reach for the mayo and I do it with gusto! 

Why is this interesting?

Ultimately, the beauty of the BLT lies with sage fashion advice credited to Coco Chanel: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” In this case, the slice of turkey was the bucket hat that you left on the dresser before you met your friends at the bar. 

The BLT is less of a sandwich and more of the world’s most perfect tomato delivery device. I eat 95% of my BLTs during the months of July and August, when tomatoes are at their perfect peak. Food writer J. Kenzi Lopez-Alt “believes that a BLT is not a bacon sandwich with additional ingredients, but rather, a tomato sandwich seasoned with bacon.” My fiancé is a vegetarian (Samuel Jackson voice) and I don’t even think the BLT suffers much when we sub well roasted shiitakes for bacon. 

The BLT from Winner in Park Slope, Brooklyn showcases their amazing bread.

I wanted to learn more from the folks putting out the best BLTs in NY, so I went down to Diner in South Williamsburg, drawn in by their promise of “House-cured and smoked pork belly” and She Wolf bread. Speaking to our waitress Leigh and her colleague at the bar, we learned that a great BLT is about having “great product.” Leigh told me they are so close to their suppliers that she knows the names of the pigs at the farm. I didn’t ask, not wanting to get to know my sandwich so intimately. What makes the BLT special is that great ones are fleeting: Diner only have their seasonal heirloom tomatoes for less than a month and you have to come down to the restaurant to see if they truly have the sandwich on the menu. In fact, the smoked pork belly had been substituted with bacon on the day I went. 

The Diner BLT 

With BLTs, as with life, you never know what you’re going to get! Ultimately, high-quality seasonal BLTs are like rare Pokémon for locavores: catch them while you can. (GSB)

BLT Recipe of the Day:

My ideal BLT to make at home consists of the She Wolf sourdough pullman, Duke’s Mayo, bacon from The Meat Hook, heirloom tomatoes, and green leaf lettuce from the McCarren park farmers market. (GSB)

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Gabe (GSB)

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