Today we celebrate the venerated sandwich, made famous by the Earl of Sandwich.
As the story goes, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich was an avid card player. He was loathe to leave the gaming tables, and his valet, fearing the earl neglected to feed himself properly, handed the earl a piece of cold meat between two sliced of bread, so as not to get the cards all greasy. Or perhaps it was the good Earl himself who had the idea.
He was also the First Lord of the Admiralty during the American Revolution, so I think it’s only fair America co-opted his eponymous culinary contribution. Take that, Johnny boy!
Of course, the sandwich tradition extends much further back in time, back to when a certain Hillel would eat the korban Pesach together with matzah, maror.
But who are we to stand in the way of modern history?