The tomato sandwich is great on a roll also! When we were kids, our Moms made us tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise. It was the economical version of a BLT. Only we didn’t realize that at the time. We just thought it was another variety of sandwich. I remember them being delicious, and I would think that’s because we mostly had them during the summer (lunch at the beach) when the tomatoes were at their peak. These days, when I go to the diner and order a tomato, lettuce and mayo sandwich (on a roll), the waitperson looks at me like I have a screw loose. “Don’t you want any bacon?” they ask. So I usually say something like “I’m watching my cholesterol”. But really, it’s one of my favorite childhood food memories, and that’s why I order it.
Submitted by Leslie Sussman (leslie@sussmail.com)
What a lovely bit for the memory bank. I never thought of a tomato sandwich as an economical BLT, but I know what you’re saying. Maybe your Mom was just ahead of her time, and knew the glories of a good tomato!
Somehow, for me, any addition pushes this simple sandwich into a whole new category. In a BLT, the bacon taste dominates. I have also made tomato sandwich adding sliced avocado, and there, too, the avocado seems to become the overriding flavor, as it also does when I combine tomato and sliced hard cooked egg or tomato and cheddar cheese. Lettuce does not seem to take over, even so, I love just a plain tomato sandwich. No fuss, no frill, nothing else. When the season’s right I just want tomato and more tomato.
But I am going to try it on a roll, as you suggest! At the beach might even be better.
Maybe next time you order a tomato sandwich and the waitperson asks if you want bacon, you can pull a “Harry Met Sally” and order the bacon on the side.
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