The Sandwich That Could Have Killed Elvis

(As heard on Radio Memphis In The Morning) – Okay, so the headline is a little misleading. Or, is it?

In a tale often told in the history of the King and being accused of urban legend, this sandwich was thrust into the pantheon of history and it’s somewhat famous association with Elvis Presley. This is the tale of the Fool’s Gold Loaf.

The sandwich already has kind of a murky story since several people are taking the claim of being the one who invented this monstrosity. Nevertheless, it is a real thing and even though it’s famous connection with The King could be questioned, who cares? It’s a fantastic tale and it goes like this:

The Colorado Mine Company was a Denver, Colorado restaurant who had this thing on their menu. It was apparently created long before Elvis heard of it and may have been built as sort of joke menu item. Elvis had said that he had actually been to the restaurant, but never had the sandwich as he hadn’t heard of this thing. At the time of it’s creation, it was priced at an astonishing $49.95 (now closer to $65) which is where it’s name was derived. Like Elvis would have cared how much it cost. It was to be had, experienced, devoured and turned into legend.

So, what is this thing? One hollowed out loaf of French bread (toasted with 1 stick of butter), 1 whole jar of creamy peanut butter, 1 whole jar of grape jelly and 1 pound of fried bacon. For the curious, around 8,000 calories.

Legend has it that on February 1, 1976, Elvis was apparently entertaining a couple of Denver law enforcement officers at Graceland that evening when the topic of this sandwich came up. The two cops admitting they had not tried it soon found themselves on Elvis’ jet The Lisa Marie at the Memphis airport and winging their way to the Mile High City, in the middle of the night. Arrangements had been made since The King would NOT be denied this sandwich.

At 1:40 AM (as the story goes), 22 of these sandwiches were made and delivered to the Denver airport where The Lisa Marie had parked at a private hangar. Elvis, the two cops and both pilots tucked into these insane things along with bottles of Perrier and Champagne, got back on the plane and flew the 2 hours back home to Memphis without ever leaving the Denver airport. THAT is a legendary sandwich run.

Think about it, 22 sandwiches and 5 guys. Assuming they were all consumed, that would be a little over 4 per man. Granted there were probably others around who got the chance to dine with The King that famous night, but still. This thing looks like it could kill you just being in it’s presence. Knowing Elvis’ fondness for food, there is no telling how this exactly went down. All we can say is, “Damn”.