Before I moved to Seattle I was living in Tucson and working three jobs to save money. I worked at the U of A Library, How Sweet It Was and the Time Market.

I had the library job and the vintage job before I visited Seattle, I started working at the Time Market after I had visited Seattle and decided to move here. Even though it was a drudge, I still enjoyed being a “deli girl”, getting up early to go and get the prep started. The woman who managed us deli girls was Dee. She had rules about how the sandwiches should be assembled and passed on her obsession with the layers to me. I’ve stuck with her rules and added a few of my own. I think you’ll find they help in creating the perfect sandwich every time. These rules work for burgers too.

The Sandwich Rules

Choose the right bread. The flavor of the bread should work with the other ingredients and work as the tasty foundation. The texture and thickness of the bread is also important. Toasted or not toasted…think about it.

Don’t use ingredients that have a lot of moisture. No one wants a soggy sandwich. The proper layering can prevent this problem. If your ingredients are a little moist toasted bread might work better.

Each slice of bread should have a thin layer of: mayonnaise or mustard or sauce or dressing or butter. If you are making a double decker the middle slice should have a thin layer on both sides.

Start from the bottom of the sandwich and work up, layer by layer.

1. Bread
2. Onion
3. Cheese
4. Meat or Tuna/Chicken salad
5. Bacon
6. Lettuce or greens
7. Herbs, pickles, peppers, cucumber, olives…
8. Tomatoes
9. Salt and pepper
10. Bread

All of the ingredients except the bread with a thin layer of sauce are optional so if there’s something you don’t like or aren’t using then skip it.