The ultimate summer food in my opinion, is not the grilled hamburgers nor corn on the cob nor BBQ ribs nor green beans . . . but rather --
A glass of icy tea and a bacon and tomato sandwich! It is only summer food. Bacon and bread are available year round but tomatoes -- ripened on the vine tomatoes are not! They're available only during the summer.
And most years, we try to pick the first tomato by at least the Fourth of July -- this year, they've been picking them for several weeks!
We had summer food way before it was summer!
To us the "ultimate" bacon and tomato (and notice it is bacon and tomato -- no lettuce at Linderhof!) -- lots of thinly slices of tomato, bacon (we like thick cut the best) and a good spread of mayonnaise -- real mayonnaise (and actually if we have the time homemade is best) Wheat bread, toasted. And, before the top is put on, a good sprinkle of salt and pepper.
No "fancy" sandwich for us -- no basil mayonnaise, no basil to replace the lettuce. Just pure and simple but everything extra good quality -- bread, mayonnaise, local vine ripened tomatoes, and bacon.
Always served with an icy glass of tea. Our special tea brew (as copied from Cynthia from life+style -- it's their signature iced tea) of 2 bags of Luizianne iced tea and 1 bag of Harney's Hot Cinnamon. It's sweet without added sugar and tastes really good with slices of lemon. The first pitcher is made in the morning and if we have lemons, a whole lemon is sliced and added to the pitcher, then the ice is put in and the tea once brew time is finished is poured over the ice and lemon. Often we have to make a second pitcher of tea in the afternoon. The same formula is followed.
During the summer, a bacon and tomato sandwich is often our lunch. We never seem to tire of them. Perhaps because their the is so limited!