It’s National Sandwich Month! We salute the sumptuous staple of cuisines the world over with this sweet stack of brain appetizers, revealing whether your sandwich smarts make you a hero or a zero. Bon appétit!
1. An anthropomorphic, animated sponge slings burgers undersea to patrons of what deep-water dive?
a. Davy Jones’ Diner
b. The Krusty Krab
c. McDolphin’s
d. The Chum Bucket
2. A perennial guilty pleasure of fast foodies since 1981, this sandwich has made more farewell tours than KISS.
a. Subway’s hot honey chicken
b. Arby’s bourbon BBQ brisket sandwich
c. McDonald’s McRib
d. Burger King’s Angry Whopper
3. In Great Britain, a sandwich made with buttered bread is called what?
a. A butty
b. A dodger
c. A banger
d. A slippy
4. What early 20th-century sandwich transformed from high-society tea party fare to lunchtime staple?
a. Chicken salad
b. The classic club
c. The BLT
d. Peanut butter and jelly
5. We don’t need another hero. The oblong deli sandwiches New Yorkers call heroes are known by what other name?
a. Grinders
b. Submarines
c. Hoagies
d. Any of the above
6. Which of the following is NOT an ingredient of the sandwich known as the Fluffernutter?
a. Marshmallow cream
b. Graham crackers
c. Peanut butter
d. Fresh banana slices.?
7. Similar to the Greek gyro, this pita sandwich originated in the Ottoman Empire and features spit-roasted lamb, chicken or beef, roasted veggies, and tahini sauce.
a. Shawarma
b. Sabich
c. Falafel
d. Pirozhki?
8. A sibling of the Reuben, the Rachel sandwich swaps sauerkraut for this ingredient.
a. Sweet pickles
b. Shredded lettuce
c. Coleslaw
d. Pickled beets?
9. What musician channeled his creative energy into building a signature sandwich around a trifecta of ingredients, including peanut butter, banana and grilled bacon?
a. Michael Jackson
b. Gene Simmons
c. Frank Sinatra
d. Elvis Presley?
10. Definitely not Cajun cuisine, this Sicilian-American sandwich is nevertheless synonymous with New Orleans.
a. The po’boy
b. The Italian beef
c. The Hot Brown
d. The muffuletta
Answers
- SpongeBob SquarePants, Nickelodeon Network’s animated sponge, is the dutiful fry cook at the Krusty Krab, a greasy spoon located in the undersea town of Bikini Bottom.
- If this sandwich could talk, it would quote Arnold Schwarzenegger’s line from The Terminator, “I’ll be back.” It’s McDonald’s McRib, no doubt planning a return engagement soon.
- Put French fries (“chips” in England), bacon, cheese or any other sandwich stuffer between slices of buttered bread and you’ve got yourself a “butty.” (Not to be confused with the toasted variety, which are called—you guessed it—“toasties.”)
- The humble peanut butter and jelly sandwich got its start as haute cuisine at the turn of the 20th century, owing to “peanut paste” being somewhat of a delicacy at the time. In 1901, Julia David Chandler published the first PB&J recipe in The Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science & Domestic Economics, intending her creation to grace tables at fancy tea parties. But when peanut butter became affordable for the masses, the PB&J became a proletariat powerhouse.
- The hero by any other name is still a fantastic sandwich. Depending on where you’re located, you might choose to call it any of the above.
- Fluffernutter purists may take offense at the inclusion of banana in the ingredients list, but it’s become a time-honored variation. Graham crackers, however? You must be thinking of S’mores, and that’s another treat entirely.
- The Shawarma is a close cousin of the Greek gyro. (And we dare you to try saying it with a mouthful of that Middle Eastern goodness.)
- Coleslaw subs for sauerkraut on the Rachel sandwich, and turkey or pastrami is frequently swapped for the Reuben’s corned beef as well.
- This fit-for-a-king sandwich could only be from Elvis. (Yes, Michael Jackson was the king of pop, but you can’t seriously picture him eating such a thing, can you?)
- The Big Easy deserves a sandwich with a jazzy-sounding name, and it found one—in the muffaletta, a big Sicilian feast of cold cuts, cheese and tangy olive salad.