The #1 Restaurant Trick I Do to Make Every Sandwich Tastier

A few years ago, I worked as a line cook in an upscale restaurant. Usually, I worked the grill or sauté station on the hot line. One day, my boss approached me and told me I was scheduled to work garde manger, aka the salad station. I had never worked that station before, but it was just salads and other cold items, so I figured, how hard could it be? 

The following eight hours were a radical education in the proper technique for not only salads but also crudités, dips, charcuterie and sandwiches. I learned a lot that day and came away with a lot of respect for my co-workers who worked that station regularly. I also gained some extremely precious tidbits of knowledge on what made restaurant food taste so much more elevated than what I usually prepared at home. 

The most important thing I learned during that shift was to always dress the lettuce or greens on a sandwich. It sounds like such a fussy step, but believe me, the flavor payoff is off the charts.

Why You Should Dress Lettuce

You wouldn’t eat a dry salad, so why eat dry lettuce on a sandwich? We’ve all bitten into a sandwich with a vast valley of crunchy, but dry, lettuce in the middle. The texture is unpleasant, to say the least. Even if you douse each side of the bread with mayo and mustard, all that will do is sog out the bread while keeping the lettuce in the middle bone-dry. If you’re a fan of Italian subs, you may have noticed your local hoagie shop drizzling on oil and vinegar at the end, which is almost perfect. The downside here is that there’s splash-back that can get the bread soggy. What I’m advocating for here is dressing lettuce in a separate bowl prior to construction.

Beyond adding moisture, dressing provides much-needed seasoning. Lettuce can be bland, and even a small amount of salt and pepper can boost the flavor considerably. Deli meats and cheeses are usually salty, but their salinity can’t really season the greens or other veggies. By dressing the lettuce, you can lightly season other veggies like tomato or cucumber in your sandwich, which could also use a little help. 

How to Dress Lettuce

The basic method is simple: Once your greens are the size you want to eat them, toss them in a bowl with about a tablespoon of vinaigrette. My go-to all-purpose sandwich dressing is 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard and a pinch each of salt, pepper and dried oregano. Add all of the ingredients to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously until combined. You can dress nearly any greens with this combo for a super-flavorful sandwich. In a pinch, I’ve been known to dress greens with just olive oil and a splash of pickle brine or juice from a jar of pickled peppers. Always start with a light drizzle of dressing—remember, you can always add more, but soggy, overdressed lettuce is unfixable. Once your lettuce is ready, assemble the rest of the sandwich as you normally would, mounding up your dressed lettuce, and enjoy right away.

Flavor Combinations to Try

The type of greens and vinaigrette you use depends on your sandwich. For a caprese on ciabatta, I’ll toss a handful of arugula with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. On a classic Italian hoagie, I reach for thinly shredded iceberg or romaine and toss that with a drizzle of my basic vinaigrette or even bottled Italian vinaigrette. On a classic chicken tender or fried chicken sandwich, a vinaigrette of olive oil, cider vinegar, honey and whole-grain mustard really sings. 

For the best BLT of your life, it takes a few extra steps, but you’ll never want to eat it the regular way again. Start by slicing your tomatoes and nestling them in a shallow bowl. Then, pour over about 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar, a healthy pinch or two of salt and several cracks of black pepper. If you have any chives or scallions kicking around your fridge, slice them thinly and throw them in. Let the tomatoes marinate while you cook your bacon, toast your bread and cut your lettuce. Assemble as follows: toasted bread, a light smear of mayo, bacon and marinated tomato slices. Then, toss your lettuce in the leftover tomato marinade and add to your sandwich, then finish with the final slice of bread. Not only are your tomatoes perfectly seasoned and marinated, but the salt in the marinade draws out some of the tomato juice, leaving you with more densely flavored tomatoes and a tomato vinaigrette to dress your lettuce.

Tips to Avoid a Soggy Sandwich

At this point, you may be thinking, “OK, you’ve sold me, I’ll dress my sandwich greens. But how do I keep it from making my sandwich soggy when I pack my lunch for work or school?” Not a problem—this method can absolutely be done on the go!

In general, I always advocate keeping sandwich lettuce separate from the sandwich until you actually plan to eat it. Transporting your lettuce in a container with a paper towel keeps it incredibly crisp and prevents wilting before lunchtime. Take it one step further by packing a small amount of vinaigrette with you and dressing your greens in the container you transported them in. If you have an office fridge, consider mixing up a batch of my basic vinaigrette and keeping it in a jar for sandwiches all week long. Sure, it’s an extra step and maybe one extra container to clean, but if you ask me, a few extra seconds is worth it for a sandwich you’re actually looking forward to eating.