The Old-School Sandwich Anthony Bourdain Couldn't Stand To Eat

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Anthony Bourdain — chef, television show host, and author — had no shortage of opinions when it came to food and dining. He was firm about which cuisines he considered underappreciated in the U.S., and offered plenty of great advice for how to find delicious meals in any city. However, some dishes were targeted by Bourdain's sharply honed disdain — and one of the most consistent targets of his culinary wrath was the seemingly innocuous old-school club sandwich.

In his 2016 cookbook "Appetites," Bourdain famously expressed a strong dislike for the dish. He explained to the LA Times, "I'm really irritated by that useless middle slice of bread on the club sandwich. It's been there forever; it's not a trend. It's lasted for decades and why, when we can so easily dispense with it?" 

Bourdain's contempt for the club sandwich wasn't confined to one rant — it was a recurring theme in his fiery food commentary. As reported by Thrillist, in a notorious list titled "Crimes Against Food," he doubled down on his hatred, describing the sandwich's third slice of bread as an invention by "enemies of freedom" meant to "sap our will to live by ruining our sandwich experiences through 'tectonic slide.'" And in a 2016 interview with NPR, Bourdain again railed against the extra bread in a club sandwich, saying, "The third slice of bread on a club sandwich, I think, is a satanic invention." He was nothing if not consistent in his tastes.

Anthony Bourdain was all about authenticity in food; he despised artifice. So a sandwich with extra bread easily slid into the category of overbuilt and underwhelming. But the club sandwich was not alone in his "Crimes Against Food" list.

The brioche burger bun was another bread-based beef the chef had. "God is against the brioche bun," he wrote. "The hamburger bun is designed to ABSORB grease, not add greasiness to the experience." For Bourdain, burgers had an architectural logic: structurally sound, texturally balanced, and best served on a humble potato bun. Bourdain similarly hated Kobe burgers, deeming them "utterly fraudulent" when served in over-hyped restaurants or popular gathering spots for "bro's," along with his contempt for those who ordered them.

Even eggs Benedict wasn't safe. That soft muffin served at brunch spots drew his ire: "The lazy cook toasts it under the broiler for a few seconds on one side, leaving the outer surface gummy and raw tasting and lacking the textural note your poached egg and Canadian bacon and sauce desperately need," he declared.