“There’s this sense of having to apologize for enjoying sprouts,” says Tejal Rao, critic-at-large for the New York Times. She cites Jonathan Kauffman’s 2019 book “Hippie Food,” who writes, “Alfalfa sprouts smell as if a field of grass were having sex.”
Rao’s criteria for the quintessential veggie sandwich includes the rainbow, hippie, avocado, and California versions, closely related categories that include a variety of vegetables that may or may not be vegan but the sprouts are the constant ingredient.
She asserts that the veggie sandwich has improved from the version Woody Allen’s character chided in a famous scene from “Annie Hall.” It’s all about the bread. Her favorites include takes at Bub & Grandma’s, Friends & Family, and the Ira Glass at Wax Paper.