Thanks to Reddit, University of Akron professor's sandwich idea finds life at Diamond Deli
It's time to step aside Goodyear, there's a new attention-getter flying around town.
This version is made with bacon, lettuce, Italian dressing, mayo and pepperoncini peppers instead of polyester and helium, but it's a BLIMP nonetheless.
Now, when people point and say, "Look, the blimp!" it will be a gamble whether the reaction is a look skyward or bite into a sandwich.
And who better to participate in this moment in local history than Diamond Deli, the Rubber City's beloved delicatessen. Another critical player in the BLIMP's creation is University of Akron philosophy professor Chris Buford.
More: Akron's Hoppin' Frog Brewery and University of Akron partner for Zips Hoppin' Blonde Ale
From Reddit's BLMP to a deli's BLIMP
So how did a well-known deli and a professor join forces to create an Akron-themed sandwich?
They found one another using the one thing that makes our world so gloriously (or horribly) small: the internet.
On Dec. 20, Buford had came home after meeting a friend at the Mustard Seed and was feeling peckish, so he made himself a sandwich with bacon, lettuce, mayo and pepperoncini. After realizing that the acronym spelled BLMP, he posted his new creation on the Akron subreddit.
"It was just sort of a spur of the moment thing to post it on Reddit and it seemed appropriate for the Akron Reddit thread in terms of something Akron-related that was kind of fun and cheeky," Buford said.
It was about 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 21 when Eric Brewer, a sandwich maker at Diamond Deli, saw Buford's post. He thought the sandwich sounded tasty. Brewer also saw it as a solution issue for tomato haters that still craved that BLT experience – turns out those round red devils are quite divisive.
Brewer extended the invitation for Buford to come and try his sandwich "hot off the press" with the addition of Italian dressing to complete its BLIMP status.
With all his grading done and not much food around his house, the professor stopped by at 2 p.m. that same day to try their new creation. Normally, the deli would have been dying down by then, but there was still a line spilling out of the door. Patrons were trying to get their sandwich fix before the shop's winter break the following week.
"For that [Reddit post] to turn into an actual one-on-one interaction with somebody who wanted to come out and try something for the first time, I thought that was really cool," Brewer said. "I was really, really stoked that he came in and then to go home and see that people were actually following it on the thread and were invested and wanted to see how it turned out."
Buford admits he was worried it wouldn't taste as good as the one he'd made at home, but it ended up tasting far better. Plus, he got a Thirsty Dog beer to wash it down.
"It's probably not for everybody but I suppose most sandwiches are like that," he said. "It does have the bacon but the pepperoncini and the Italian dressing sort of have got a tanginess to it. So, there's the fat in the bacon I think that cuts back against that."
Diamond Deli adding BLIMP as a special
Creating a sandwich born from social media is a first for Diamond Deli, according to Brewer. All sandwiches on the menu are named after inside jokes within the Magilavy family, who own the restaurant. The only exception is the Old Bald Guy, which came about because a regular wanted the sandwich and it was so good they made it permanent addition to the menu.
Brewer is brainstorming another name for his and Buford's sandwich that incorporates BLIMP. So far, he's tossed around "professor BLIMP" or "BLIMPING ain't easy."
Tried the BLIMP? Let us know your thoughts on Akron's latest dive into the sandwich scene. Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans. And follow her food adventures on TikTok @akronbeaconjournal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: UA professor's sandwich comes to life at Diamond Deli: Meet the BLIMP
