Club Sandwich
● United StatesThe Club Sandwich is generally traced to the Saratoga Club House, a high-end gambling parlor in Saratoga Springs, New York, where it appeared on menus in the late 1880s. The Club House catered to wealthy New Yorkers who came north for the racing season, and the sandwich was designed as a dignified late-night meal, substantial but not greasy, easy to eat with one hand while holding a drink in the other. Early versions were two-layered and made with chicken; the now-standard three-slice, turkey-and-bacon configuration didn't fully take hold until the early 1900s, when it spread through railroad dining cars and grand hotel restaurants. By the 1920s, the club had become a fixture of country club lunch menus, room service trays, and golf course snack bars across the United States. Its name is sometimes mistakenly attributed to an acronym (Chicken and Lettuce Under Bacon), but the simpler explanation, that it was invented at a club, is far more credible.
The Club Sandwich became a global symbol of hotel hospitality in the 20th century. It's one of the few sandwiches you can order from room service in nearly any major hotel on earth and receive something recognizable, from Tokyo to Buenos Aires to Cape Town. That ubiquity has made it a kind of culinary lingua franca, a default order for travelers who don't want to risk an unfamiliar menu. In the United States, it remains a country club and diner staple, often served with a frilly toothpick spearing each quarter and a side of potato chips or french fries. Its construction is part of its appeal: the diagonal cut and toothpick presentation feel slightly formal, a touch of theater for an otherwise unfussy lunch.
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Ingredients
- 3 slices white bread, toasted
- 4 oz sliced roast turkey breast
- 4 strips bacon, cooked crisp
- 2 leaves lettuce
- 2 slices ripe tomato
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Toast all three slices of bread
- Spread mayonnaise on one side of each slice
- Layer turkey, lettuce, and tomato on the bottom slice; cap with the second slice (mayo side up)
- Layer bacon, more lettuce, and tomato on the second slice; cap with the third (mayo side down)
- Press gently, secure with four toothpicks, and cut into four triangles