I Tried the BLT at 5 Restaurant Chains & the Winner Was Fresh & Crispy

On the Mount Rushmore of sandwiches, the almighty BLT is at least a Washington. One of the most iconic, timeworn sandwiches in America, it's often a crossroads for a restaurant. It can follow a simple formula of basic ingredients but be done very well, or it can serve as a blank canvas for experimentation. Across the country, restaurant chains achieve BLT glory with their own recipes, offering protein-packed sandwiches with some variation on the bacon, lettuce, and tomato combo. Beyond that, though, the sky is the limit.

Sometimes, the sky proves to be too high, though. As I've experienced in this taste test of BLTs from several popular restaurant chains, some veer into excessive saltiness, too much mayo, or overpowering bread. Others, however, excel at the form and understand the assignment—that, when dealing in quality products at the peak of BLT season, you don't need any extraneous bells and whistles to set it apart. To sample what's out there, I cast a wide net and visited a mix of full-service and fast-food restaurants, from cafes to sub shops. I tried BLTs from five different brands, and came to the conclusion that when it comes to a BLT, simpler is usually better.

Cracker Barrel

One lesson I learned right away from this taste test is that, with BLTs, less is more. I credit that lesson to Cracker Barrel, a folksy quasi-Southern chain that generally tends to go big—sometimes too big. As is the case with its Homestyle Grilled Chicken BLT ($12.59), which seems like it's trying to be two sandwiches in one, while failing at both. Made with bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, grilled chicken breast (for some reason), and—crazily enough—a maple glaze, this thing tasted as messy as it sounds.

The look: The first word that came to mind when looking at this thing was "unhinged." Which is never the most appetizing way to kick off a meal. Nothing about it looked even remotely traditional, or recognizable as a BLT in any way. The bun looked dense, thick, and sweet, more akin to a buttery roll you might use for barbecue, while the ingredients were all heaped together haphazardly, resulting in a pile that seemed way too difficult to bite into. The bacon looked good, but the fact that it was dripping in sauce (and way too much mayo) was concerning. The chicken looked…fine? Albeit inexplicable.

The taste: Indeed, this thing tasted as messy as it looked. There is way too much maple glaze and mayo, neither of which work together or add anything to the sandwich, other than making such a mess that I felt like I needed a shower. The maple flavor was truly confounding. Did they think maple paired well with bacon, so it would work with tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo? It was a weird choice that didn't work at all. The bread, too, was just as overpowering and dense as I assumed, drowning out the otherwise tasty strips of bacon, and rendering the tomatoes and lettuce virtually tasteless. The chicken also doesn't add anything to the equation here, and doesn't mesh well with the conflicting onslaught of flavors.

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Jimmy John's

On the one hand, kudos to Jimmy John's for veering in the opposite direction of Cracker Barrel and keeping their BLT, the JJBLT ($7.49), far more straightforward and classic. On the other hand, they somehow manage to make their straightforward classic—made with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo—into a sad, flavorless medley that just doesn't work in sub form.

The look: I can hand it to Cracker Barrel that they're at least willing to take big swings, regardless of whether or not they hit. Jimmy John's, conversely, seems to have gone too far in the other direction, putting together the saddest looking BLT of the bunch here, complete with limp strips of bacon that look like they've been microwaved, nearly nonexistent slivers of tomato, and a few sparse leaves of lettuce. The bread is the biggest focal point, and considering how excessive and chewy it looked, that's not doing this BLT any favors.

The taste: The bread is way too much of the main character here, to the point where I have to assume the "B" in "JJBLT" is, in fact, bread. As pale and basic as it looked, it made for a truly one-note sandwich devoid of those bright and vibrant flavors you're looking for when ordering a BLT. The bacon was strangely bland, lacking both crispy texture and salty flavor, while the tomatoes and lettuce added nothing. Again, going in the opposite direction of Cracker Barrel, there was way too little mayo on this one. I'm relieved, at least, that there was no maple component, but that's small pittance compared to how utterly lackluster this tasted.

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Jersey Mike's

Just when I had completely written off sub sandwich chains for their ineptitude with BLTs, Jersey Mike's slides in to save the day and rinse the bad taste from my mouth. While not the most amazing BLT, their classic rendition ($9.65) of bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on white bread, proves that there's a way to do it better.

The look: My main criticism for this one is similar to that of Jimmy John's, and it's that sub sandwich bread just seems a little too much for something as simple as a BLT. Although Jersey Mike's white bread appeared more appetizing than Jimmy John's, it still seems a little too overpowering and distracting. Otherwise, though, the rest of the ingredients were a dramatic improvement over the previous two entries on this list, with an even-looking distribution of ingredients, crunchy strips of bacon, crisp shredded lettuce, a healthy amount of mayo, and juicy tomatoes.

The taste: Aside from the fact that, indeed, there is just too much bread here, the rest of the sandwich is actually pretty good. The lettuce is really the only thing that seems to get buried under all that heft, but the bacon and tomatoes are good enough on their own to shine through. I loved the mild smokiness and greasy crunch of the former, while the tomatoes are as fresh and juicy as they appeared. Had the bread been lighter and the lettuce more pronounced, this could have ranked even higher.

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Panera Bread

The chain I had the highest hopes for on this ranking was Panera, a place with a proven track record for wholesome sandwiches and seasonal savvy. And although it didn't take first place, the new Tomato Basil BLT ($9.99) was still a largely impressive feat, offering the right amount of experimentation and originality (garlic aïoli instead of mayo, tomato-basil bread), without overpowering any of the core ingredients (applewood-smoked bacon, crisp mixed greens, vine-ripened tomatoes).6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: A good rule of thumb, I've found with BLTs, is that the more homemade they look, the better they are. In other words, simpler is always better. And despite a couple newfangled additions here, like the oddly tomato-colored bread, that's what this looked like: a simple sandwich your grandma might make for you. If grandma had a heavy hand with mayo, and threw all caution to the wind with a heap of bacon. And because of the tomato-basil bread, which was as fragrant as it was colorful, this was easily the most unique-looking BLT of the bunch.

The taste: The award for best use of bread definitely goes to Panera. The choice to use tomato-basil bread, at once fluffy and light, was brilliant, as it added just the right amount of originality, without overpowering. It laid the perfect foundation for the rest of the ingredients, like the fresh and crisp greens, the succulent tomatoes, and the creamy mayo. The main reason this didn't rank higher is because of the bacon, which could have been crispier and tasted mildly microwaved. It also slipped off the sandwich too easily, and made things messier than expected. But all in all, the individuality of this sandwich—and the overall flavor profile—was impressive.

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Friendly's

Almost the opposite of Panera Bread, I had fairly low expectations for Friendly's. After all, any diner-style chain that traffics in breakfast platters shaped like smiley faces is generally not a place I associate with culinary acumen. But, a comeback is afoot, and apparently it's well-earned, because Friendly's bare-bones BLT ($11.79) proves once and for all that simplest is best.

The look: Made with applewood-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on toasted sourdough, there isn't anything to hide behind here. And there's boldness in keeping things this simple, and this classic. Fortunately, it worked for me, because not only did this look homemade, but it looked so good. The sourdough was just thick enough, and toasted to a buttery golden-brown. There is clearly a generous portion of crispy-crunchy bacon, as well as fresh lettuce leaves, juicy tomatoes, and a smear of mayo that exhibited restraint. I felt like I was eating a lunch that my mom would make for me as a kid, in the best way possible.

The taste: The texture is what catapulted Friendly's BLT to the top of the list, as really every component of the sandwich was doing its best work. The toasted bread was as buttery as it looked, with a mild crunch along the surface that gave way to a soft and fluffy interior. It was the perfect foundation for the crunch of the smoky bacon, the sweetness of the tomatoes, and the crispness of the fresh lettuce. None of it tasted greasy, and the mayo rounded things out with a delicate slick of creaminess. Eschewing needless additions, Friendly's keeps things simple, and hits it out of the park.