“Your Most Perfect Food Is Your Sandwich”
Can we be “PC” and yet agree with Archie Bunker on one thing? For example, what if you (maybe secretly) agree with Archie when he remarked to his son-in-law, aka Meathead, “your most perfect food is your sandwich”?
Because everything you got in there.
You got in there, your meats is there,
your cheese is there, your
tomato sauce is in there.
Delicious bread on the top,
delicious bread on the bottom.
You take a bite of that and everything
is all nice and mixed up there.
And it goes down, all
mixed, see, with each bite,
And is it good.
I gotta have a
sandwich, Meathead.
from “Archie’s Weighty Problem” 1976
As you all know, All in the Family – consistently ranked as one of the best comedy series ever – was pretty controversial. CBS even went so far as to issue this statement before the opening episode: All in the Family “seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter, we hope to show—in a mature fashion—just how absurd they are.”
Wikipedia states: The show broke ground in its depiction of issues previously considered unsuitable for a U.S. network television comedy, such as racism, antisemitism, infidelity, homosexuality, women’s liberation, rape, religion, miscarriages, abortion, breast cancer, the Vietnam War, menopause and impotence.
That’s a pretty all-encompassing list of controversial topics!
I have a 1971 copy of Edith Bunker’s All in the Family Cookbook. While I don’t think you’d likely drool over the recipes in the sandwich chapter (highlights include a Sardine Salad Sandwich, a Liverwurst Swiss Cheese Sandwich, and a Leftover Fish Sandwich), I think most of us would admit to liking Archie’s favorite – a Sub (or a Hero, as Archie calls them) now and then.
Andy has a copy of Bee Wilson’s Sandwich, a Global History. Wilson’s description of a meatball hoagie would be right up Archie’s alley. The Argentinian choripán sandwich not so much. You can read much more about sandwich history in today’s Andy’s Corner.
Speaking of Hoagies and Heroes and Subs makes me think of the sandwich our Sonoma friend recently tried to replicate – the amazing Submarine sandwich she eats at Tagliaferri’s Delicatessen in Novato, CA. The sandwich she put together for us was delish! Archie would surely approve. We’ve got the recipe featured below. Plus, we’ve got two other perfect sandwiches – guaranteed to set Archie off on a rant but sure to please today’s sandwich eaters – a Vietnamese Banh Mi and a Mexican Cemita Milanesa.
OMG – I gotta have a sandwich, Andy!
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