ISSUE 36, PICNIC, Part 4: Sandwiches
Sandwiches
The chicken salad sandwich was the classic picnic sandwich for the past century. It had certain virtues. It was not so wet as to make bread soggy (the problem with tomato sandwiches); it was filling; and you could play with the flavor by tweaking the spicing of the salad. The curried chicken salad sandwich enjoyed popularity in the 1970s, and has popularity in Florida and California. The addition of pickles, lettuce, or even a slice of sweet onion mad the chicken salad have some texture.
In South Carolina the pulled pork sandwich became a popular picnic option in the mid 1980s. Little plastic tubs of vinegar and pepper or tomato based barbecue sauce were carried in the basket. The pulled pork sandwich was usually served on a bun, although I’ve had one old school friend serve it on slices of white bread. The first pulled pork sandwich I ever had was at a famous South Side Chicago BBQ joint, Ribs & Bibs in Hyde Park; it came on Wonder Bread. (Circa 1975).
In the summer there is the temptation to tote a tomato sandwich in the basket. You know the one: heirloom tomato, thick sliced, with Duke’s mayonnaise. Some prefer this on toasted bread. But even with toast the risk of soggy bread is substantial, even if you insulate the tomato with lettuce on one side and a slice of onion on the other. If one has to have the taste of tomato, perhaps the smartest workaround is the make fried green tomatoes with your favorite dressing. Russian works particularly well.
The first submarine sandwich I had for a picnic may have dated from 1963, during one of the summers when my parents rented a beach cottage at Dewey Beach Delaware. There was a plain roadside store called the Flat Top on the Coast Road. My parents would buy three and cut them in half. My brother, sister, and I each got a half. My mother ate a half and my father ate a whole one. I can’t recall the components of the sandwich, except that there was hot pepper relish on it that my sister scraped off. I am sure that there is someone who has written about the evolution of the submarine/hoagie/grinder over the 20th century. I would be particularly interested in the story of the cold cuts used.