The Sandwich: An American Icon

Joanna Lefebvre

Almond Butter & Jelly Sandwich
Yield: 1 sandwich

2 slices oat bran bread
1 Tbsp. almond butter
1 Tbsp. 100% fruit spread

1. Spread slice of bread with almond butter and fruit spread. Assemble sandwich and serve.

Recipe and photo by the Almond Board of California.

Like blue jeans and sneakers, sandwiches in all their forms are comfortable, adaptable and practical. They can be dressed up with the finest foie gras and black truffle mayonnaise or reduced to the super simple peanut butter and jelly. Sandwiches may be dainty, crustless goat cheese and watercress tea munchies or towering two-fisted Reubens dripping with sauerkraut and swiss.

In all its forms, the sandwich remains an iconic staple with nearly unlimited potential to surprise and satisfy customers while also building menus, business and bottoms lines.

Chefs like Rob Resnick of Oracle, John Loose of Fisher-Titus Medical Center, and Terry Reed of Virginia Tech recognize the profitability potential of a seemingly ordinary sandwich. So much so that many of their reinventions are well on their way to attaining gourmet credibility.

How'd they do that? Simple.

Artisan and signature breads replace store bought spongy whites. Gourmet spreads layer subtle flavors where mayonnaise and mustard have lost their appeal. Higher quality meats and both aged and fresh cheese combine with the other enhancements to gives these almosttaken-for-granted favorites new life.

Grown up Grilled Cheese
Take the trusty grilled cheese sandwich. Loved for its simplicity, it's one of the most elemental comfort foods on the planet.

Bread, cheese, butter: it's foolproof. Amply filled and griddled to buttery-crisp perfection, the possibilities are infinite. From silken Brie cheese on a crispy baguette to Havarti with dill on ciabatta, grilled cheese fillings range from austere to extravagant.

"Sandwiches follow a relatively simple formula," says Resnick, the executive chef for Bon Appetit at Oracle in San Mateo, CA. "A well-designed sandwich can contain all the required food groups, plus it's a great value-added item."

For Resnick's many celebrations of ooeygooey melted goodness, he uses artisan cheeses and fresh-from-the-oven breads baked in an onsite bakery.

Winning combinations abound: Gruyere on a sourdough, goat cheese on a French baguette, smoked Gouda on multi-grain, and pepper-jack on focaccia.

"We're trying to bring enlightenment to the sandwich," says Resnick. "By using gourmet elements, like homemade spreads in place of mayonnaise or mustard, our signature sandwiches are truly signature." Heavy hitter condiments are sun-dried tomato and pesto spreads, roasted garlic aioli, as well as infused cream cheeses.

Resnick adds that by thinking beyond traditional sandwich cheeses you can create inspired meals that are not only more fun and delicious to eat, but can help raise awareness of a host of specialty and artisanal cheeses.

Pb&J in a Power Suit
Peanut butter, the pate of childhood, might be all the rage with the kindergarten crowd, but chefs like Kelly Heffner are looking for lighter, more healthful PB&J spin-offs to satisfy the grown-ups with substitutions like almond butter and fresh fruit puree on challah, he says.

"You can't change peanut butter and jelly too much without losing the classic mouth feel," says Heffner, a regional executive chef for Lackmann Culinary Services at its Morgan Stanley account in New York. But there's no reason you can't upscale the concept. "We've done organic peanut butter and jelly, which went over really well with our business diners. We've also substituted different types of nut butters that are more nutrient dense. They then become part comfort food, part health food."

Using fresh fruit, fruit compote or fresh fruit puree in place of highly sugared jellies is a great way to lighten the caloric count. Heffner purchases fresh fruit both seasonally and locally to give his sandwiches extra bragging rights.

"If you can procure local produce for fresh fruit spreads and jellies, then you can usually curb food costs, while still giving otherwise menial sandwiches a gourmet spin," he says. "For example, we do an Elvis sandwich that has peanut butter with a homemade banana jelly. For the jelly, I mashed up ripe bananas and incorporate some Nutella for a sweeter, nuttier punch."

At Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk, OH, Food Service Director John Loose found that the secret to selling PB&J in his cafe was the bread.

"We do a grilled peanut butter and jelly on fresh baked bread we purchase from a local bakery," says Loose. "The bread has a sweeter honey flavor profile that marries really well with the peanut butter." According to Loose, the customers love it.

Making the Deli Chic
There's nothing to rival the delis of New York City with their encyclopedic variety of breads, rolls and fillings. But East Side Deli at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg sure gives the big apple a run for its money.

A trip to VT's D2—an all-you-care to eat dining center—reveals a grotto of great sandwiches. This New York-style deli features shaved meats, aged cheeses, and homemade rolls and breads perfect for creating madeto-order hot or cold sandwiches.

"Students love to build their own," says Executive Chef Terry Reed, who oversees D2, DXPress and VetMed Cafe. "But they tend to stay with the sandwiches they are most familiar with, like ham and cheese. Using category recognition, we'll suggest different types of meats or cheeses, mixed with more upscale condiments, to steer customers in a different flavor direction."

Made-to-order production sandwiches marry perfectly with panini presses, as well. At Corning Incorporated in Corning, NY, Joe Kilmer, dining services supervisor, finds hot sandwiches offer a tremendous amount of latitude.

"The two top priorities for customers are speed and custom-made options," says Kilmer. "At our panini bar, we have a very popular version of the ham and cheese made with focaccia, prosciutto and fresh mozzarella with pesto. Our classic ham melt evolved into a gourmet version with artisan bread, special mustard and Gouda cheese."

Not by bread alone
"The more a customer can personalize a sandwich, the better," says Christian Fischer, CEC, CHC, AADP, CREA, corporate executive chef/director of culinary development for Lackmann Culinary Services. "It's the Starbucks syndrome. I believe the person who will be most successful down the road will be the one who most successfully lets the customer be the innovator."

That, of course, is the key to building a successful sandwich business. Excitement, variety, bold flavors and freshness will keep customers coming back. After all, a well-designed sandwich is worth far more than the sum of its parts.