Understanding the club.
OK, first things first: if it’s on a bun, it’s not a club.
If it’s in a wrap, it’s not a club.
If it has an entire chicken breast, in a single piece, in it, it is not a club.
If it doesn’t have three (not two, not four, five is right out) pieces of toast, it’s not a club.
Let me explain the One True Way To Build A Club Sandwich:
There are three pieces of white toast. (You may substitute interesting white breads, like sourdough or foccacia, if you must. If you use some kind of healthier bread, you are making a mistake). The bread must be toasted to a light brown in the center. Optionally, the bread may be lightly buttered. Note the word lightly. Note also that margarine is not butter. Obviously the outer two slices are only buttered on the inside. The inner slice, despite what you may think, should only be buttered on (at most) one side–the white meat side.
On one side of the club, there should be lettuce (iceberg lettuce) and the white meat. The white meat should be relatively thinly sliced breat of turkey, or less preferrably chicken. The meat should be moist. If you must have mayo, it should be on the bread that touches the meat and not the bread that touches the lettuce. Mayo is only required when the white meat is too dry, and should never be more than a schmear.
On the other side of the club, there should be tomato and bacon. The tomato shold be ripe, and sliced in slices one half the thickness of the bread slices you are using. The tomato should overlap as little as possible while still covering the entire toast area. The bacon should be crisp enough that you can bite into it without chewing or pulling, but not so crisp that it shatters when you bit into it. The bacon should, ideally, be as flat as possible, and arranged to cover the entire area of the toast. One layer of bacon is sufficient, but sometimes it’s nice to have two layers. There should never be mayo on the bacon/tomato side of the sandwich.
Optionally, a thin slice of cheddar cheese (not processed cheese food, damn it, CHEDDAR) may be inserted between the bacon on the toast. The cheese, if used, should cover the entire area, and should be slightly melted by contact with the hot bacon. The cheddar should be at least “old”, but no so ancient that it is impossible to slice without crumbling.
Other than the fact that the white meat & lettuce are on one side, and bacon & tomato (& cheese) are on the other, the specific order does not matter.
The sandwich should be cut into four parts, using crossed diagonal lines. This allows the sandwich to be presented as four triangular sections, presented point up. Obviously this also necessitates the use of toothpicks. Depending on the size and shape of the plate, the four pieces can be arranged in various ways. The iconic presentation is on an oval platter, with the four triagles arranged in an arc, with the remainder of the plate being filled with the starch, and a small paper cup of nasty coleslaw.
That is all.
Kira
Richard B.
November 28th, 2005 at 1:08 am
The only point I would contend with is the paper cup for the nasty coleslaw. Paper, really? Even the cheaper places I’ve been to all manage to at least have a tiny shallow glass or cermaic bowl for the salad “portion” of the meal.
Though, come to think of it, that might have something to do with the smoking ban.
November 28th, 2005 at 10:24 am
Oh, sure, many places have “gone upscale” and moved away from the paper cup, but that doesn’t change the iconic nature of the paper cup.
This is the iconic presentation layout–note the coleslaw cup:
(Image is to show layout only–in this photo the fool assembling the club has fallen into the dire Meat-Meat, Veg-Veg heresy, not to mention making use of some dark meat. Sad, really.)