September 21, 2005

Sandwich Construction

I hit the Wendy's "drive thru" today for lunch.
A Spicy Chicken Sandwich with pickles and cheese, no mayo. It's really pretty good. However, I feel that I need to instruct sandwich makers the world over on the proper placement of condiments, fruits and vegetables.

It is my considered opinion that the cheese should always go between the meat and the bread with nothing else in-between. Pickles and tomato - if available should top the meat directly and lettuce should not. All other condiments should go directly onto the top of the bun or bread and not directly on the meat.

So, the sandwich looks like this:
bread
mayo
ketchup
mustard
lettuce
tomato
pickles
burger or chicken thing
cheese
bread

Why? I thought you'd never ask.
The cheese, as it gets melty, keeps the meat firmly attached to the bottom bun (bread) which invariably slides off when not cemented with the fermented curd. The pickles add a touch of marinade to the meat and the acid from the tomato does that as well. The lettuce forms a barrier between those items and the condiments. This is critical. The sauces should be allowed to soak directly into the bun. You may have your own ideas about sandwich construction, which I am sure are well-reasoned. These are mine.

I think we can all agree that the tomato, although one of my favorite fruits, should never touch cheese. Don't believe me? Put a piece of cheese on a slice of tomato and see what happens to the cheese after a minute. It gets pretty slimy. I prefer to avoid that.

...maybe it's just me?

2 comments:

Sarah G said...

I would agree if you flipped it upside down. Although I guess I have no problem inverting my sandwiches manually. However, I have physics behind me! If you put lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, etc on top of the burger, they tend to slide off/out, since they are lighter than the burger. When you put them on the bottom, the burger holds them down better. This might also be a center of gravity thing.

I'm totally with you on the cheese thing though. Nothing should go between bread, cheese, and burger, whether you prefer top or bottom cheese. :)

Anonymous said...

For me, my fingers on top of the sandwich keep the top on. Perhaps you are eating with your hands upside down? Or perhaps you are eating for two?