JOIN THE CLUB : CLASSIC AMERICAN SANDWICH IS AN ARCHITECHURAL TRIUMPH.

Byline: William Rice Chicago Tribune

Culinary evolution is well documented. Although some dishes disappear entirely over time, others survive but reflect changes in popular taste, availability of ingredients and diet theories.

As a case in point, consider the evolution of the club sandwich, devised sometime in the 1880s.

This is one of the few gastronomic classics whose American origin is uncontested. Most likely it was created in a casino (or clubhouse) in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., birthplace as well of the potato chip, according to John Mariani's ``The Dictionary of American Food & Drink.''

In what should be considered more a triumph of engineering than culinary creativity, the chef combined two sandwiches - bacon, lettuce and tomato and sliced chicken - into one by making a double-decker.

In more or less pristine form, it remains a staple of hotel room service and country club menus. But through the years, chefs and cookbook authors have deconstructed and reconstructed the club, sometimes beyond recognition.

The late James Beard, while calling the club ``one of the greatest sandwiches of all time'' in his ``American Cooking'' published in 1972, grumbled, ``Nowadays the sandwich is bastardized because it is usually made as a three-decker, which is not authentic, and nowadays practically everyone uses turkey, and there's a vast difference between turkey and chicken where sandwiches are concerned.''

Beard provided no reference for the ``authentic'' version. His ``perfect'' club used the familiar ingredients, including only two slices of ``freshly made crisp toast,'' which he buttered. His order of construction was lettuce, mayo, chicken, tomato (peeled), salt, bacon, ``more mayonnaise,'' and the second piece of toast.

He also suggested the risky option of presenting the ingredients on platters at a large party and allowing guests to build their own sandwiches.

From Beard's place at the great buffet in the sky, America's great arbiter of culinary taste must be grinding his teeth as he peers down and sees what is being wrought by chefs using the name of his beloved club. It's not just the extra slice of bread that would trouble him; it's what the chefs are putting between the slices - if they use bread at all.

For example, one labor-intensive variation on the club sandwich was developed by chef Steven Pyles of Star Canyon restaurant in Dallas. It calls for brining and smoking a pound of shrimp, baking a brioche loaf flavored with chipotle chiles, making an aioli (garlic mayonnaise) flavored with cascabel chiles, and combining these with lettuce, bacon, tomato and sweet onion. The recipe is available in his book ``The New Texas Cuisine,'' if you care to seek it out.

At the popular Union Square Cafe in New York City, chef Michael Romano serves a double-decker sandwich (on sourdough bread) of fresh tuna salad, aioli, arugula and bacon. He calls it a ``club'' and no one has said he can't.

At the Million Room, the elegant restaurant at Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights, Ill., chef Ron Krivosic adds another element: toasted cheese. He grills marinated chicken breast, then garnishes it with smoked bacon and Herkimer Cheddar. This combination is placed under the broiler to melt the cheese, then encased in seven-grain bread along with tomato slices and mayonnaise.

Stretching the concept further than it should go, probably, Allen Susser of Chef Allen's in north Miami Beach, has created a sandwich without bread.

While such strident revisionism is recent, a gradual evolution of the club during earlier decades of this century is well documented.

The recipe for the Pennsylvania (Railroad) Club Sandwich might be the most specific version of all. It is found in ``Dinner in the Diner, Great Railroad Recipes of All Time'' by Will C. Hollister (1977). The ingredients: 3 slices of ``fresh'' toast, 3 slices of ``broiled'' bacon, 4 ``heart leaves'' of ``crisp'' lettuce, 2 pickle chips, sliced breast of chicken ``from a 4-pound chicken'' and 2 slices of tomato. Curiously, the tomato slices are not part of the sandwich but are placed in the center of the plate with ``2 pickle chips'' as garnish. The sandwich is cut into ``four triangular-shaped sections,'' each section to be ``pierced with a wooden toothpick to hold it together'' and arranged around the tomato slices ``in stand-up'' position.

The club sandwich in the 1964 edition of ``Joy of Cooking'' calls for the consensus ingredients: 3 slices of toast, lettuce, bacon, tomato, a generous amount of mayo and sliced cold chicken. Even here, though, a wild-card ingredient appears: drained slices of pineapple, enclosed by parentheses - indicating, we hope, that it is an optional addition.

Even ``Joy'' leaves some questions unanswered. Are the crusts left on the toast or cut away? What is the specific number of tomato slices? We are told to slice the sandwich on the bias, but into halves or quarters?

Craig Claiborne helps us there.

In his 1990 revision of the ``New York Times Cook Book,'' Claiborne calls for ``firm white bread, toasted,'' mayo, crisp bacon, tomato and lettuce leaves, but he (unaccountably) adds mustard to the mayonnaise, as well as slices of ham and cucumber to the sandwich. He does trim the crusts from the toast, cuts each sandwich diagonally and serves it with ``chilled bread and butter pickles.''

In ``The Book of Sandwiches'' (1989), Louise Steele adds several rococo touches. Her Toasted Club Sandwich calls for 2 ``large, medium-thick'' slices of white bread and 1 of whole wheat, butter in addition to mayonnaise, cucumber and sliced hard-cooked egg. Her garnishes are ``cocktail pickle fans'' and cocktail onions. An onion and pickle fan is skewered atop each quarter of the sandwich, creating the appearance of a trophy.

A word of warning about the club sandwich.

Don't ever lull yourself into thinking the club is stuffy or benign. Making and eating one can be nerve-racking.

The excitement comes as you try to keep a club from self-destructing as you cut, lift or bite into it.

The danger is provided by the sharp toothpicks intended to prevent its self-destruction. Remember to remove or eat around them.

These are not pick-up-and-eat sandwiches, so use a knife and fork.

CANADIAN CLUB

Here is a less stridently revisionist version of the club. Use smoked turkey slices in place of turkey ham, if you like. Serve this club with cornichons, pickled onions and potato chips.

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

3 slices English muffin bread, trimmed OR 1 large English muffin, sliced horizontally in thirds

1 to 2 thin slices smoked turkey ham, about 1 ounce

Freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup coarsely chopped watercress 

1 thick slice tomato

3 thin slices Canadian bacon, about 2 ounces, broiled 

Stir together mayonnaise and mustard. Toast bread and spread one side of each slice with mayonnaise mixture. Place turkey ham on first slice, folding or trimming to fit; season with pepper. Add watercress. Top with second slice of toast, mayonnaise side down. Place tomato slice on toast; top with Canadian bacon and third slice of toast, mayonnaise side down.

Insert 4 toothpicks in sandwich to hold it together; cut into quarters with a serrated knife. Makes 1 sandwich.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 520 calories; 29 grams fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 22 grams protein; 55 milligrams cholesterol; 1,650 milligrams sodium.

ALLEN SUSSER'S GRILLED PORTOBELLO, AVOCADO AND GOAT CHEESE CLUB SANDWICH

4 very large portobello mushrooms

2 tablespoons white wine

1 tablespoon EACH minced garlic and olive oil

1/2 teaspoon EACH kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

6 to 8 ounces fresh goat cheese

1 medium yellow tomato, sliced

1 firm but ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

1 head frisee (chicory), rinsed

Cut stems from mushrooms and reserve for another use. CarefuTlly slice each mushroom cap in half horizontally. Combine wine, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour over sliced mushrooms and marinate 30 minutes.

Prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire or preheat broiler. Grill or broil mushrooms, turning once or twice, until cooked, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

Rinse a sharp knife under hot water and blot dry. Carefully cut goat cheese with hot knife blade, as thinly as possible, rinsing knife with hot water between slices.

Stack mushroom, tomato, avocado and goat cheese slices alternately, finishing with a mushroom top. Carefully cut stacks in half and serve on a bed of frisee. Makes 4 servings.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 325 calories; 26 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 15 grams protein; 45 milligrams cholesterol; 430 milligrams sodium.

WAC'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY SANDWICH

3 slices white sandwich bread

2 to 3 teaspoons unsalted butter

3 ounces cooked chicken breast, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/4 cup EACH chopped celery and chopped crisp-cook bacon

4 slices tomato

1 prepared spiced peach

2 ripe olives

Toast bread; trim crusts. Butter one side of each slice. Cover first slice of toast with slices of chicken breast. Spread with 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise. Sprinkle half of chopped celery over mayonnaise and half of chopped bacon over celery. Cover with second slice of toast.

Place tomato slices onto second slice of toast. Repeat with mayonnaise, chopped celery and chopped bacon.

Top with third slice of toast; cut diagonally into quarters. Serve on a platter, garnished with spiced peach and olives. Makes 1 sandwich.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 1,170 calories; 74 grams fat; 67 grams carbohydrates; 59 grams protein; 175 milligrams cholesterol; 1,985 milligrams sodium.

Construction of a classic

There are many ways to construct a club sandwich. Here is just one (classic) version:

Bread: The classic club is definitely a white bread sandwich. Choose bread that toastTs well and cut away the crusts after toasting it.

Bacon: Club-lovers favor lean over fatty bacon, cooked crisp and blotted to remove surface grease. Smoked bacon adds an intriguing flavor.

Tomato: The tomato should be ripe, but not so ripe it makes the sandwich soggy. Purists peel the tomato before slicing and prefer several thin slices to a single thick slice.

Mayonnaise: To approach the richness of homemade, doctor bottled mayonnaise with lemon juice and mustard. Spread to the edges of the toast slices.

Chicken: Moist, freshly poached chicken breast at room temperature, cut in 1/4-inch slices, is the platonic ideal.

Lettuce: The type of lettuce is less important than its condition. Use inside leaves that are very well dried.

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Photo

Photo: (color) No Caption (Club Sandwich)

Bob Fila/ChicagoTribune

Box: CONSTRUCTION OF A CLASSIC (see text)