Unconventional Wisdom

BLT Dinner Spread	Dominic Armato

A BLT made with mediocre bacon is still pretty good. But a BLT made with mediocre tomatoes is a total waste of a meal.

It isn't always all about the bacon.

Comments

[jh]

Heirloom tomatoes. The way tomatoes should taste. You don't realize how bad tomatoes at the supermarket have gotten until you taste the real deal. Home grown tomatoes are great too.

[bfish]

I agree with you Dom -- making BLTs any time local tomatoes are out-of-season isn't even a remote possibility in my world. To me, a BLT is the best and highest use of fresh-picked, local tomatoes.

[Steve F.]

disgusting

[Skillet Doux]

For the record, these were pretty decent Cherokee Purples. Which just served as a reminder :-)

[babscat]

I realized yesterday I over-consume bacon during the summer. That's because of the over-abundance of my homegrown tomatoes. Bacon & and good Tomatoes. A tough combo to beat.

[Independent George]

I didn't know what tomatoes tasted like until my late 20s, when I had my first heirloom. Since then, it's been all about the farmer's market, or, in a pinch, hothouse heirlooms. I can't believe what I'd been missing all these years.

[timothy]

This is such an end of summer conversation. Happy Labor Day everyone.

[Elise]

Thanks for the heads up Dom, because looking at that shot I was thinking, "But, there are tomatoes that are supposed to look that way, and they taste pretty good!"

[Anon man]

"It isn't always all about the bacon."

This is the most depressing thing I've ever read. The only thing worse would be like my daughter telling me she was a vegan.

[Nikki L]

I had the best heirloom tomato BLT yesterday... it's making me sad just thinking that it's gone now.

[Duffy]

My wife maintains that the only decent lettuce for a BLT is iceberg -- right crunch, subtle taste and balance to match a prime tomato and a proper bacon.

[redpoint]

The thing that's killing me about your spread is that white bread. Blek. The quality of the bread is a huge factor in the sandwich.

[Skillet Doux]

"The quality of the bread is a huge factor in the sandwich."

Couldn't agree more! And sometimes plain ol' white sandwich bread is just the ticket. It's a matter of preference, of course, but I'm of the opinion that a BLT is one sandwich for which anything else is just a distraction. Some foods aren't improved when they're elevated.