On a Wednesday afternoon in the posh J. Graham’s Cafe at the base of the Brown Hotel, Mark and Julie Sanderfur are helping themselves to a late lunch with unrestrained enthusiasm.
The California couple are in town to do some shopping for a property they own in Indiana.
On their table, are two sizable plates with something cheesy and bubbling. At first glance, it could be mistaken for a thick soup.
“We said, what do we do for lunch? Well, there's no question about that!” Mark said. “Let's go to the Brown Hotel and have another Hot Brown.”
The last time the couple dined at the hotel was nearly 20 years ago while touring Kentucky. Back then, an issue in the kitchen resulted in them getting some kind of Hot Brown casserole, according to Mark.
“I think the original one, like this, works out a lot better,” he said. “There's some other people who make something similar, you know, in town. They're all jealous, I understand. They make something similar, but it doesn't stand a candle to a real Hot Brown.”
What exactly is a Hot Brown? Recipes may vary, but, essentially a Hot Brown is advertised as an open-faced sandwich; Texas Toast, two thick slices of turkey breast, tomatoes, bacon and parmesan cheese all broiled to bubbling perfection in a cheesy, mornay sauce.
However, to call a Hot Brown a “sandwich” of any type is a stretch – a finger food this is not.
“Almost pie-like,” Julie Sanderfur observed.
The decadent “sandwich” has a history nearly as old as its namesake - The Brown Hotel. The Brown opened its doors to the public in 1923 as an upscale vacation destination.
Marc Salmon is the Human Resources Director at the Brown Hotel and is also its official historian.
According to him, the Hot Brown first debuted at the Brown Hotel in 1926.
“We used to host a lot of late night dinner dances here, and we had partiers up on our rooftop dancing away,” Salmon said. “When the band would go on break, they would descend upon the restaurant looking for a bite to eat.”
And what was one of the most popular late night treats in the 1920s? Ham and eggs. Que Fred K. Schmidt, an original chef at the Brown. According to Salmon, Schmidt got bored of making the same dish night after night.
“And it instantly became a staple and it has constantly been a source of tourism,” Salmon said.
In the kitchen of the J. Graham Café, Chef de Cuisine Allen Heintzman, gives a brief demonstration on how a master prepares a Hot Brown, assembling the turkey, tomato and bacon with precision.
Heintzman has been working at Brown going on two years. He’s lost count over how many Hot Browns he’s made in that time.
“I probably make upwards of 60 to 100 a day. So I'd have to do the math, but that's quite a few,” said Heintzman.
During Derby week, Heintzman said that number can exceed 10,000.
Salmon said the Hot Brown of today isn’t exactly the same as in the 1920s but the current recipe (that one came with canned peaches) is protected all the same.
“ Every time we interview a chef here, we tell them, you can do whatever you want, but don't mess with the Hot Brown so that the recipe stays intact,” Salmon said.
For Mark and Julie Sanderfur, the dish's signature flavors are just as memorable as they were 20 years ago. There would be no leftovers for them.
“My father, he used to say, when he got really full, he was all toaded up, which meant, like a big fat toad,” Julie Sanderfur said as she made her way through her meal.
“Not yet!” Marc was quick to jump in. “Got a few more bites.”
