Memorable Quotes:

“A Bearnaise sauce is simply an egg yolk, a shallot, a little tarragon vinegar and butter, but it takes years of practice for the result to be perfect.” — Fernand Point

Coffee Pot Sandwich

A recreation of the classic Coffee Pot sandwich: a foot-long Italian roll piled with finely chopped Spanish onion and green bell pepper, seasoned with red pepper flakes and a light drizzle of olive oil, then layered with fresh tomato, cheese, salami or ham, and dill pickles. The generous amount of onion and simple oil-and-pepper seasoning are what give this sandwich its distinctive character.



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Coffee Pot Sandwich

















Yield: 1 foot-long sandwich
Prep Time: About 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 foot-long Italian sandwich roll
  • Spanish white onion, cut into about ¼-inch dice, generously
  • Green bell pepper, cut into about ¼-inch dice
  • Red pepper flakes, to taste
  • Olive oil, for a light drizzle
  • 5 slices plum tomato
  • 4 slices American cheese or provolone
  • 3 slices Genoa salami, ham, or a combination of both
  • 5 dill pickle slices
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions:

  1. Slice the Italian roll lengthwise, leaving one side attached so the roll opens like a hinge.
  2. Spread a generous layer of chopped Spanish onion from one end of the roll to the other.
  3. Sprinkle a smaller amount of chopped green bell pepper over the onion.
  4. Season the vegetables with salt and red pepper flakes.
  5. Drizzle very lightly with olive oil. The sandwich should be seasoned by the oil but should not taste oily.
  6. Arrange 5 tomato slices evenly along the length of the sandwich.
  7. Top with 4 slices of cheese, followed by 3 slices of salami, ham, or a combination of the two.
  8. Finish with 5 dill pickle slices distributed along the sandwich.
  9. Close the roll gently and serve.

Tip: The original Coffee Pot sandwiches never seemed particularly oily. One possibility is that the chopped onion and green pepper were tossed with a small amount of olive oil and seasonings ahead of time rather than having oil poured directly onto each sandwich. If recreating it, that would be worth trying—it would distribute the seasoning evenly while keeping the bread from becoming oily.

Source: Recreation of the classic Coffee Pot sandwich; original sandwich made with rolls from Brick Oven Bakery.


Note: This is not the actual recipe but a listing of the ingredients discussed by the owner of The Coffee Pot in Bangor Maine during a TV interview conducted the week that the Coffee Pot closed its doors. The Coffee Pot closed on December 31, 2009 and I was fortunate to get a sandwich that day. Hundreds of people were in line for 1180 sandwiches. Many people in line were buying 10 to 20 sandwiches at a time.