Rick Bragg sets the record straight.
Well, they finally made me mad.
I don’t mind when they tell me that the way I talk is adorable.
Credit: Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
But when they start running down thetomato sandwich, that’s all I can take.
“A good tomato sandwich,” I say.
“Tomato and what?”
Credit: John Cuneo
“Just tomato, mayo, salt, and pepper, on white bread,” I always say.
“Yuck,” they always say.
This should be a test for where the South begins.
Credit:Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
“No,” I say, “just tomato.”
“Ugh,” they say, which iseven more insultingthan “yuck.”
I told this to Mama.
“Some people,” she said, “don’t know what’s good.”
I guess because it was shiny.
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
The recipe was the same.
Top with another slice of white bread, slathered slightly less.
It should not be soggy but still juicy in the middle.
“Yuck,” they say.
Nostalgia will trick you like that.
I don’t know.
But it’s good enough.
I once told a group of mostly Southern college students what I like to eat as a guilty pleasure.
“Yuck,” they said.
“Shut up,” I said, silently reminding myself to give a C- to them all.
