The Dagwood sandwich, named after the cartoon character Dagwood Bumstead, is a towering sandwich filled with multiple meats, cheeses, vegetables, and various toppings. A chain of restaurants specializing in Dagwood’s sandwiches opened in 2006. The sandwich first appeared in the Blondie comic strip in 1936.
The Dagwood sandwich is a sandwich filled with so many ingredients that eating it would be impractical for anyone but a cartoon character. It was invented and named for the cartoon character Dagwood Bumstead, star of Chic Young’s long-running Blondie comic book series. A few brave fans have attempted to build and eat real Dagwood sandwiches, a feat comparable to putting on Wile E. Coyote’s rocket-powered skates: plausible, but laughable. In 2006, a chain of restaurants specializing in Dagwood’s sandwiches opened.
In 1930, Chic Young created the comic Blondie, about the amusing misadventures of the title character, a carefree and easy-going girl familiar to readers of the time. The strip’s focus soon shifted to Blondie’s husband Dagwood. Dagwood was notable for wings on his unique hairdo, a thankless clerical job, and a penchant for making and consuming titanic sandwiches despite his railroad-like build. The strip began publishing in the United States, but achieved worldwide popularity, inspiring a series of 1940s films, and was still syndicated internationally as of 2010.
The Dagwood sandwich first appeared in the strip in 1936. It generally includes several types of meats, cheeses and vegetables, multiple slices of bread and various toppings, and invariably comes topped with an olive on a toothpick. Dagwood employed various comical methods to devour his gigantic snack, such as opening his mouth with a jack, compressing the bun with a vice, or fixing the ingredients using a hot dog as a dowel. Other cartoon characters known for their mammoth appetites have created similar meals over the years, but the towering sandwich is so synonymous with Dagwood that the phrase “Dagwood sandwich” appears in some dictionaries.
Chic Young died in 1973 and his son Dean Young took over the strip. In 2006, Dean launched a chain of sandwich shops, tapping into the famous cartoon character’s cooking magic. The chain’s Dagwood sandwich featured 14 ingredients, topped with an olive on a toothpick. Vices, jacks, and frankfurter plugs were not included; the sandwich didn’t come close to the indigestible heights of Dagwood’s cartoon creations.
Very hungry daredevils looking to make their own Dagwood sandwich should start with several slices of sturdy bread. According to the comic, a Dagwood sandwich always contains deli meats, sliced cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles, along with mustard or mayonnaise. Optional ingredients include onions, fried or deviled eggs, sausage, chicken or tuna salad, sardines, radishes, peppers, and bell peppers. Ingredient layers should be interspersed with slices of bread; this may make it easier to break the sandwich into manageable pieces to eat. A long toothpick or skewer will hold the sandwich together and, of course, the olive on top should never be forgotten.
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