The Gatsby Sandwich A Great Babalas Cure

We all know how messy things can get over the weekend. In fact, so messy that the day after a great night out can be filled with a blinding headache, a sore tummy and the urge to throw up that will haunt the crap out of you (literally).

Not many things can cure a babalas – some opt for hair of the dog, while others prefer to wait it out or head out for some kapana.

While there are various tricks to get rid of a hangover, you might not have known that a gatsby can get the job done.

For those who don’t know what a gatsby is or have never been down to Halaal Take-Aways in Khomasdal, a gatsby is the greatest, messiest and most flavourful sandwich you’ll ever eat.

The sandwich was named after the famous and possibly equally as epic 1925 novel, ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F Scott Fitzgerald. Not sure why this name was chosen, but it sure as hell fits.

It consists of a combination of either russians or viennas (since listeriosis, these might be a no for now), chicken, steak masala, pickled fish, calamari or even eggs on a long bread roll with some lekker slaptjips, of course.

The gatsby has been described as a ‘filling budget meal’, as it is a standard menu item in Cape Town corner stores, and a significant part of the heritage and a cultural symbol of Cape Flats, where it originated.

The creation of the famous meal was simply just an accident. Athlone fish and chips shop owner, Rashaad Pandy, is credited as the gatsby’s inventor after it all started in 1976. On a dry day when he didn’t have anything to feed his employees, Pandy threw together everything he could find in his kitchen and stuffed it into a Portuguese roll.

Atchar, polony and chips on the roll and cut into quarters – the only way a gatsby should be divided –and voila, a whole culture was born.

The gatsby has since developed and transformed with many different flavours, but its core still remains the same.

So next you’re not feeling shap, go ahead and get yourself a gatsby with a large Coke on the side.

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