Food: Martino sandwich

Anyone going to Antwerp is bound to try smoutebollen (doughnuts) and a waffle with warm krieken (sour cherries) at least once. But a Martino sandwich should also be on the must-eat list, Marjan thinks. And not only in Antwerp, but in Ghent too.

In Antwerp, you can of course find poké bowls, meaty and vega(n) burgers, pizza and tacos – lots of tacos. But why would you, when you can eat those in your own city or village and the rest of the world too? You’d be better off looking for something they don’t serve in our country. Like that good, light and crispy warm waffle with warm krieken. Or a Martino sandwich/baguette.

Martino sandwich

Now, the story surrounding tartare, préparé and Martino is rather complicated, so pay attention. If you order filet americain in Flanders, you’ll get lean raw beef/steak finely chopped (but not too finely) with knives. If you want something closest to the filet americain as we know it in the Netherlands, order préparé: that’s tartare with additions. Such as pepper, salt and egg.

Simply put: préparé is tartare+ and Martino is préparé+.

And then there’s Martino. According to one account, it was first made in 1951 at sandwich bar Quick on De Coninckplein in Antwerp by owner Albert de Hert for footballer Theo Maertens. He supposedly ordered a préparé sandwich ‘with everything you have in the house’. And that was quite a lot, because De Hert stirred piri-piri, Tabasco, cayenne pepper, pickles, salt, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and finely chopped onion into the préparé (our filet americain, that is) and spread it on a sandwich. The Martino (an Italianised version of the name Maertens) was born.

Stain on stain

In Ghent, they claim something completely different about the origins of Martino. The sandwich is said to have been invented at the local Martino snack bar. In that version, anchovies are added too, which is a genuine mortal sin for some people. In every case, the three pepper-containing ingredients are essential. If you eat a Martino at an Antwerp sandwich shop, you’ll often encounter the Droste effect: in addition to all the aforementioned ingredients mixed into the préparé, you also get pickles, finely chopped onion and tomato ketchup on top. Or even a hard-boiled egg. Stain on stain. But delicious.

Good Antwerp butchers also sell Martino by the tub. And then there’s such a thing as Martino sauce, which you can use not only to turn your préparé into Martino, but actually anything. Your fries too.

You can get a classic Martino sandwich at Wafelhuis Désiré de Lille (since 1903). For a tasty, though not very spicy, Martino to take home, go to butcher’s shop Gysels (since 2015).

Image: Marjan Ippel