Carter & Cooley: Best BLT and Other Outlandish Claims

Carter & Cooley is located in a historical building right in the middle of historic 19th Street. The entire operation oozes history, with framed black and white photographs of Houston’s past lining the walls. High ceilings and cute antique furnishings round out the attractive space.

Bear with me for one small tangent. A few weeks ago, Cameron Diaz was on Jimmy Fallon and contributed to a ridiculous segment where they attempted to break made-up records. Ms. Diaz was placed in a hammock. Late Night Show staff then placed about 50 bunnies on top of her in an attempt to break the record for "most bunnies snuggled" record. Predictably, this made-up record was broken and hilarity ensued. Or something like that.

Snuggling Bunnies

Carter & Cooley's BLT is advertised as the best in town and we find this claim to be bit preposterous considering the dearth of quality delis in the city. Nevertheless, it’s hard to argue with their conclusion. For a few cents more, you can upgrade your sandwich to BALT status (with avocado). Hardly a stretch given Houston’s fascination with throwing avocados on pretty much everything, but the resulting sandwich somehow works. Keep in mind that they do not toast their bread by default, so all BLT purists would be wise to remember to ask.

B.A.L.T.

Other decent sandwiches include the reuben, which has a bit too much Russian dressing. The hot pastrami sandwich was the clunker of the group as it was obviously just reheated pre-sliced pastrami (hardly a flattering impression of the legendary New York delicatessens). Prices are also a bit on the high side. Three sandwiches with drinks will set you back $30, and one of those was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (a damn fine one I should add). I've heard that the hot pastrami at Katz's in NYC is close to $15, but that monster can feed two people. And let's be honest, that's a work of culinary art.