Reflections on a ham sandwich
The ham sandwich (and everything else) is gluten-free at Wild Flours in Huntington. (October 2013) Credit: Newsday / Joan Reminick
Gustatory memories are among the most powerful.
This was driven home at lunch recently when I stopped into Wild Flours, a gluten-free bakery cafe in Huntington. Sandwich options were few — turkey or ham, among the main choices — so I went for ham with mustard and tomato on a sesame-seeded roll. Gluten-free, of course.
It was a simple but excellent sandwich, right down to the sweet, ripe red tomatoes. That the roll had so much appeal came as something of a surprise. Even more astonishing, though, was that I suddenly found myself reliving a picnic dinner from countless years ago. There I was, watching the sun set on top of Cadillac Mountain in Maine’s Acadia National Park while picnicking on a ham sandwich with mustard and tomato.
I also couldn’t help but recall how, only about three years ago, I’d revisited Cadillac Mountain and, unbidden, the memory of that ham sandwich had come to me, so real, I could virtually taste it.
Wild Flours Bake Shop is at 11 New St. Huntington, 631-923-1090, wildfloursbakeshop.com.
