Fool's Gold Loaf
{{Short description|Sandwich enjoyed by Elvis Presley}}
{{good article}}
{{use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Fool's Gold Sandwich
| image = Fool's Gold Loaf (8720348111).jpg
| country = United States
| region = Denver, Colorado
| creator = Colorado Mine Company
| type = Sandwich
| main_ingredient = Bread, creamy peanut butter, grape jelly, bacon
| serving_size = sandwich
| calories = ~8,000
}}
Fool's Gold is a sandwich made by the Colorado Mine Company, a restaurant in Denver, Colorado. It consists of a single warmed, hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with the contents of one jar of creamy peanut butter, one jar of blueberry jam, and {{convert|1|lb|g|0|spell=in}} of bacon.
The sandwich's connection to the singer Elvis Presley is the source of its legend and prolonged interest. According to The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley, Presley and his friends took his private jet from Graceland, purchased 22 of the sandwiches, and spent two hours eating them and drinking Perrier and champagne before flying home. The story became legend and the sandwich became the subject of continued media interest and part of numerous cookbooks, typically focused on Presley's love of food.
Origin
There are two accounts on the origin of Fool's Gold. According to Graeme Wood, it was created by Cindy and Buck Scott, owners of the Colorado Mine Company restaurant. Wood writes that Presley obtained the recipe from the Scotts so his personal chef could make it, but noted that "the Fool's Gold Loaf never made a recorded encore".{{cite web |url=https://gcaw.net/2011/05/28/big-hunk-o-love/ | title=Big Hunk o' Love | date=May 28, 2011 | newspaper=TheDaily.com |via=gcaw.net |first=Graeme |last=Wood |authorlink=Graeme Wood (journalist) |access-date=21 January 2014}}
According to Nick Andurlakis, he helped create the sandwich while he was a chef at the Colorado Mine Company and suggested the dish to Presley. Andurlakis said that he personally delivered the sandwiches to Presley on the night of his visit.
The sandwich was named to fit the restaurant's mining motif.{{cite news |last1=Sanders |first1=Mark |date=2012-08-16 |title=Nick Andurlakis on Elvis's beloved Fool's Gold Loaf sandwich and how it was conceived |url=https://www.westword.com/music/nick-andurlakis-on-elviss-beloved-fools-gold-loaf-sandwich-and-how-it-was-conceived-5686824 |url-status=live |work=Westword |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228004626/https://www.westword.com/music/nick-andurlakis-on-elviss-beloved-fools-gold-loaf-sandwich-and-how-it-was-conceived-5686824 |archive-date=2023-02-28 |access-date=2024-01-22 |quote=Today marks the 35th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. The iconic singer spent a great deal of time in the Centennial State and had many adventures. In honor of the King, Backbeat is sharing some of these stories.}} At the time of Presley's visit, it cost {{US$|49.95|1976}}.{{cite news |last1=Godoy |first1=Maria |last2=Fulton |first2=April |date=2013-01-08 |title=Elvis Left The Building Long Ago, But His Food (And Music) Lives On |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/01/08/168871751/elvis-left-the-building-long-ago-but-his-food-and-music-lives-on |publisher=NPR |access-date=2016-10-14}}
Preparation
The recipe has been repeated by numerous sources, including The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley and Andurlakis, a chef at the Colorado Mine Company.{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19930818&id=tX1OAAAAIBAJ&pg=2010,706656 | title=King Cuisine | work=Star-News | date=18 August 1993 | access-date=21 January 2014 | author=Deegan, Carol}} The Fool's Gold Loaf begins with a loaf of French (which can also be substituted with Italian) white bread that is covered in two tablespoons of margarine and baked in the oven at {{convert|350|F}} until brown. {{convert|1|lb|g|0|spell=In}} of sliced bacon is fried in oil until crisp and is then drained. The loaf is sliced lengthwise, hollowed out, and filled with peanut butter, grape jelly and bacon.{{cite web | url=http://www.jonnybarber.com/nickscafe/fools-gold-loaf.php | title=Nick's Cafe - Home of the Fool's Gold Loaf | publisher=Nick's Cafe | access-date=21 January 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202092540/http://www.jonnybarber.com/nickscafe/fools-gold-loaf.php | archive-date=2 February 2014 | url-status=dead}}
According to Andurlakis, he personally served Presley the Fool's Gold Loaf with bacon, peanut butter, and blueberry preserves on a loaf of French bread.{{cite web | url=http://www.jonnybarber.com/nickscafe/about.php | title=Nick's Cafe - About Us | publisher=Nick's Cafe | access-date=21 January 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202092538/http://www.jonnybarber.com/nickscafe/about.php | archive-date=2 February 2014 | url-status=dead }} The specific type of preserves was allegedly Dickinson's blueberry preserves.{{cite news |last1=Herrera |first1=Dave |date=2012-08-16 |title=Elvis's beloved Fool's Gold Loaf sandwich was born in Denver |url=http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2012/08/elvis_fools_gold_denver.php |url-status=dead |work=Westword |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202162929/http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2012/08/elvis_fools_gold_denver.php |archive-date=2014-02-02 |access-date=2024-01-22}}
Elvis Presley connection
David Adler's book contains a detailed account of the event that made the Fool's Gold Loaf sandwich famous. On the night of February 1, 1976, Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie's birthday, Presley was at his home at Graceland in Memphis, entertaining Captain Jerry Kennedy of the Denver Police Department and Ron Pietrafeso of Colorado's Strike Force Against Crime. The three began discussing the sandwich, and Presley decided he wanted one right then. Presley had been to the restaurant before, while in Denver.
Kennedy and Pietrafeso were friends of the owners, so they were driven to the Memphis airport and boarded Presley's private Convair 880 jet, the Lisa Marie, and flew the two hours to Denver. When they arrived at Stapleton International Airport at 1:40 AM, the plane taxied to a special hangar where the passengers were greeted by Buck Scott, the owner of the Colorado Mine Company, and his wife Cindy, who had brought 22 fresh Fool's Gold Loaves for the men. They spent two hours in the hangar eating the sandwiches, washing them down with Perrier and champagne. Presley invited the pilots of the plane, Milo High and Elwood David,{{Cite web |title='The Lisa Marie': Elvis Presley's Convair 880 Jet Airplane {{!}} Elvis Articles |url=https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/lisa-marie-convair-880-jet-airplane.shtml |access-date=2023-04-01 |website=www.elvis.com.au |language=en}} to join them. When they were done, they flew back to Memphis without ever leaving the airport.{{citation|title=The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley|author=Adler, David. |year=1993|publisher=Three Rivers Press.}}
Coverage
The Fool's Gold Loaf connection to Elvis Presley dominates the media's coverage of the subject. It was widely reported as "legend" by the media; including the NBC's Today,{{cite news | url=http://www.today.com/id/38600144#.Ut6T4LQo61t | title=Eat like the King – and keep the Tums handy | work=Today | access-date=21 January 2014 |last=Coffey |first=Laura | date=August 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202154306/http://www.today.com/id/38600144 | archive-date=February 2, 2014 }} The Joplin Globe,{{cite news | url=http://www.joplinglobe.com/food/x212080344/Fools-Gold-Loaf-A-sandwich-fit-for-The-King-WITH-VIDEO | title=Fool's Gold Loaf: A sandwich fit for The King | newspaper=Joplin Globe | date=14 August 2007 | access-date=21 January 2014 | author=Meeker, Scott}} and the Gloucester Daily Times.{{cite web | url=http://www.gloucestertimes.com/lifestyle/x845820415/The-King-liked-his-PB-J-slicked-with-a-touch-of-grease/print | title=The King liked his PB&J slicked with a touch of grease | work=Glouster Times | date=22 August 2007 | access-date=21 January 2014 | author=Meeker Scott | archive-date=January 21, 2014 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20140121155630/http://www.gloucestertimes.com/lifestyle/x845820415/The-King-liked-his-PB-J-slicked-with-a-touch-of-grease/print | url-status=dead }} Doug Clark, a columnist for The Spokesman-Review, recounts the popular story and writes that the Fool's Gold Recipe is "surprisingly tasty" and notes that it contains around {{convert|8000|Cal|kJ}}.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9aBXAAAAIBAJ&pg=3490,4438588 |first=Doug |last=Clark |title=A Meal to Die For - Elvis Sandwich Could Leave You All Shook Up. |work=The Spokesman-Review | date=18 August 2007 | access-date=21 January 2014}} The popular legend and sandwich were also noted by the Smithsonian.{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/five-funky-ways-to-make-a-peanut-butter-sandwich-71100951/ |title=Five Funky Ways to Make a Peanut Butter Sandwich |work=Smithsonian Magazine |date=9 September 2011 | access-date=21 January 2014 | author=Rhodes, Jesse}}
The Fool's Gold Loaf has been detailed in Ramble Colorado: The Wanderer's Guide to the Offbeat, Overlooked, and Outrageous.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eJvSOzkr5pcC&pg=PA37 |title=Ramble Colorado: The Wanderer's Guide to the Offbeat, Overlooked, and Outrageous | publisher=Fulcrum Publishing | author=Peterson, Eric|year=2008 |isbn=9781933108193 }} The Peanut Butter and Co. Cookbook refers to the Fool's Gold Loaf legend and ties it to the peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich, also known as the "Elvis sandwich".{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MnDzAt8S13AC&pg=PA36 | title=The Peanut Butter and Co. Cookbook: Recipes from the World's Nuttiest Sandwich Shop | publisher=Quirk Books | author=Zalben, Lee | year=2005| isbn=9781594740565 }}
See also
{{Portal|Food}}
- List of bacon dishes
- List of sandwiches
- List of peanut dishes
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- Peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich, another sandwich Elvis Presley enjoyed
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.spokesman.com/video/2007/aug/15/doug-clark-recreates-sandwich-killed-elvis/ Video report] about preparation of Fool's Gold Loaf, The Spokesman-Review, 16 August 2007
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om9kk1N-N-M Elvis Flew Across the Country to Eat a Sandwich] Video about the sandwich and its connection to Elvis Presley, Fact Fiend, 29 June 2018
{{Bacon}}
{{Sandwiches}}
{{Elvis Presley}}