I’ve just eaten one-quarter of the world’s best and most authentic club sandwich. My only wish is that I had taken the photo before I started to eat it, so everyone could see what the world’s best club sandwich should look like: a glorious presentation on a delicate floral china plate, with a crisp pickle spear, and crunchy chips heaped in the center. Really, this is how it should be, but nowadays seldom is. What most restaurants (and by most I mean the dominant American restaurants, the dreaded chain restaurants) pass off as a club sandwich is this: toasted bread, only two layers, thinly sliced deli turkey, bacon, greenhouse tomatoes, and, the worst insult ever, American cheese. No, no no. A club sandwich should be like this one: a triple-decker sandwich with thick slabs of real white meat turkey, juicy vine-ripened tomatoes, crisp green Romaine lettuce, bacon, and never, ever, ever, cheese.
So where did I find the world’s best club sandwich? I’m sitting in the waterfront dining area of The Carriage House, a charming Mackinac Island restaurant snuggled so close to the Hotel Iroquois that we almost didn’t find it. We discovered it on a nighttime walk, snooped around the back, saw the waterfront seating area, and decided to come back during the daytime for lunch. Besides a great atmosphere and the world’s best club sandwich, we had a terrific view of the harbor, Victorian homes on the east bluff, and a pair parasailing. What could be a better lunch than that?
© Huffygirl 2011