And that usually means that there's a 98.6% chance that a Jughead story will feature food in some way. Trust me, today is no exception.
Since I'm feeling in a bit of a nostalgic mood today, I thought that I would feature a story that was printed in the 1960s.
1964, to be specific. It originally appeared in "Archie's Pal Jughead #110", but has been reprinted several times - most recently in "Jughead and Archie Jumbo Comics #25", where the scans for this blog come from.
Now, have you ever tried combining two different foods to make one delicious food? Examples would be taking gravy, french fries, and cheese curd to make a poutine. Or, perhaps you are one of the ones that stuffs a duck and a chicken inside of a turkey to make the delicacy known as the turducken.
Well, in the story "Bread and Batter", Jughead creates a brand new sandwich that not only serves as a snack...but a deadly weapon as well.
Now, Pop Tate has given Jughead the clearance to make a hamburger for himself - which makes me wonder if Pop Tate took his stupid pills today. Giving Jughead free reign of the Chocklit Shop is like giving a bank robber a key to the mint. But while Pop is out of the store to run an errand, Betty asks him what he is doing, and seems surprised that Pop Tate is selling hero sandwiches now. But Jughead explains that he brought the baguette himself. He explains that Pop Tate told him he could help himself to anything he needed to make a burger. But clever Jughead says that Pop never specified how large the burger could be. So, he's essentially making a burger patty that fits inside of a submarine bun. While I admire Jughead's way of thinking, I'm sure Pop Tate is not going to take too kindly to it. I wonder how he's going to react when he sees Jughead's creation?
Yeah, that's what I thought. At least Pop let him keep his burger in the submarine bun. But as Betty tries to help him up, a passerby with a mean attitude bumps right into Betty. And when I say he bumps into Betty, I mean he nearly plows her over into the street. This really sets Jughead off and he yells at the man to watch where he's going. The man has already had a bad day and he thinks that the best way to let off some steam is to punch Jughead's lights out. Whatever is Jughead to do?
Well, he takes his sandwich and bashes the guy across the head, knocking him unconscious. Wow, just how heavy was that hamburger patty? It must have been really huge! Either way, Betty is eternally grateful to Jughead for defending her honour and decides that she will reward him by buying him food at Pop Tate's. Of course, Pop initially tries to ban Jughead from entering, but Betty smooths things over with Pop and Jughead is allowed to stay. In fact, Betty surprises everyone by asking Pop to make her and Jughead both one of the burger/submarine sandwich combos. Pop is disgusted, but reluctantly makes the snack for both of them.
In fact, it is Betty who coins a nickname for the tasty treat - the "Burgerino". And while Jughead and Betty dig into their favourite new snack sensation, they also discuss the possibility of the Burgerino being an effective and fearsome weapon.
And just as they have this discussion, two rough looking guys barge into Pop's, call Pop's Fatso, and start destroying the place. Okay, seriously, when was Pop's ever located in the rough part of town? Or was crime really rampant in Riverdale in 1964? Perhaps that could explain why Pureheart, Captain Hero, and Evilheart made their debuts right around that time.
Of course, Pop Tate could also use the Burgerino as a way to make a ton of profit!
Now, in all seriousness...would you try a Burgerino? I know I sure would! I'd probably need a whole jar of pickles and a whole jar of mustard though to really enjoy it as it should be enjoyed!
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