Ever since the brief conversation in one of our meetings, Natick Nest members have been curious about what makes a sandwich, and there is plenty of room for debate. In this article, we’ll explore what makes a sandwich (and a few other dishes), opening dialogue to remedy confusion on this serious query.

Hot Dogs

|  By Alexa Solomon

The hot dog is an incredibly confusing dish. Debating if it deserves the title of a sandwich has been the topic of many high school debate teams, featured on multiple talk shows and TV shows, and has even been used in a college thesis. Clearly, there’s a lot to discuss about this classic American dish. 

Dan Pashman defines a sandwich in his book Eat Better: How To Make Every Bite More Delicious. He says “There are two fundamental characteristics of a sandwich: First, you must be able to pick it up and eat it without utensils, and without your hands touching the fillings. Second, the fillings must be sandwiched between two separate, hand-ready food items.” A hot dog lies top-loaded on a bun which may look like two pieces of bread but is in fact one piece connected at the base of the sausage. Although you can eat it with your hands without touching the fillings, it is not between two separate “hand-ready food items” and is therefore not a sandwich. 

In a 2020 article by AllRecipes, Eric Mittenthal, president of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, shares this view. He says that “if you go to a hot dog vendor and you say give me a sandwich, they’re going to look at you like you’re crazy. It’s just culturally not the same as a sandwich.” Personally, I would have to agree with Mittenthal. It seems that a hot dog transcended the typical features of a sandwich and is in a category of its own. 

Cereals, Soups, and Smoothies

|  By Khushi Chauhan

Cereal is actually one of the most amazing foods. There are cereals with marshmallows, cereals with fruit, cereals made of rice, cereals that look like cookies. But what makes cereal...cereal? 

Is cereal a dish with a topping on a liquid? In that case, croutons and soup could be considered cereal. They're both liquid meals that can be consumed hot or cold. But let's dig in deeper. Soup is a smooth blend of several ingredients that could consist of fruits. In that case, we could consider tomato soup, for example, a smoothie. So, through the transitive property of equality, cereal is a smoothie. 

No. Wait. That doesn't sound right. 

Ok, let's try and move on from the "states of matter" argument and go to the flavor argument. Cereals and smoothies are conventionally sweet and soups are conventionally savoury. Temperature? Cereals and smoothies are cold and soups are hot. 

This conclusion is this: cereal is cereal, soup is soup, and a smoothie is a smoothie. Reddit says it, a lawyer from Virginia says it, and I say it. Anyway, we have more important things to debate like are pop-tarts ravioli.

Bagels

|  By Ella Stern

As anyone who knows me knows, I have very strong opinions about bagels. I tend to think I have the only correct ideas about which kind of bagel is the best, what toppings should go on bagels, and whether or not bagels are a sandwich.

The easy answer is no: I do not think bagels are a sandwich. However, I can see how people could think they are, and how they could be considered a sandwich in some situations. 

Having grown up in a Jewish family, I know that “having a bagel” means “having a bagel with ‘the works’—cream cheese, lox, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, capers, etc…” The scrumptious bagel spreads that often greet me during holidays are open-faced, stacked with delicious toppings, and definitely not sandwiches. 

Go into my “is a bagel a sandwich” opinion knowing that that is my idea of what a bagel is and should be. 

Now, for the specifics. When someone has a bagel open-faced (usually with the works or with plain cream cheese or butter) it is not a sandwich because it is open-faced. Although I would call an open-faced sandwich (such as an open-faced turkey and cheese sandwich) a sandwich because it has normal sandwich fillings and someone just chose not to add the final slice of bread, open-faced bagels are not sandwiches because they are meant to be open-faced. If someone had cream cheese or the works between two bagels, I would call it a sandwich, even though I don’t want to. 

Here’s the thing. Bagel sandwiches definitely exist. When you go into a bagel restaurant, you can usually order either a bagel with cream cheese or the works, or a bagel sandwich—turkey and cheese on a bagel, ham and egg on a bagel, or (the best option) whitefish salad on a bagel.

Note my use of the phrase “on a bagel.” Here we go back to my opinion that “having a bagel” means “having a bagel with the works.” Thus, if I wanted a turkey and cheese sandwich but wanted to put it on a bagel, I would say that I am having a turkey and cheese sandwich on a bagel. 

The reason for this is as follows. If someone told me they were eating a turkey and cheese sandwich, I would assume they had it on the bread that we think of as generic sandwich bread - white bread or whole wheat bread if they made the sandwich at home, maybe something a little nicer, such as ciabatta, if they got the sandwich at a restaurant. If, after telling me about their turkey and cheese sandwich, the person showed me layers of turkey and cheese between two halves of a bagel, I would think “Oh, they had their sandwich on a bagel!” The sandwich is a sandwich (note the phrase “between two halves of a bagel”) but I would not refer to it as such. For me, “bagel” means “open-faced bagel” and “sandwich” means “fillings between two slices of sandwich bread”. If you are combining the two things, you have to specify that you are doing so.

In conclusion, open-faced bagels (especially ones with the works) are not sandwiches. If you put sandwich fillings between two halves of a bagel, it is a sandwich, but I believe you should specify that it is not just an ordinary sandwich - it is a sandwich on a bagel.  

The Massachusetts Burrito Trial

|  By Alexa Solomon

Is a burrito a sandwich? As of a 2006 legal ruling in our very own state of Massachusetts, no it is not. The burrito-sandwich dispute arose over a decade ago in Shrewsbury when a Panera Bread in White City Shopping Center was concerned about a Qdoba Mexican Grill opening in the same shopping center. In Panera’s lease, there was a clause that prevented the shopping center from providing space to any other “sandwich shops.” Apparently, White City Shopping Center didn’t get the memo and approved a lease with Qdoba. As predicted, chaos was sparked. Panera decided to sue in order to enforce the sandwich-exclusion clause. And then came the case. And another case. Up until this query made its way to the Superior Court. 

The sudden sandwich selection case was laid before Superior Court Judge Jefferey Locke, who I’m sure was just as entertained as we are by this humorous legal issue. The case was so peculiar that expert chef Chris Schlessinger got involved. With his spectacular affidavit evidence, he might have swung the tide for Qdoba. In his delivery, he said “I know of no chef or culinary historian who would call a burrito a sandwich.” So, did this woo Locke over? By the grace of the sandwich Gods, it did.

In his final verdict, Locke argued that burritos, tacos, and quesadillas aren't often thought of as sandwiches because they're usually constructed with a single tortilla and loaded with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans. I believe that “single” is the key word here and what concluded this mysterious local conflict and international debate.