THE FOODIST / CASE IS CLOSED: THE BLT IS THE BEST SANDWICH OF OUR TIME

BLT Rules [with or without avocado]!

By the Editors of PillartoPost.org 

Here's a tenet for our times and taste buds, daily online magazine PillartoPost.org hereby declares the bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich—and its California cousin, the BLTA, with avocado—the finest sandwich in current culinary history. Amen.

Period. Done deal. Sez us. 

Of course, we realize “best” is a fighting word. Tough luck cheeseburgerites; Reuben loyalists will pound the table; grilled-cheese devotees will demand a recount. 

Somewhere in the bowe's of Philadelphia, a fellow holding an overstuffed Philly Cheesesteak will consider our judgment evidence of diminished capacity. 

Let them all howl. 

Here's why: Internet’s cooks, food writers and sandwich eaters have been building our case for years. The BLT succeeds because every ingredient has a specific assignment. 

--Bacon supplies salt, smoke and crunch. 

--Lettuce brings coolness. 

--Tomato contributes sweetness, acidity and juice. 

--Mayonnaise makes peace among them, while toasted bread holds the proceedings together. 

Media pals agree with us: The Kitchn calls the BLT the “sandwich of summer,” a title earned by its dependence upon ripe tomatoes rather than culinary ornament. The Kitchn 

J. Kenji López-Alt of Serious Eats goes beyond. His advice for creating the best BLT is wonderfully direct: “Use the best tomatoes. Put away the fancy bread. And most importantly: Don’t mess with it.” Serious Eats 

That last instruction deserves to be framed and hung in every delicatessen in America. López-Alt also argues that the BLT is not really a bacon sandwich. It is a tomato sandwich seasoned with bacon. That distinction explains why a January BLT  assembled with a pale supermarket tomato can taste like an office memo, while an August BLT made with a ripe backyard tomato becomes a legitimate reason to remain alive until lunch. 

The sandwich also has the numbers. 

In a national YouGov survey, the BLT earned a 69 percent approval rating and finished among America’s five most-liked sandwiches. The club sandwich, which is essentially a BLT forced to carry unnecessary luggage, finished behind it. YouGov 

Another consumer survey [yet to wise  up] placed the BLT second among the nation’s favorite sandwiches, trailing only the club—its taller, overdressed relative. pair. Lab 

Even celebrity testimony favors the defense. When Stephen Colbert asked Julia Louis-Dreyfus to name her favorite sandwich, she answered without hesitation: “A BLT.” Colbert agreed, calling it “the American classic.” Her preferred proportions were a medium amount of tomato, a medium amount of lettuce and “a hearty supply of bacon.” Allrecipes 

Then comes avocado. 

Purists may insist the addition produces a BLAT. [PillartoPost.org prefers BLTA] because it allows the historic three-letter name to remain intact while avocado receives a well-earned promotion. 

Note: Avocado does not improve a poor BLT. Nothing can rescue flavorless tomatoes, limp bacon or bread toasted to the tensile strength of roofing tile. But when added to a properly built sandwich, avocado contributes buttery richness without smothering the bacon or tomato. 

Food writer Carolyn Gratzer Cope describes the avocado version with admirable economy: “Simple, classic, perfect: when you want a BLT, there’s no substitute.” Her BLTA, she adds, is “juuuuust right.” 

Umami Girl Chef Gabriel Pascuzzi’s formula for what Food & Wine called “the best BLT of all time” relies upon thick-cut bacon, heirloom tomatoes, butter lettuce, sourdough and a restrained hand with the aïoli. Avocado is offered as the natural optional addition. Food & Wine 

The BLT and BLTA also possess something many celebrated sandwiches lack: balance. A cheesesteak can overwhelm. A meatball sandwich may collapse before halftime. A towering deli sandwich sometimes requires the jaw mechanism of a reticulated python. 

The BLT remains recognizable, manageable and democratic. It is equally at home on a diner plate, at a kitchen counter or wrapped in waxed paper for a picnic. It is simple without being dull, familiar without becoming obsolete and indulgent without requiring a nap and a cardiologist. 

The verdict of PillartoPost.org [and its 43k average daily readers] therefore stands: the BLT is the best sandwich of our time. The BLTA wins the same crown while wearing avocado.