My BLT is better than your BLT

Yup. My BLT is better than your BLT… and I’ll tell you why… it’s really a BBALAT

B – the Bacon. The most important element of a BLT. Without bacon, the BLT would be come an LT… a sad, floppy, meatless stack of rabbit food. There is little in the world that’s better than bacon, and people who disagree with that statement have never had bacon. A BLT without bacon is like a Shakespeare play without the title character: confusing, unnecessary and ultimately worthless. And as far as bacon is concerned, while I could pull a pound of frozen hillshire from the freezer, I much prefer going with a pound of fresh Hempler’s thick-cut from the deli counter; it’s thick, juicy, and not that much more expensive than packaged swine.

B – the Bread. You can’t just use any old bread for a good BLT. For this, I prefer a nice loaf of fresh-baked Como or Pugliese (both conveniently available at Safeway), sliced on a diagonal, and lightly toasted.

A – the Avocado. Cut open an avocado or two, pop out the pit and spoon out the fruit. Smoosh a generous portion onto one side of the bread as you build your sandwich. BOOM. I just changed your life.

L – the Lettuce. Ok, let’s be honest, we could all do without the lettuce. The leafy greenery is simply a way for people consuming BLT’s to feel better about eating this much bacon; as if a short stack of iceberg is going to make a gastrointestinal difference. If you HAVE to leave it in there though, forgo the Foxy-brand head of green water, and instead, layer on a handful of spring mix. The various types of greens give the sandwich a texture and taste both different and satisfying.

A – the Aioli. Really? You thought after all that, I’d just slather on some traditional mayo without facying it up a bit? Ok.. I probably would do that. But I don’t. Instead, I mix up a simple mixture of lite mayo, a dash of red wine vinegar, and a pinch each of fresh parsley and fresh dill. Sure, it’s not really an aioli, but an “A” sounds better in my acronym, and this sauce is delicious on this dinner.

T – the Tomato. OK. I got lazy on this one. It’s just a slice or two of regular tomato. But really, what more do you need?

Enjoy… this is a damn good sandwich.