Enjoying The World’s First Fast Food
Our world is defined by speed and instant gratification. Especially when it comes to food with instant breakfasts and microwave dinners, takeout and food delivery. But before McDonald’s and DoorDash and GrubHub, there was a fast food that’s as popular today as when it was invented in England 300 years ago: The sandwich.
It’s 5 minutes to noon on Wednesday afternoon. I’ve just put plates, forks and water glasses on my dining room table. I’ve left my apartment door unlocked. In a few moments, my friend Peter will walk in. Peter and I play table tennis twice a day: at 12:30 pm and at 5:00 pm. He is a mechanical engineer in his mid-30s, and I am an 83- year-old former experimental physicist and science teacher. Peter is much larger than me physically: he stands 6’2” compared to my 5’7.” He outweighs me by 50 pounds. Most important, he hits a ping pong ball much harder than I knew was possible.
After a while, I started making lunch for us, and Peter would come up at noon. I’d make a special sandwich and we would eat it with Trader Joe’s Ridge Cut potato chips, the best I’ve ever tasted. (These chips are so good that I have to hide the bags from myself in my apartment and try to keep from eating the whole bag when I find them.) After lunch, we’d go to the room in my apartment and play for half an hour.
How Bread & Meat Became a Sandwich
Historians of the sandwich tell us that John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich invented the sandwich in the late 18th century so that he would not have to leave his roulette table to dine. While claiming credit for this delicious dish, he omitted to mention that when he went to the eastern Mediterranean, he got the idea by seeing grilled pizza, small breads, and canapes served by the Greeks and Turks.
He then realized how convenient it would be for him and others if they had access to quick and delicious small dinner foods. So, he created the sandwich, based on what he had learned abroad. At first, the sandwich was popular only among England’s gentrified class, who adopted it as a light meal while at drinking parties. It gradually spread to the middle and lower classes by the end of the 18th century.
Here’s another version of the history of the sandwich. As a child, John Montague developed an interest in thinly sliced meats such as ham, turkey, and roast beef. He experimented with putting these meats together with two slices of bread. After many “failures” such as placing a piece of turkey on top of two slices of bread and omitting the bread entirely, he discovers the secret on April 27, 1758: He places slices of ham between two slices of rye bread after first slathering mustard on the ham. He invites friends to try it, and it becomes an instant success.
My Personal “Go-to Sandwich”
I’ve been making the same turkey sandwich over and over again since I ate one five years ago in June and Ho’s, a gourmet deli in Rye, NY. I was amazed at its taste and texture. It was simple, elegant, and delicious. So, I made it my go-to sandwich. The Sandwich has passed the test of time. It never fails to please.
Here’s how you make it: cut a fresh baguette in half, put a quarter pound of thin sliced turkey breast on one side, add a thin slice of Brie cheese, a few pieces of honey crisp apple, and a generous dollop of mustard on the other side. Simple, you may be thinking. But many innovations, such as the incandescent light bulb share this quality. Simple but amazing.
What makes this sandwich special? It combines four tastes and three textures. But you must use the best ingredients. I discovered that Cafasso’s, a Fort Lee gourmet market, roasts its own turkey. The usually packaged turkey breasts are not in the same league. Cafasso’s turkey is a must for the sandwich. Honey crisp apples and Inglehoffer’s stone-ground honey mustard give complexity to the sandwich. A fine Brie and Cafasso’s fresh baked baguettes round out the combination of tastes and textures.
Every bite is a delight. What more can you ask of food?
When I was in college, I worked part-time at IBM’s research lab on 116th Street across the street from Columbia. My boss, a Swiss physicist, once told me that in the future, I may not l be able to purchase a Bentley or a Patek Phillipe handmade watch. He added, “But you will still be able to buy the world’s best sandwich.”
And he was right! For a few dollars, you can now eat The Sandwich, my candidate for one of the best meals in the world at any cost. Peter and I eat this sandwich every weekday when we play ping pong.
It’s heaven on a plate.
