'Does my name sell?': Acclaimed chef Jamie Knott has 2 sandwiches named after him
If you know your food history, you probably know that the sandwich was named after the fourth "Earl of Sandwich," a British aristocrat who during long card gambling games, would eat salt beef between two pieces of toasted bread so that he wouldn't have to leave the table.
Jamie Knott, the acclaimed chef and owner of the Saddle River Inn and Saddle River Cafe, as well as Madame and Cellar 335 in Jersey City, may not be an earl, nor a card-playing gambler, but he just might be North Jersey's biggest inspiration for sandwich creations.
In the past few weeks, two sandwiches have been named in Knott's honor: the Knott Bad Bao by Bagels by Jarrett in West Orange and the Knott So Bad Cheesesteak by recently opened Sparo's Deli in Ramsey. (Sparo's first location is in Montclair.)
Jarrett Seltzer, owner and chef of Bagels by Jarrett, said he worked with Knott, a friend and mentor, to create the bao sandwich filled with crisped pork belly that includes pickled cucumbers on a soft bao bun.
"I didn't go to culinary school," Seltzer said. "I wanted to have the best boneless spareribs for my menu. I tried to get ideas online. I told Jamie and he messaged me: 'I'm thinking pork belly sous vide.'" Knott continued to suggest ideas. "I had to Google the words he was saying," Seltzer said.
The sandwich, tender pork belly crisped up and served in a sweet bao bun with slices of lime-pickled cucumbers, sold out the first night it was offered. "I was shocked," Seltzer said. The reason? It costs $25 and sold at a place called Bagels by Jarrett, not where many would expect to find a pork belly sandwich on a bao bun. But, he said, "it's insanely delicious."
In Ramsey, Adam Rose and Michael Sparacino, chefs and owners of Sparo's, are stuffing seeded Italian heroes with rib-eye steak, provolone cheese and long hot peppers at their Montclair location, a concoction they named the Knott So Bad Cheesesteak. The sandwich which sells for $16.95, is an homage, said Sparacino, to Knott, whom he called a "culinary influencer."
Rose tells a slightly different story. He and Knott grew up in Nutley, as did Sparacino. They both went to Nutley High School. They are friends. Knott occasionally would tease Rose saying, according to Rose, "Everyone else has got a sandwich named after them. Where's mine?"
"I know he has a big presence in Bergen County," Rose said. Ergo, the Knott So Bad Cheesesteak.
How's the sandwich selling?
"It's going okay," he said. "We weren't trying to make a big thing about it." They are however thinking of offering it in Montclair too.
As for Knott, he's honored to have sandwiches named after him — and taken aback.
"Does my name sell?" he said chuckling. Having a sandwich with his name on it is "of no benefit to me," he said. "I don't need that. I'm a humble man." But if it helps his friends, he said, he's all in.
Want to try the sandwiches? Bagels by Jarrett is at 51 Mt. Pleasant Ave., West Orange; 973-250-6155, bagelsbyjarrett.com and Sparo's is at 197 Bellvue Ave., Montclair; 973-509-0807, sparosdeli.com.
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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Chef Jamie Knott has 2 sandwiches in NJ named after him
