Peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich

This article is about the Elvis Sandwich. For a similar sandwich Elvis enjoyed, see Fool's Gold Loaf.
Peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich
Alternative names Elvis sandwich, the Elvis
Type Sandwich
Place of origin United States
Main ingredients Sliced bread, peanut butter, banana, bacon
Cookbook: Peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich  Media: Peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich

The peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich, or peanut butter and banana sandwich, sometimes referred to as an Elvis sandwich or simply the Elvis, consists of toasted bread slices with peanut butter, sliced or mashed banana, and sometimes bacon. Honey is seen in some variations of the sandwich. The sandwich is frequently cooked in a pan or on a griddle. The recipe for the sandwich has been published in numerous cookbooks and newspaper stories.[1][2] It is sold commercially in restaurants that specialize in peanut butter sandwiches, such as Peanut Butter & Co.[3]

Elvis Presley and the sandwich

The peanut butter and banana sandwich has been referred to as a favorite of Elvis Presley,[4] who was renowned for his food cravings such as the Fool's Gold Loaf, a loaf of Italian bread filled with a pound of bacon, peanut butter, and grape jelly.[5] Books on Elvis Presley's favorite foods and culinary tastes, as well as other published reports on his taste for peanut butter and banana sandwiches with or without bacon, have made the sandwich widely associated with Presley. It is often referred to using his name.[6][7][8]

Presley's fondness for peanut butter and banana sandwiches is well established; however, bacon is not mentioned in all accounts.[9] A book about Presley and his mother, Gladys Presley, though, says he had "sandwich after sandwich of his favorite—peanut butter, sliced bananas, and crisp bacon". Another passage describes him talking "feverishly until dawn" while "wolfing" down the sandwiches (described in this instance as being made with mashed banana).[10]

A news report suggests that, based on renditions of sandwiches named after him, Presley ate his with caramelized bananas and crispy bacon on grilled Hawaiian bread, and grilled by his mother or his cook in bacon fat. The Good, the Bad, and the Yummy describes it as consisting of half a banana and a piece of bacon per sandwich, browning the sandwiches in a frying pan with butter, cutting the sandwiches into wedges, and piling them high.[11]

Variants

The sandwich has had numerous variations, many of which were billed as "Elvis Presley's" or owing to "Elvis" himself. Nigella Lawson of Nigella Bites cooking show, featured "Elvis Presley's Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich" in a 2007 episode that was made of white bread, butter, a banana and peanut butter.[12]

Another cooking show "Sara's Secrets" featured "The Elvis" with the Peanut Butter & Co.'s recipe, which includes 8 slices of bread, butter, a banana, peanut butter, 12 slices of bacon and honey.[13]

A variant on the sandwich is the peanut butter banana club sandwich, which combines the sandwich with a club sandwich by adding lettuce, brown sugar and lemon juice.[1] Another version of the sandwich was sold under the name The Memphis at the "all peanut butter sandwich" restaurant P.B. Loco prior to the company going out of business, which added honey and substituted bacon bits for bacon strips.[14]

The sandwich has also been featured in a cookbook for canines in The Everything Cooking for Dogs Book. The book suggests alternative fillings including sweet potato, carrots, pumpkin, and apples.[15]

Popularity among other celebrities

Former Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, said that he would select a peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich as his "last meal", using "toasted Wonder Bread, melted Skippy Super Chunky, slices of overripe banana and fresh crisp bacon."[16] The subject came up when Bloomberg was discussing Philadelphia cheesesteak with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.[16]

Singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb shared "a concoction of peanut butter, banana, honey and bacon" called "an Elvis" on a date with her future husband, Roey Hershkovitz.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Peanut Butter Sandwich Takes on a New Zest". St. Petersburg Independent. September 7, 1983. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  2. "Remember, Mom, Lunch is Important". St. Petersburg Times. November 9, 1972. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  3. Peanut Butter & Co. Sandwich Shop (2013). "Sandwich Shop Menu" (PDF). Peanut Butter & Co. Sandwich Shop. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  4. Sietsema, Robert (August 14, 2007). "Hunka hunka burnin' bacon". Salon.
  5. Smith, Liz (2002-11-10). "Ain't Nothin' but a Chow Hound". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
  6. Dunn, Brad; Daniel Hood (2004). New York: The Unknown City. Arsenal Pulp Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-55152-161-9.
  7. "The Elvis". Food Network. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  8. Zalben, Lee; Jerry FRW Seinfeld; Theresa Raffetto (2005). The Peanut Butter & Co. cookbook: recipes from the world's nuttiest sandwich shop. Quirk Books. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-59474-056-5.
  9. Examples of the sandwich sans bacon are easily found; gossip columnist Liz Smith provides one: Smith, Liz (2005). Dishing: great dish—and dishes—from America's most beloved gossip columnist. Simon and Schuster. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-7432-5156-3.
  10. Dundy, Elaine (2004). Elvis and Gladys. Oxford: UP of Mississippi. pp. 227, 256. ISBN 978-1-57806-634-6.
  11. Steiman, Adina (2007). The Good, the Bad, and the Yummy: Food that Suits Your Mood. Running Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-7624-2743-7.
  12. Lawson, Nigella. "Elvis Presley's Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich". Food Network. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  13. "The Elvis Recipe". Food Network. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  14. Seftel, Howard (Jan 12, 2006). "P.B. Loco". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  15. Fortunato, Lisa (2007). The Everything Cooking for Dogs Book. Everything series. Adams Media. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-59869-431-4. OCLC 125403481.
  16. 1 2 Seifman, David (July 26, 2008). "Mayor's 'last meal' a killer". The New York Post. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  17. Lisa Loeb, Roey Hershkovitz Wedding announcement January 31, 2009 New York Times
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