Merritting Five Stars

Well, nobody said they didn't care what I had for lunch today. And since some even said they did care, here's the report:

People around these parts rave about the BLT at Merritt's Store and Grill. 'It's the best ever,' 'you've gotta try it,' on and on.

You know what? They're right.

I visited the little breakfast/lunch grill housed inside a convenience store today to do some BLT reconnaissance for my upcoming column. I left wondering whether to rank it number one or two in my personal top 10 (with Atlanta's Buckhead Diner occupying the other spot).

When you order the sandwich, there are a couple of choices. Answering my question on what kind of bread she recommended, the counter woman chuckled, "Sourdough, but we're all out, so white or wheat?" Potato bread is also an option, but I stuck with the traditional white.

Choosing the size of the BLT was a first for me. But instead of small, medium or large, you decide how many layers you want: one, two or three. I took the middle road, and as you can see below I basically got a BLTBLT. The three stacker weighs almost a pound and all I can imagine is a cartoon sandwich where the character needs a jack to open their mouth wide enough. "It's a real artery clogger," the cashier said.

It's hard to say what makes Merritt's sandwich so tasty, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's the combination of juicy tomatoes and a liberal dose of salt and pepper. The woman making my BLT jiggled that pepper shaker onto the sandwich for a good five-Mississippi count.

As at SANDWHICH, this BLT has no weak links. The lettuce is crunchy and voluminous and the bacon is firm and fairly lean. I would have preferred that the bread be toasted more to prevent sogginess. I ate it on the spot and the bread was already getting moist. Otherwise, it was BLT brilliance.

During my last few bites, I actually got a little sad that the sandwich was nearing its end. With the BLT devoured, all that remained was a puddle of tomato and bacon drippings on the tin foil wrapper.

I wish I can say I didn't slurp up that puddle.

Now that's a good sandwich!