Unraveling the Mystery of the Club Sandwich: Does “C.L.U.B.” Really Stand for Chicken Lettuce Under Bacon?

The club sandwich is a lunchtime staple – stacked layers of bread, turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, pinned together with frilly toothpicks. It’s a simple yet filling sandwich with an iconic look. But where did the name “club sandwich” come from? A tempting theory claims it’s an acronym for Chicken Lettuce Under Bacon. It’s a clever idea, but the real origins of the club sandwich are shrouded in mystery. Let’s investigate this sandwich history to find out if the C.L.U.B. theory holds any water.

The Tempting Theory: C.L.U.B. = Chicken Lettuce Under Bacon

It’s easy to see the appeal of the CL.UB. acronym theory. The ingredients fit perfectly

• C = Chicken
• L = Lettuce
• U = Under
• B = Bacon

There are many versions of the club sandwich that do have these four things between two layers of toasted bread. The acronym is surprisingly common on the web, and it’s even used in printed cookbooks. But crucially, there’s no evidence that C. L. U. B. is the original root of the “club sandwich” name.

Early Recipes Make No Mention of C.L.U.B.

Recipes for the club sandwich date back to the late 1800s, but contain no mention of any C.LUB. acronym. One of the earliest known recipes comes from the 1899 cookbook “Salads, Sandwiches, and Chafing-Dish Dainties” by Janet McKenzie Hill. Her recipe calls for

• Buttered and toasted bread
• Sliced chicken or turkey
• Broiled or fried bacon
• Lettuce
• Mayonnaise

The ingredients match the C. L. U. B. acronym, but there’s no reference to those letters. Other early 20th century recipes also lack any C. L. U. B. notation. The acronym appears to be a modern invention not rooted in historical fact.

Origins Point to Elite “Clubhouses” of the Late 1800s

While the C.L.U.B. theory falls apart under scrutiny, the actual origins of the club sandwich do appear tied to exclusive clubhouses of the late 19th century.

In 1889, a New York newspaper makes reference to a “Union Club sandwich” consisting of toasted bread with turkey, chicken, and ham served at the Union Club in Manhattan. A few years later in 1894, the Saratoga Club in Saratoga Springs, NY supposedly debuted a two-slice sandwich filled with chicken or turkey.

The timing and ingredients strongly resemble the modern club sandwich. The standard triple-decker lunch favorite we eat today seems to have come from sandwiches named after exclusive clubs, not acronyms. In the beginning, club sandwiches only had two slices of bread and didn’t have the unique stacked shape. But over time, the club evolved into the three layers we recognize today.

When Did C.L.U.B. emerge as a Backronym?

The appearanance of C.L.U.B. as an acronym for the club sandwich ingredients seems to be a relatively modern invention. Linguists have traced it back only to the late 1990s on internet forums and chat rooms. This makes it a “backronym”- an acronym reverse engineered from an already existing word.

Food historians find no evidence that C.L.U.B. was used when club sandwiches first emerged in the late 1800s. It appears to be a false acronym that mistakenly tried to explain the “club” name long after these sandwiches were created. In reality, the “club” likely refers to the upscale clubs that first served these sandwiches.

C.L.U.B. Makes a Convenient Mnemonic

While not historically accurate, the C.L.U.B. acronym has utility as a handy mnemonic device. It provides an easy way to remember the most common ingredients found in traditional club sandwiches:

• Chicken – Often turkey is used as a leaner alternative to chicken these days.

• Lettuce – The crispy, cool lettuce provides texture contrast.

• Under – Describes the layering with meat underneath the lettuce.

• Bacon – Bacon adds a salty, smoky crunch.

So while C.L.U.B. may not explain the origins of “club” in the name, it does help memorize the classic components of this triple-decker sandwich.

The Bottom Line: C.L.U.B. Makes a Good Mnemonic But Not Historic Acronym

Linguistic evidence shows that “C.L.U.B.” is unlikely to be the original source of the club sandwich moniker. The name appears to be tied to early versions served at upscale social clubs in New York in the late 1800s. But C.L.U.B. still serves a useful purpose as a handy device for remembering the traditional ingredients. So feel free to use it as a mnemonic, just don’t confuse it for historic fact. The true origins of the club sandwich remain somewhat obscured in mystery, without definitive proof the name ever stood for chicken lettuce under bacon.