SAN JOSE
– At first, I suspected it might be a bizarre joke. Fried garlic
bologna sandwiches served at the Gilroy Garlic Festival? FRIED
bologna? But my informant insisted it was, er, no baloney.
SAN JOSE – At first, I suspected it might be a bizarre joke. Fried garlic bologna sandwiches served at the Gilroy Garlic Festival? FRIED bologna? But my informant insisted it was, er, no baloney.
And then, my informant told me the Garlic Festival organizers had scheduled a press conference on Tuesday at San Jose’s Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant to show off their culinary creation.
It was a historic event I could not miss. At no other time in the chronicles of journalism has a media event been conducted to honor a bologna sandwich. What a story!
Dan Gordon, co-founder of the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, greeted me as I entered the restaurant area where the festival’s fried bologna sandwich was to have its debut. I asked why his famous eatery was chosen as the venue. The reason, he told me, was the popular Gordon Biersch garlic fries. They would be served with today’s bologna sandwiches, he said.
Fries and balogna – a natural combination, especially with Gilroy’s Christopher Ranch garlic slathered over those crispy potatoes.
Gene Sakahara described to me how the Festival Fried Garlic Bologna Sandwich came to be. As a child, Sakahara often ate bologna sandwiches. But the boring cold bologna between a couple of slices of Wonder Bread quickly loses its allure for a kid. So at the age of 10, he tried frying the stuff.
Mistakes were made.
Frying bologna usually causes it to swell into a dome as the fat drips out. The trick Sakahara discovered was to cut small wedges out of the meat. This allowed it to stay flat while frying.
”I perfected this technique over the years,” he said proudly. While watching the Food Network on cable TV, he saw a show highlighting fried balogna sandwiches cooked at a restaurant in Waldo, Ohio. That’s when the idea hit – a fried garlic bologna sandwich for Gilroy’s famous festival.
If Sakahara loved it as a kid, other people might, too, he reasoned. He did some extensive research and found the Evergood Sausage Company in San Francisco would specially prepare garlic bologna for the festival’s sandwich. This isn’t your usual Oscar Mayer bologna found at Safeway. This stuff is cut thick and enriched with the garlicky taste that made Gilroy a culinary Mecca.
The sandwiches won’t compete directly with the famous peppersteak sandwiches at the festival’s Gourmet Alley, Sakahara said. Samples of the sandwich will be sold for $2 at a special booth next to the Garlic Cook-off stage.
Sakahara and his cooking buddy Sam Bozzo believe their culinary offering will be a hit – especially for festival visitors who grew up with fried bologna sandwiches.
As we chatted, an immense bowl of hot garlic fries arrived, the aroma filling the air. Lunch was ready.
We, the members of the media, hovered over the sandwich-making table like hungry vultures. The KPIX-TV news cameraman came up close for a videotape shot. A San Jose Mercury News photographer flashed her camera. I casually took notes as Bozzo and Sakahara started making the sandwiches for guests.
Bozzo smeared thick ketchup on the bottom half of a bun, then plopped a juicy slice of garlic bologna on the condiment. Sakahara layered the meat with a slice of red onion and a garden-fresh tomato. He spread mayonnaise on the top half of the bun and crowned the sandwich with it. Finally, a paper tray of garlic fries went on the plate and it was handed to Alika Spencer, the 2004 Garlic Festival Queen.
Looking regal in her gown and crown, Spencer strolled with the lunch back to her table.
Don Fernandez, the KPIX-TV reporter, aimed his videocamera at her as she prepared to take her introductory bite. I stood by, pen and notebook in hand.
Spencer giggled as her teeth sank into the sandwich. The world waited anxiously for the Garlic Queen’s judgment.
Still chewing, Spencer gave a thumbs-up sign.
”Hammy,” she said, and licked a bit of ketchup from her lips.
A short while later, I received my plate from Sakahara and Bozzo and sat down at a table with Kay and Steve Spencer, Alika’s parents. Steve Spencer mentioned he had eaten fried bologna sandwiches as a kid and loved them.
”It must be a retro recipe, going back to the ’50s,” Kay said. ”Everyone says, ‘Oh yeah, I had it as a kid.’ ”
Everyone but me, I thought. My German mom fixed liver and onion sandwiches that (no lie) I really loved.
My moment of truth for fried bologna came. Slowly, I brought the sandwich up to my mouth and took a huge bite. Like some fine-food connoisseur, I allowed the meat to glide over my tongue and savor every morsel.
My victual verdict: More flavorful than the usual Oscar Mayer bologna on Wonder Bread, but Gourmet Alley’s peppersteak sandwiches ain’t got nothin’ to fear.
Later, as musician Frank Lima played ”Stairway to Heaven” on an accordion nearby, I chatted with 2004 Festival President John Zekanoski about the bologna sandwich debut.
”Garlic is doing for bologna what the festival has done for garlic – sort of take it out of the closet,” Zekanoski said. To which I say: Fried garlic bologna, come out of that closet! You’ve nothing to be ashamed of.
My prediction is that Festival Fried Garlic Bologna Sandwiches will be a huge hit at this year’s festival. It will definitely attract folks who grew up on fried bologna and want a quick nostalgia trip. And it’ll also be a hit for the adventurous – those mortals who’ll try anything, even (shudder) garlic ice cream.
Bon appetite, bologna!
