Do this. Get a tomato. Not just any tomato. A Slocomb, Alabama, tomato. Make sure the tomato is firecracker-red and softer than the hindcheeks of a 2-month-old. Find a serrated knife. Cut said tomato into thick slices about the width of the unabridged edition of “Shogun.”
OK, it is 9:37pm & all the grocery stores are closed so I can’t get any Sunbeam bread. On a side note, I remember Sunbeam used to make a round loaf white bread that bologna fit perfectly on.
I didn’t mean to digress to bologna because it doesn’t hold a candle to “The Sandwich of the South”.
Well, the produce stand near me is about 7-8 blocks from my house & they open at 7am. I’ll be their first customer at 7:01 getting my bright red, soft tomato & believe it or not they also sell Sunbeam bread, the long loaf with perfectly square slices. Dukes is already in my fridge, salt & pepper are on the table. I put the whole roll of paper towels next to the sink.
I guarantee you my breakfast juices will be running down the front of my shirt & down my arms before 7:30.
I’ll have a whole loaf of bread ,a basket of maters, and would love to get tomato juice messy with y’all so, come on by🍅
Sean, Sean, Sean. I very hesitantly read the blog after you said that Geneva county tomatoes were superior to any other tomato. Now granted, I’ve never had a Geneva county/Slocomb but I grew up, off and on, on Sand Mountain tomatoes. Taking a bite of a Sand Mountain tomato is like a little taste of Heaven itself. My mouth is watering while I’m typing this.
It's close to a religious experience. We are blessed to know about tomato sandwiches. Many northerners and most young southerners will never know. You have to be part of the elect. Many are called, but few will answer. And they miss a blessing. A real blessing. God shows favor on us with this one...
Yes!!! Up here in Lynchburg, VA, the tomatoes have to come from Halifax County, home to where the world famous Halifax Cantaloupes are grown. Both are available at the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market at the corner of 12th & Main in downtown Lynchburg, a market that has been in existence since before the War of Northern Aggression, some will tell you. Or they can be some of Jimmy’s heirloom tomatoes from his garden in Boonsboro. Same bread, and of course, it has to be Dukes! Always Dukes! Same assembly instructions and the same pure joy.
I can verify that all you said is absolutely the truth. There is NOTHING like a proper tomato sandwich. We used Wonder bread, Dukes or Blue Plate mayo and tomatoes straight from the garden…still warm from the sun…lots of salt and pepper…I’m telling you..this is the original mana from heaven. I live in Denver now and believe me you can’t find a real tomato any time of the year…they have no taste! Now after you eat your REAL tomato sandwich…slice open your Charleston Gray watermelon for dessert. Best meal ever! I remember getting Charleston Grays by the side of the road..10 for a dollar. My dad would get one and give the kid the dollar anyway. Good times…better times!!!
Add a leaf or two of iceberg lettuce, and a few strips of crispy bacon…NOW you’re talkin’ a Sandwich to Die for! Also better lightly toast the bread, otherwise you’ll have a soggy mess.
Hi Sean, I love you, but I’m afraid that I must take exception to your suggestion of Sunbeam bread for said sandwich. While the name brings light hearted hope to the underprivileged, the unnatural granular behavior induces terror in the enlightened. There’s something unearthly about a wheat based product that can be torn perfectly in half by bare hands. I personally prefer Wonder or Colonial as they’re more in line with the natural world. Their batter is lovingly mixed by giant lovingly built industrial marvels while Sunbeam is severely whipped and abused to Nazi-like symmetrical conformity. A fate worse than death or light beer with fewer calories than distilled water. Which brings to my unstill mind, the unlikelyness that water can be unstilled at all for any length of time… Anyway, you got me hankering for a good old fashioned ‘mater sandwich. 🥪 ❤️🍻😊
OK, it is 9:37pm & all the grocery stores are closed so I can’t get any Sunbeam bread. On a side note, I remember Sunbeam used to make a round loaf white bread that bologna fit perfectly on.
I didn’t mean to digress to bologna because it doesn’t hold a candle to “The Sandwich of the South”.
Well, the produce stand near me is about 7-8 blocks from my house & they open at 7am. I’ll be their first customer at 7:01 getting my bright red, soft tomato & believe it or not they also sell Sunbeam bread, the long loaf with perfectly square slices. Dukes is already in my fridge, salt & pepper are on the table. I put the whole roll of paper towels next to the sink.
I guarantee you my breakfast juices will be running down the front of my shirt & down my arms before 7:30.
I’ll have a whole loaf of bread ,a basket of maters, and would love to get tomato juice messy with y’all so, come on by🍅
But, what about 2 bacon slices, nice and crisp, the “B” in BLT? I can do without the L but not the B or the T!
Sean, Sean, Sean. I very hesitantly read the blog after you said that Geneva county tomatoes were superior to any other tomato. Now granted, I’ve never had a Geneva county/Slocomb but I grew up, off and on, on Sand Mountain tomatoes. Taking a bite of a Sand Mountain tomato is like a little taste of Heaven itself. My mouth is watering while I’m typing this.
It's close to a religious experience. We are blessed to know about tomato sandwiches. Many northerners and most young southerners will never know. You have to be part of the elect. Many are called, but few will answer. And they miss a blessing. A real blessing. God shows favor on us with this one...
Good instructions and a good sandwich. But them's fightin' words when it comes to Hellman's. When the maters are ripe and warm - that's the best.
Oh Sean, your descriptions had me LMAO ~ Perfect in every way!
Since I’ve become a daily fan, I’ve learned about pound cake,
Waffle 🧇 House (btw, I did go 2 x when in Florida…yum) Dukes mayo
& now a Slocum tomato 🍅 from Alabama!
I won’t find a good tomato around here in Philly till the Jerseys
come out in July….🤯!!!
Yes!!! Up here in Lynchburg, VA, the tomatoes have to come from Halifax County, home to where the world famous Halifax Cantaloupes are grown. Both are available at the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market at the corner of 12th & Main in downtown Lynchburg, a market that has been in existence since before the War of Northern Aggression, some will tell you. Or they can be some of Jimmy’s heirloom tomatoes from his garden in Boonsboro. Same bread, and of course, it has to be Dukes! Always Dukes! Same assembly instructions and the same pure joy.
I can verify that all you said is absolutely the truth. There is NOTHING like a proper tomato sandwich. We used Wonder bread, Dukes or Blue Plate mayo and tomatoes straight from the garden…still warm from the sun…lots of salt and pepper…I’m telling you..this is the original mana from heaven. I live in Denver now and believe me you can’t find a real tomato any time of the year…they have no taste! Now after you eat your REAL tomato sandwich…slice open your Charleston Gray watermelon for dessert. Best meal ever! I remember getting Charleston Grays by the side of the road..10 for a dollar. My dad would get one and give the kid the dollar anyway. Good times…better times!!!
Mouth watering while reading. Can't wait for fresh vine ripe red tomatoes. Yummy
BTW what do regular groceries do to their tomatoes? They always taste like Clorox to me.🤷🏼♀️
Nothing better than a good mater sandwich! Hard to find good tomatoes though🥲
Add a leaf or two of iceberg lettuce, and a few strips of crispy bacon…NOW you’re talkin’ a Sandwich to Die for! Also better lightly toast the bread, otherwise you’ll have a soggy mess.
My dearly departed Momma would have loved to talk maters with you, right after she set you straight on the spiritual economy of Miracle Whip. Amen.
Amen💕
You may lose some readers on this one, Sean 😂
Hi Sean, I love you, but I’m afraid that I must take exception to your suggestion of Sunbeam bread for said sandwich. While the name brings light hearted hope to the underprivileged, the unnatural granular behavior induces terror in the enlightened. There’s something unearthly about a wheat based product that can be torn perfectly in half by bare hands. I personally prefer Wonder or Colonial as they’re more in line with the natural world. Their batter is lovingly mixed by giant lovingly built industrial marvels while Sunbeam is severely whipped and abused to Nazi-like symmetrical conformity. A fate worse than death or light beer with fewer calories than distilled water. Which brings to my unstill mind, the unlikelyness that water can be unstilled at all for any length of time… Anyway, you got me hankering for a good old fashioned ‘mater sandwich. 🥪 ❤️🍻😊