Super Heroes

UNSUNG AMERICAN HEROES THE LESSER-KNOWN OF OUR NATION DESERVE YOUR ATTENTION

ohn montagu, a.k.a. the 4th earl The handy concept wouldn’t take hold in the of , had a problem. A rakish Americas until after the Revolutionary War, Jgambler, he was in the midst of a and in the 1800s recipes started appearing in marathon gaming session, “so absorpt in play,” cookbooks for oyster loaves (the proto-po’boy), wrote French literato Pierre-Jean Grosley in ham sandwiches and tongue on buttered biscuits. his 1772 book, A Tour to London, “that, during As the country evolved through westward expan- the whole time, he had no subsistence.” sion, war, industrialization and immigration, In addition to gambling, Montagu was so did the multitudinous concepts of what goes an avid traveler and had seen people of the between two slices of . Eastern Mediterranean eat meat pinched Regions grew traditions with fiercely loyal between flatbread. He asked the servants followings. We all know about the Philly chees- to bring him “a piece of , between two esteak, the roll and the aforementioned slices of toasted bread, which he [ate] without po’boy, and those can be sublime, but have you ever quitting the game,” according to Grosley. heard of the ? How about the Navajo “This new dish grew highly in vogue during mutton or Oklahoma prime rib? America’s my residence in London; it was called by unsung sandwiches are waiting to be discov- the name of the minister who invented it.” ered, and they each have their own fascinating Thus, the sandwich. backstory. Let this list get you started.

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WHERE TO GET THE GOODS Pretty much anywhere sandwiches in Buffalo are served, including The Bar-Bill Tavern (barbill.com) and Schwabl’s (schwabls.com) NEW YORK When friends and family visit Keith up with . It’s unclear who Raimondi, owner of The Dapper Goose in created the beef on weck, but sandwich Buffalo, he and his wife/business partner, history credits William Wahr, a Bavarian Peggy Wong, pile everyone in the baker, with bringing kummelweck bread from car and drive half an hour to The Bar-Bill Germany in the late 1800s. “It had Tavern in East Aurora. “It’s cash only, great texture, and those punches of salt super crammed and the guys carve every are everything,” says Raimondi, who adds single beef on weck to order from a station that the bread’s texture absorbs some of on the bar.” The name is an abbreviation of the “messy beef juices.” “Food wise we’re kummelweck, the German salt-and-caraway- known for wings,” says Raimondi, “but crusted roll—jus-soaked, if you choose— it’s the beef on weck we’ve waited up to cradling ruby ribbons of rare lit an hour for.”

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GETTY IMAGES (CUDIGHI) circa 1908. The luncheonette tops get an extra bun.” Nick’s Kitchen carved instone—in Greensburg, Hoosier State’s official sandwich Indonesian Grillserves the both version spiced with lemongrass- in Huntington, Indiana, claims halfway between Indianapolis a piece oftenderloin pounded out to agrand circumference, the sandwich as its invention WHERE TO GETTHEGOODS the Tenderloin Lovers Trail at Indiana Foodways Alliance, Find more than70 venues on stars pig—more specifically fifth-largest pork producer, “Sometimes people need to theirs with lettuce, tomato, breaded and deep-fried. “It which organizes the state’s traditional sandwich and a but the accessories are not not are accessories the but says Lindsey Skeen ofthe can the be size ofa plate,” so it makes sense that the and Cincinnati, Mayasari onion, pickles and mayo, Tenderloin Lovers Trail. PORK TENDERLOIN Indiana is the nation’s scented tomato curry. indianafoodways.com INDIANA

like Vango’s pizzeria inMarquette, ( Upper Peninsula love their Italian cloistered Parm cousin you’ll only joints, such as Ralph’s Italian Deli ketchup and onions, while others, Translation: Locals inMichigan’s with cinnamon and cloves. Inthe in Ishpeming, treat the sandwich vangospizza.com), Ralph’s Italian Deli “Cudighi” (pronounced cuh-duh- sandwich slingers across the UP like aburger, and bookend them change from shop to shop. Some in wide white rolls, but toppings came to the Upper Peninsula in melted mozzarella, making it a cotechino, apork from smother it intomato sauce and ( Northern Italy typically spiced waves to work the iron ore and sear their cudighi on aflat top, ralphsitaliandeli.com) andLawry’s Northern Italian immigrants Pasty Shop(lawryspasties.com) WHERE TO GETTHEGOODS like ahot dog, with mustard, Yoopers love their cudighis. find in the WolverineState. late 1800s and early 1900s, ghee) is an anglicization of copper mines. These days, pork-sausage sandwiches. Find topversions atVango’s CUDIGHI MICHIGAN ( sandwich, so he named it after his my research, aChinese or Korean bread with tomato, lettuce, onion, hometown. “The untoasted bread institution, Mai Lee, where green soaks everything up. It’s asloppy mess and atotal Louis St. thing.” oldstlouischopsuey.weebly.com) Tran’s family, who arrived inthe from Paul St. and opened achop to restaurateur QuiTran. “From Minnesota circa 1940, according pickles and mayo.” The inventor sandwiches, he took an egg-foo- Mai Lee (maileestl.com), Chinese young patty and put it on white onions and bamboo shoots give U.S. in1980, serves various St. Louis, the Paul St. sandwich’s gentleman moved to Louis St. com the egg patties crunch.Other WHERE TO GETTHEGOODS iterations. “I still crave them discovered Americans loved Though it’s aspecialty ofSt. shops offer ham and shrimp didn’t know what to call the suey,” Tran says. “When he Express (chineseexpressmo. Pauls at their 35-year-old origins cantraced be to ), Old St.Louis ChopSuey regularly,” says Tran. AMERICAN WAY AMERICAN – 69 ST. PAUL MISSOURI Super Heroes Super 13/10/2020 21:39 066_FT_America_Unsung_SandwichesBKJB.indd 70 70 – AMERICAN WAY70 – AMERICAN Super Heroes Super 12/10/2020 11:12

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XXXXXXXX cucumber and onion as atangy, cream cheese and finely chopped inventing the mixture ofseasoned Jennie C. Benedict gets credit for Louisville caterer and entrepreneur you’ll find it. Twentieth-century spread and the sandwich inwhich astatewideof both cream cheese-based cousin, Benedictine is the name Called pimento cheese’s Kentucky BENEDICTINE

KENTUCKY of walnut wheat. slices between bacon and lettuce Benedictine, cucumber slices, Queen Anne sandwich layers in Louisville, whose high-class establishments suchas The Café bridal showers and Kentucky more than acentury at Derby parties, The regional favorite has endured for crunchy filling for tea sandwiches. or getyourself invitedto pick upatubatanydeli or market inLouisville, Check outTheCafé ( GET THEGOODS thecafetogo.com ), AMERICAN WAY AMERICAN – 71 a Derby party WHERE TO

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MARYLAND LAKE TROUT To get the inside joke that is the lake between slices of white bread, it’s often trout sandwich, you’d need to be a crispy planks of fried Atlantic whiting native of the Baltimore metro region or masquerading under the lake trout at least a fan of The Wire. The moniker. “Crabs are Baltimore’s most Baltimore-set detective drama outed iconic seafood, but crabs are the fish in its fourth season: “No lake, expensive,” says food and drink writer no trout … white fish, trash fish … all Drew Lazor, who grew up outside the marketing, all dressed up like city. “So there’s this secondary something it ain’t,” bantered detectives tradition: Crabs are what we eat when Jimmy McNulty and Bunk Moreland. we have money, but when we don’t we Doused with hot sauce and slid eat other stuff, like lake trout.”

WHERE TO GET THE GOODS Lazor’s favorite is Hip Hop Fish & Chicken (hiphopfc. com), though they don’t use the term “lake trout” and serve the white bread on the side for DIY sandwich building

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WHERE TO GET THE GOODS John’s Roast Pork (johnsroastpork.com) and Tommy DiNic’s (tommydinics. com) are the OGs, while Angelo’s (angelospizzeria southphiladelphia.com) is the most respected newcomer in town

PENNSYLVANIA ROAST PORK “The sandwich of Philadelphia is not sandwich’s standard-bearers in town, the . It’s the roast pork,” says though DiGiampietro himself does an Danny DiGiampietro, owner of Angelo’s, incredible rendition starring succulent the viral pizza-and-hoagie specialist in slices of pork leg (which he prefers to the South Philly. “I lived in Florida for five years butt many others use) roasted with tons and the first thing I did when I came home— of garlic, thyme and rosemary, plus extra with the exception of seeing my mother— bones to enrich the jus with marrow-powered was go to Tommy DiNic’s to get a roast-pork umami. Sharp or mild provolone, tender sandwich.” DiNic’s in Center City and broccoli rabe and hot peppers are the John’s Roast Pork in South Philly are the traditional toppings.

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066_FT_America_Unsung_SandwichesBKJB.indd 73 12/10/2020 11:12 066_FT_America_Unsung_SandwichesBKJB.indd 74 74 WAY – AMERICAN population. Either way, the tamale Super Heroes Super request. Askforit“dragged through salt. Its origins are debated. Some Other hotdogstandsoffer them on cornmeal tamale was always part onion, relish, mustard and celery eventually met up with the city’s tamale inthe early 20th century. Fat Johnnie’s, aSouthSideclassic. migrants or African Americans during the Great Migration and snuggled into apoppy-seed roll, sandwich is asoft, spicy tamale instead ofthe traditional masa the garden” forallthetrimmings deep hot dog tradition, and the smothered inchili and topped, say it began inthe Mississippi peppers, pickle spear, tomato, and steamed inpaper instead WHERE TO GETTHEGOODS Delta, where either Mexican Chicago condiments ofsport These tamales—which were developed aregional style of of Chicago’s robust Mexican found afoothold inChicago. made with gritty cornmeal of husks—journeyed north if you like, with the typical Another story claims the mother-in-law was born. Chicago’s mother-in-law MOTHER-IN-LAW ILLINOIS

sweetens and the window to catch fairly uniform: beef patty, charred few weeks inlate summer. “Their or at Albuquerque’s quirky Monte ( tumbleweed town ofSan Antonio Fe-based cookbook author Cheryl Alters Jamison explains that the Hatch area inthe south or one of them inthe coveted green phase newmexico.org/things-to-do/cuisine) the peppers is sacrosanct. Santa grow well. As the peppers ripen Whether you partake ofagreen chile cheeseburger at the wood- chiles must hail from either the provenance and harvest time of bold vegetable quality, heat and sweetness come together inthe (best for burgers) is fleeting—a The Green ChileCheeseburger paneled Owl Bar&Cafe inthe a handful ofspots where they most wonderful way,” swoons from green to red, their flavor steakhouse, the elements are cheese, soft toasted bun. The WHERE TO GETTHEGOODS American, cheddar or jack New Mexico green chiles, Carlo liquor store-cum- Trail boasts 50venues CHEESEBURGER GREEN CHILE Alters Jamison. NEW MEXICO

closed its boundaries, so we thought meat over an open flame, while on food truck inPhoenix, where they we could bring that food here,” says serve Navajo mutton sandwiches: special occasions growing up. On the truck they sear it on aflattop, She, her husband and their adult the nearest grocery store. “Sheep then charbroil it—but the results green chiles, half abaked potato, kids runthe Emerson Fry Bread from the wool for blankets to the bread, something Wilson had on fat for ceremonies,” says Wilson. were our main source ofprotein Roxanne Wilson grew up inthe are still legit. The sandwich has the reservation they cooked the and we used the whole animal, also been a silver lining during Navajo Nation, two hours from the pandemic. “The reservation customer base has risen from 3 Wilson. “Since then our Native sliced and grilled leg oflamb, riding on crispy yet puffy fry WHERE TO GETTHEGOODS and half agrilled ear ofcorn percent to about 95,” she says. Emerson Fry Bread truck NAVAJO MUTTON ( roaminghunger.com/ emerson-fry-bread) ARIZONA

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JIM BEHYMER / SANDWICHTRIBUNAL.COM (MOTHER-IN-LAW)

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MASSACHUSETTS The components of the sticky, sweet entrepreneur Archibald Query turned the Fluffernutter are very straightforward: elixir into the Marshmallow Fluff we know “Marshmallow Fluff, peanut and today and, with heavy marketing (including usually the cheapest white bread available,” the Flufferettes radio show), made the treat a says Kevin Alexander, an award-winning sensation. “At least half the food writer, author of Burn the Ice and kids in school would have -and- native. The sandwich is a New Fluff instead of peanut butter-and-jelly,” England staple, but its origins lie in France, Alexander says of his youth in the ’80s and where World War I soldiers from ’90s. “Since sugar has become the scourge of Swampscott, Massachusetts, witnessed our society, putting candied marshmallow on pharmacists creating throat remedies from white bread is no longer as hip as it once was marshmallow root and brought the concept and the Fluffernutter has become more of a back to the States. In 1917, Somerville regional outlier.”

WHERE TO GET THE GOODS According to Alexander, can sometimes be found at neighborhood sandwich shops, but the most reliable place to have one is in your home kitchen XXXXXXXX

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