BL(FGT)T
Twenty-one years ago, lo-fi band Guided by Voices played one of their first shows outside of Ohio at a small club in Philadelphia called the Khyber Pass. On 2nd street in a neighborhood called, uncreatively enough, Old City for exactly the reason you would expect, the Khyber was a rock institution, the kind of dimly lit punk-as-fuck place where you could be one of fifty people to hear the Next Big Thing.
there’s no way to get lost. it’s beers in all directions.
But punk rockers grow up, neighborhoods gentrify and today the Khyber is a bar specializing in a hella long list of microbrews (so you can say you tasted the Next Beer Thing) and Southern-inflected food with po’boys, jambayala, and enough vegan option to draw back all those aging punks who can now afford Sunday brunch. Snark aside, it’s a good place, solid, the kind of place you can go for a quick bite, a night out with friends, or a romantic date. That’s why I was there–I had a date with my main squeeze, whose birthday we were celebrating. And with a sandwich.
One of this month’s sandwiches, the BLT, to be specific. But this wasn’t any old BLT, which would stick out pretty terribly with the rest of the menu. This was a Southern BLT, meaning that it had fried green tomatoes on it, in addition to a remoulade spiced with tabasco peppers, and the regular usual fixings. Collard greens on the side.
What does the kitchen think when someone puts in an order for a fried green tomato BLT at a Southern restaurant known for its BBQ? Clearly it’s the kind of sandwich that’s designed to appeal to the unadventurous eater, somebody’s mom who “doesn’t like spicy food.” Since that’s pretty far from me, it made me vaguely self conscious to order it, as if I wanted to explain to the waiter that, no, really, I’m doing this for a blog. Like that makes it better. Oh, and can you just hold off from taking my plate just yet, I need to Instagram it first.
While waiting for our food, we sampled two very different beers. Mine was an Elysian Space Dust, a pint of delicious hoppiness. For my companion, there was only one possibility. A rare beer that paid homage to his favorite band to be drunk in the very bar where they had played their first Philly show. Beer Thousand, brewed by Dogfish Head in tribute to the 20th anniversary of Guided By Voice’s iconic album Bee Thousand. The beer even looked heavenly in its pert little snifter.
It was some kind of cosmic synchronicity. Could any food compare?
crosshatched for supreme tastiness.
It could. The fried green tomato BLT was an excellent sandwich, with the fried tomatoes adding an extra layer of crunch and a bit of sour juiciness (though I have to wonder where they’re sourcing their green tomatoes this time of year). The white bread was toasted beautifully with nice grill marks. The remoulade could have been a bit spicier to cut the fattiness of the bacon, which seemed standard issue to me. A bacon connoisseur, like some on this very site, might be disappointed.
in order: t, fgt, b, t, l, t
And how could I be mad at the iceberg lettuce and slightly sad unfried red tomato that made up the bottom layer? I mean, is it even a BLT without iceberg lettuce? I think not. Unlike their po’boys or bbq options, this sandwich is on the daintier side, probably not enough for a big eater. But definitely worth a taste, especially with a good pint on the side and some excellent tunes on the jukebox. I’ve even got a recommendation for you.
No denying it, I like the sensual things of the world, especially good food and drink, though I’m no snob when it comes to either. A background in American cultural history and food studies makes me approach the world with a desire for contextualization and connection on the way to synthesis.
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