Today, a very special Sandwich Monday: Peter shares the sandwich that made him who he is today.
Every day during the 7th and 8th grade I would go into the lunchroom at Columbia Junior High School in Berkeley Heights, N.J., and unwrap the same sandwich: Hebrew National salami on white bread with sweet pickle relish.
I've been wanting to re-create the sandwich for years. I used Trader Joe's Organic White bread, which is as stiff and crumbly as the bread I remember, but is a little too tasty. Fortunately, pickle relish still tastes like pickle relish.
Peter: Making this sandwich was like a Proustian flashback. I felt suddenly weird, unsure and awkward. Fortunately, my hair also grew back.
Ian: I can't imagine the 13-year-old Peter eating this without also imagining a 20-year-old Carl there, too.
Peter: The salami has changed. It's much blander than it used to be. Back in the day, I remember it being more peppery and redolent of humiliation.
Mike: That's probably the Clearasil.
Eva: I don't know if this is related, but after eating this I suddenly know a lot of Star Trek trivia.
Ian: This is basically a reorganized hot dog.
Peter: I actually like it. I did then, too. It's why to this day I like to go into fine dining establishments and smear pickle relish on everything.
Ian: As bad as this sandwich is, I'm happy to learn the phrase "Sagal Sandwich" does not refer to a wrestling move. Yet.
[The verdict: Well, I liked it, but then again, I always did. You got any Sandwiches Of Your Youth?]
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