Latest news with #Appetites
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Why Anthony Bourdain Loathed This Iconic American Sandwich
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Most folks have the odd food and drink bugaboo here and there. For some, it's the genetic quirk that makes cilantro taste like soap. Others simply have an antipathy toward olives, anchovies, and other such divisive items. The internationally renowned food world personality and occasional crime novelist Anthony Bourdain was particularly prickly about the club sandwich, which he compared to the terrorist network Al Qaeda (via the Los Angeles Times) in his 2016 cookbook "Appetites." This relatable bit of vexation was particularly focused on the hotel room service staple's over-reliance on carbohydrates. "I'm really irritated by that useless middle slice of bread on the club sandwich," Bourdain told the Los Angeles Times on the occasion of "Appetites'" publication. "It's been there forever; it's not a trend. It's lasted for decades and why, when we can so easily dispense with it," he said. Hypotheses abound — maybe it's to fortify the towering sandwich's architecture, maybe it's to make it more sharable, maybe it's merely an aesthetic choice — but we've yet to see a recipe that totally justifies all that extra rye or sourdough. The good news is that you can actually eschew those pesky middle bits. And the club sandwich is even more adaptable from there. Read more: The Most Iconic Sandwich In Every State Bourdain Wasn't The Only Chef Who Had A Bone To Pick With Club Sandwiches Another late culinary icon, James Beard, also hated the "modern" club sandwich. Beard posited in his own 1972 book "James Beard's American Cookery" that the darn middle bread was actually a latter day addition to what had been a much more manageable sandwich. "Nowdays the sandwich is bastardized because it is usually made as a three-decker, which is not authentic," Beard wrote, adding the damning parenthetical, "whoever started that horror should be forced to eat three-deckers three times a day the rest of his life" (via What's Cooking America). Let that serve as the one-two punch of authority to skip the extra bread once and for all. Once you've gotten your previously Jenga-like sandwiches down to size, you should also feel empowered to build your club with chicken or turkey, (also a matter of much debate) or even use both at the same time. You can likewise make those clubs as hot or cold as you wish. Just make sure to pin them together with those festive, frilly toothpicks. That's one exchange that nobody should have to abide. Read the original article on Chowhound.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Old-School Sandwich Anthony Bourdain Couldn't Stand To Eat
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Anthony Bourdain — chef, television show host, and author — had no shortage of opinions when it came to food and dining. He was firm about which cuisines he considered underappreciated in the U.S., and offered plenty of great advice for how to find delicious meals in any city. However, some dishes were targeted by Bourdain's sharply honed disdain — and one of the most consistent targets of his culinary wrath was the seemingly innocuous old-school club sandwich. In his 2016 cookbook "Appetites," Bourdain famously expressed a strong dislike for the dish. He explained to the LA Times, "I'm really irritated by that useless middle slice of bread on the club sandwich. It's been there forever; it's not a trend. It's lasted for decades and why, when we can so easily dispense with it?" Bourdain's contempt for the club sandwich wasn't confined to one rant — it was a recurring theme in his fiery food commentary. As reported by Thrillist, in a notorious list titled "Crimes Against Food," he doubled down on his hatred, describing the sandwich's third slice of bread as an invention by "enemies of freedom" meant to "sap our will to live by ruining our sandwich experiences through 'tectonic slide.'" And in a 2016 interview with NPR, Bourdain again railed against the extra bread in a club sandwich, saying, "The third slice of bread on a club sandwich, I think, is a satanic invention." He was nothing if not consistent in his tastes. Read more: Foods Anthony Bourdain Hated With A Passion Bourdain's Many Sandwich-Based Beefs Anthony Bourdain was all about authenticity in food; he despised artifice. So a sandwich with extra bread easily slid into the category of overbuilt and underwhelming. But the club sandwich was not alone in his "Crimes Against Food" list. The brioche burger bun was another bread-based beef the chef had. "God is against the brioche bun," he wrote. "The hamburger bun is designed to ABSORB grease, not add greasiness to the experience." For Bourdain, burgers had an architectural logic: structurally sound, texturally balanced, and best served on a humble potato bun. Bourdain similarly hated Kobe burgers, deeming them "utterly fraudulent" when served in over-hyped restaurants or popular gathering spots for "bro's," along with his contempt for those who ordered them. Even eggs Benedict wasn't safe. That soft muffin served at brunch spots drew his ire: "The lazy cook toasts it under the broiler for a few seconds on one side, leaving the outer surface gummy and raw tasting and lacking the textural note your poached egg and Canadian bacon and sauce desperately need," he declared. Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we're helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. Read the original article on Food Republic.
