The history of the sandwich dates back to the first century, with its origins linked to the Jewish sage Hillel the Elder, who wrapped meat from the Paschal lamb and bitter herbs in soft matzah during Passover—a near-Biblical tradition.
However, the true significance of placing something between or within bread takes on a deeper meaning in the words of musician-songwriter Warren Zevon. In his final days, during an interview with ‘Late Show’ host David Letterman, Zevon shared a heartfelt and profound piece of advice: “Enjoy every sandwich.”
Graphic designer, Netflix marketer and author Barry Enderwick took that to heart when a friend of his gifted him with a PDF copy of ‘The Up-To-Date Sandwich Book‘ of 1909 – culinary literature featuring 400 recipes for all sorts of sandwiches that came with the humorous thought: Wouldn’t it be fun to share these old sandwiches on social media?
This gave rise to the ‘Sandwiches of History’ phenomenon, which began with a strong and viral presence in 2019 across social media. It expanded to include the best-selling ‘Sandwiches of History: The Cookbook’ and has now evolved into ‘Sandwiches of History: Live!’
Philadelphians can sink their teeth into all of it at PhilaMOCA with two shows on Jan. 17, including a late show added after the initial performance sold out immediately.
While Enderwick was, by no means, connected to the culinary world as a chef in the past, he does confess to being “a passionate home cook for decades, an always curious person before that – curiosity and creativity being the bridge between what I do now with ‘Sandwiches of History’ and graphic design.”
Enderwick’s amazement at the sandwich in all its glory comes from the immensity and diversity of its potential ingredients, as well as its possibilities of travel.
“You can do literally anything inside and outside – the bread and how its treated. You can mash up cuisines from other cultures, say Mexican and Indian. Now, you can do that with any meal, but a sandwich makes it all portable.”
Liking sandwiches and making them into a business occurred with the arrival of ‘The Up-To-Date Sandwich Book’ of 1909 in Enderwick’s inbox.
“I read that and thought it would be interesting to actually try those recipes from over 100-years-ago; really fun especially on social media,” he said. “Once I posted that, people began sending me like-minded books and recipes from around the world.”
The amount of sandwich recipe profiles stunned Enderwick, who also happens to have likeminded social media sites focusing on everything from potato chips to craft beers to sweet-savory-ice cream treats. And though he has prepared and written about hundreds of sandwiches based on his findings, Enderwick confesses that, “Some of these recipes are truly awful.”
He’s quick to add that many of the sandwiches are great, or exist in a grey area of “eh.” However, Enderwick also can update any vintage sandwich recipe lacking in flavor with modern components to zschjoosh for a tasty final product.
“Some sandwiches just need help getting over the finish line,” Enderwick says.
When asked what possible sandwich is the most arcane or yuck in his ‘Cookbook,’ he’s quick to choose a 1936-vintage Yeast sandwich.
“At the end of the 1920s, Fleischman Brothers were struggling with yeast sales because housewives were making less bread at home as sliced white bread came out in 1928,” he explains. “Yeast sales were lagging so they got together with their marketing department, and came up with an “Eat Fresh Yeast for Health” campaign. It worked, and by 1936, they came up with a sandwich with a fresh mashed yeast cake and Worcestershire sauce between buttered bread. Now, I’ve never eaten wallpaper paste, but my guess is that there’s a similar consistency between that and the yeast sandwich.”
Fun food facts such as this will be part of his Jan. 17 ‘History of Sandwiches: Live!’ event at PhilaMOCA with special guest Dean Clean from Philly’s the Dead Milkmen onstage. While on tour, audiences not only bring Enderwick ingredients, but often whole sandwiches to sample onstage.
“In Chicago several weeks ago, someone brought me pierogis – the best I’ve ever had in my life.”
Enderwick is excited to be in Pennsylvania – Philadelphia first, then Pittsburgh – because this state is rich in craft beer, potato chips, and, course, sandwiches — from the Schmitter to the cheesesteak and the hoagie.
At PhilaMOCA, the author-performer and Clean will make fresh sandwiches from ingredients voted on in advance, talk about the process, host a Q&A, discuss local sandwiches, and generally have fun at the expense of meat, cheese and bread.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit philamoca.org
