Dad things
Including but not limited to: a perfect turkey sandwich
Things my dad likes: pretzels. pretzel bread. sourdough bread. any bread. chocolate cake. chocolate ice cream. chocolate caramels. any chocolate. skiing. talking about skiing. talking about skiing while skiing. the movie pitch perfect. quoting the movie pitch perfect. tennis. giving me tennis tips (it’s always the weak wrist on my goddamn one-handed backhand volley). golf. giving me golf tips (remember to take a practice swing and watch the fucking ball). hot yoga. wearing nike shirts at hot yoga with weirdly passive aggressive phrases like “punish me” and “try not to suck.” turkey. turkey and stuffing. a good turkey sandwich.
Okay so I could keep going with this list, but I’m gonna pause here to focus on that last one: a good turkey sandwich. My dad loves a turkey sammie, especially if it’s on pretzel bread (see “pretzel bread” above). He’s particular about what he wants on his turkey sandwich (lettuce, cheddar, possibly some mustard but absolutely no mayo-based condiments), but that hasn’t stopped him from modifying turkey sandwiches to his liking (for example, ordering the Triple Decker sandwich at Sadelle’s without coleslaw). While my dad and I have very different tastes when it comes to turkey sandwiches (I would get extra coleslaw, for instance), he has passed his love of this sandwich genre onto me.
Things my dad doesn’t like, including but not limited to: cream cheese. I bring this up because, a few months ago, when my parents were visiting New York and my mom asked me to get her a Brooklyn Bagel for the plane home, my dad asked if they had turkey sandwiches. It had never occurred to me to order a turkey bagel from Brooklyn Bagel, but it turned out that yes, they did have turkey, and how bad could it be when the bagels were so good?
It was a hit, obviously. I was curious, so the next weekend, I got a Brooklyn Bagel turkey bagel for myself. And let me tell you, she’s a 12/10. I feel that I’m qualified to supply that rating because, it recently occurred to me, I’m something of an expert on turkey bagels.
Exhibit A: It’s the summer of 2014, and I’m interning at The Huffington Post. Black Seed Bagels has just opened their first location on Elizabeth Street in Noho. It’s allllll the rage. I’m talking lines that snake down the block. And yeah, I do wait in that line. Many times. Probably an embarrassing number of times. I usually order a turkey sandwich on a sesame bagel. I always take a photo of it.
Exhibit B: Rewind even further. I’m in high school. I’m obsessed with a local bagel spot called Chicago Bagel Authority. I eat it for lunch at least once a week. My go-to: The Stud’s Turkey, made with turkey, smoked cheddar, shredded lettuce, and honey mustard—no tomato, add avocado—on a plain bagel, steamed and pressed together so that the cheese gets all melty.
Apparently, a turkey bagel has always been it for me, and the one from Brooklyn Bagel is pure chef’s kiss. Since the beginning of March, I’ve ordered this bagel sandwich seven times. I literally counted on Uber Eats.
As mentioned at the outset, my dad and I have drastically different turkey sandwich styles. He likes a little smack of mustard, I like a whole slathering of every sauce they got. He likes cukes, I most definitely do not, but I *could* go for some sliced jalapeños if I’m feeling zesty (my dad would never). He likes cheddar, my favorite’s Gouda. (Name that movie.)
My point is, there’s a Brooklyn Bagel turkey sandwich for every kind of turkey sandwich person, and I’m thankful to my dad for reconnecting me with a lost but very loved part of myself.
Happy father’s day to the guy I’ve always loved to share a bagel with. 💙
P.S. here’s my perfect order for a turkey bagel from Brooklyn Bagel:
-roast turkey
-sesame bagel
-toasted (I know but trust me)
-scoop both sides (I KNOWWW but trust me! in the name of Ideal Ratio)
-avocado
-romaine
-two slices of Gouda
-spicy mustard
LOVE getting to spend time on Father's Day with you and your turkey sandwich loving father. xoxoxoxo
How come you and I have the exact same turkey sandwich order (except I like an everything bagel) at Brooklyn Bagels down to the toasted and scooped (if you get avocado on a non scooped bagel all of the filling winds up on your lap)? :)! XOXO!