This Photo Of "The Ultimate Tuna Melt" Has The Internet Seriously Divided, And It's Very Obvious Why
Ah, the tuna melt: Some love her, some hate her, and some (me) specifically go to a 24-hour diner that's had that same vinyl seating since the '80s just to order her.
I will personally never forget (or forgive) Senator Mark Warner's atrocious take on one of my favorite sandwiches.
Warm tinned fish with mayo and melted cheese will probably always be a controversial sandwich choice, but a recent post by Cook's Illustrated just reopened the decades-long debate with what they deem to be "the ultimate tuna melt."
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The recipe for "Diner-Style Sheet-Pan Tuna Melts" comes from America's Test Kitchen (the parent publication of Cook's Illustrated) and calls for an entire head of iceberg lettuce that's "cut into 1-inch-thick slabs" and divided amongst four sandwiches. Let's just say commenters were a little skeptical about this approach.
And, hey, I'll defend some crunchy iceberg on a sandwich or burger any day, but this? The roof of my mouth hurts just looking at it.
More importantly: WHERE IS THE TUNA?! Respectfully, this is a lettuce sandwich.
Some people are even calling it a "recession indicator."
Chef and cookbook author J. Kenji López-Alt even shared his own troll-y version of the now-infamous iceberg (tuna) melt with the caption, "How'd I do, @cooksillustrated?" But he did admit that the original sandwich "looks really good."
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He's not the only one who thinks so. Chrissy Teigen also commented on the original post, saying that it "LOOKS BOMB." Okay, Chrissy.
But over on the r/FoodieSnark subreddit, people were convinced the sandwich was rage bait. "I'm an iceberg girlie but this is ridiculous and a textural nightmare," the OP wrote.
A few internet sleuths figured the recipe was likely inspired by Palace Diner, a small counter restaurant in Maine known for serving a thick slab of lettuce on their tuna melts, which receive rave reviews.
Commenters seemed to notice the similarity, too. One former Palace Diner employee pointed out the big differences, though: the original has both less lettuce and more tuna. A "gigantic ice cream scoop of tuna," to be exact.
Anywho, I sure won't be adding a 1-inch lettuce slab to my tuna melts anytime soon because, as one commenter points out, we've endured enough.
Would you try this sandwich? Let us know in the comments!
No shade to the "ultimate," but if a classic tuna melt is more your style, download the free Tasty app to save and cook our recipe (plus 7,500+ others!) — no subscription required.
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