What does the 'club' in club sandwich actually stand for?

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By VT

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Isn't the internet wonderful? Not only can we send selfies, like posts online and check our emails in real time, but we also have a ton of information at our fingertips, a tap or swipe away.

Just so much information, you guys.

Now, not only is homework a piece of cake, but finding out new info - like how the official Reese's Instagram account only follows Reese Witherspoon, for example - is just as simple. So when 18-year-old Saul Henderson made an offhand tweet about club sandwiches that caused us to potentially see them in a new light, people understandably lost their minds.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/sjhenderson07/status/994964019231502341]]

Yeah, that's right. Not only are club sandwiches bready stacks of double-decker deliciousness, but apparently there's been a secret acronym hiding in there the entire time - could "club" actually be an acronym for "chicken and lettuce under bacon"?

Here at Food Envy, we're all about learning new things about food, but I think it's also important that the only baloney we entertain here is in a pasta sauce or sandwich. Long story short: no, that is not what club stands for. It is not an acronym. Allow me to explain why it is not an acronym.

First of all, this is nothing against Saul Henderson up there, but like a delicious club sandwich stacked high toward the heavens, this flimsy, clumsy acronym idea kind of falls to pieces the moment you actually look at a club sandwich. Here's one right here, for your viewing pleasure:

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TasteCafeExeter/status/999194516669288448]]

Mmmm. Delicious, right? Your average club sandwich is filled with all kinds of goodies - ham, cucumber, egg, tomato and mayonnaise, to say the least. But do you notice how there's no bacon in that particular club sandwich, let alone lettuce underneath that bacon? And who describes a sandwich in that way?

Still not convinced? Why not try to make a club sandwich at home, as described by Mr Henderson above? In its most fundamental state, you're going to be left with a very dry chicken and bacon sandwich - devoid of mayonnaise, tomato or anything else that would actually make a club sandwich taste good.

Careful not to flip it over at any point, though - then, you'll be left with a "bulc" sandwich, and the experiment will be ruined, meaning you will have to start again and again. Until you can eat an entire dry chicken and bacon sandwich without turning it over once.

So where exactly did the name "club" come from? It turns out, these sandwiches got their name because - wait for it - they first came to our attention when they were served in clubs.  Also known as a "clubhouse sandwich", they first originated way back in 1889, the first reference of a club sandwich came at The Union Club of the City of New York, which was a social club for wealthy gentlemen.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BestClubSanga/status/999164687538253824]]

Back then, the Union Club sandwich was described as "two toasted slices of bread, with a layer of turkey or chicken and ham between them", and while not at today's quality of club sandwich, it's a clear first draft of club sandwich deliciousness. Since then, club sandwiches have evolved into the stacked deliciousness you see before you.

You might be wondering why an article about a teenager talking about club sandwiches deserves so many words devoted to completely debunking it, but I think this is a prime example of what happens when people hear something online, and go crazy without devoting a single brain cell to it. Some news outlets ran with this, you guys.

Online, we've got terabytes upon terabytes of information at our fingertips, but you've got to take the 15 seconds or so to actually go out and find that information.

Online, there are way too many people who have no idea what they're talking about, are naïve or are lying to your face for no discernible reason other than to mess with you. If you're not careful, that's how you end up with people believing that vaccines cause autism or that the Earth is flat, despite there being literally centuries of research that say otherwise.

So I hope you've learned something today, folks. Grab a club sandwich, enjoy it (they're delicious), but don't believe everything you read online. Please.

What does the 'club' in club sandwich actually stand for?

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

Isn't the internet wonderful? Not only can we send selfies, like posts online and check our emails in real time, but we also have a ton of information at our fingertips, a tap or swipe away.

Just so much information, you guys.

Now, not only is homework a piece of cake, but finding out new info - like how the official Reese's Instagram account only follows Reese Witherspoon, for example - is just as simple. So when 18-year-old Saul Henderson made an offhand tweet about club sandwiches that caused us to potentially see them in a new light, people understandably lost their minds.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/sjhenderson07/status/994964019231502341]]

Yeah, that's right. Not only are club sandwiches bready stacks of double-decker deliciousness, but apparently there's been a secret acronym hiding in there the entire time - could "club" actually be an acronym for "chicken and lettuce under bacon"?

Here at Food Envy, we're all about learning new things about food, but I think it's also important that the only baloney we entertain here is in a pasta sauce or sandwich. Long story short: no, that is not what club stands for. It is not an acronym. Allow me to explain why it is not an acronym.

First of all, this is nothing against Saul Henderson up there, but like a delicious club sandwich stacked high toward the heavens, this flimsy, clumsy acronym idea kind of falls to pieces the moment you actually look at a club sandwich. Here's one right here, for your viewing pleasure:

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TasteCafeExeter/status/999194516669288448]]

Mmmm. Delicious, right? Your average club sandwich is filled with all kinds of goodies - ham, cucumber, egg, tomato and mayonnaise, to say the least. But do you notice how there's no bacon in that particular club sandwich, let alone lettuce underneath that bacon? And who describes a sandwich in that way?

Still not convinced? Why not try to make a club sandwich at home, as described by Mr Henderson above? In its most fundamental state, you're going to be left with a very dry chicken and bacon sandwich - devoid of mayonnaise, tomato or anything else that would actually make a club sandwich taste good.

Careful not to flip it over at any point, though - then, you'll be left with a "bulc" sandwich, and the experiment will be ruined, meaning you will have to start again and again. Until you can eat an entire dry chicken and bacon sandwich without turning it over once.

So where exactly did the name "club" come from? It turns out, these sandwiches got their name because - wait for it - they first came to our attention when they were served in clubs.  Also known as a "clubhouse sandwich", they first originated way back in 1889, the first reference of a club sandwich came at The Union Club of the City of New York, which was a social club for wealthy gentlemen.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BestClubSanga/status/999164687538253824]]

Back then, the Union Club sandwich was described as "two toasted slices of bread, with a layer of turkey or chicken and ham between them", and while not at today's quality of club sandwich, it's a clear first draft of club sandwich deliciousness. Since then, club sandwiches have evolved into the stacked deliciousness you see before you.

You might be wondering why an article about a teenager talking about club sandwiches deserves so many words devoted to completely debunking it, but I think this is a prime example of what happens when people hear something online, and go crazy without devoting a single brain cell to it. Some news outlets ran with this, you guys.

Online, we've got terabytes upon terabytes of information at our fingertips, but you've got to take the 15 seconds or so to actually go out and find that information.

Online, there are way too many people who have no idea what they're talking about, are naïve or are lying to your face for no discernible reason other than to mess with you. If you're not careful, that's how you end up with people believing that vaccines cause autism or that the Earth is flat, despite there being literally centuries of research that say otherwise.

So I hope you've learned something today, folks. Grab a club sandwich, enjoy it (they're delicious), but don't believe everything you read online. Please.