Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Dreams: The Seven Best BLTs in Dallas

There are a few sandwiches that should be immortal, living forever outside the cycle of food trends: Fried chicken sandwiches, old-fashioned cheeseburgers hugged with American cheese, sauerkraut-loaded Reubens and the BLT. Perfect bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches are gifts to us from Mount Olympus. To many, the BLT will always be the sandwich Mom made — white bread, toasted and swiped with store-bought mayo, griddled bacon, a big slice of tomato and dew-fresh lettuce. Maybe an unwisely large pile of Lay's potato chips graced the plate, too. 

In the past, the best BLTs were made at home. Dallas, however, has seven sandwiches that will make you want to nuke your fridge. You’ll never make a BLT at home again after you try these sandwich gods.
The Iberico BLT at Knife, $14
5300 E. Mockingbird Lane
Jamon Iberico is the cured ham from pigs that are allowed to rove, feasting on grass, herbs, acorns, Texas chili and artisanal avocado toast (OK, not the last two), until their meat becomes perfectly sandwich-ready. As a result, their bacon-ham bodies are otherworldly tasting. No bacon you’ve ever had has such a perfect, porky flavor. Knife uses this mighty pig’s bacon for a BLT over fresh-as-Eden heirloom tomatoes, little gem lettuce and jalapeño mayo. Unless you have a black Iberian pig’s belly curing in your pantry right now, this is a BLT that’s far better than anything homemade.

The Gold Standard BLT at Offsite Kitchen, $5.99
331 Singleton Blvd.
This one tastes like home. Wrapped in checkered paper and sliced in half, Offsite’s take on the BLT is the best version of the sandwich you packed for school lunch. Richly buttered sourdough is toasted and gives way to layers of shredded lettuce, two tomato discs and crispy bacon. Mayo cut with their "gold sauce" (honey mustard) gives it a zip of electricity.

The BLT at Maple & Motor, $5.50
4810 Maple Ave.
Jack Perkins’ griddle is magic. Things that touch it are seared and crusted in ways that will make your eyes dilate. Pulses quicken at the sight of their deliciously evil tater tots. Maple and Motor’s BLT has always been one of my favorites. Planks of smoking hot, flat top-seared bacon jut out of the big sandwich. The bread is toasted, but not enough to shatter, holding a layer of fatty mayonnaise. Add an over-easy egg to make this sandwich doubly delicious.

The Bacon and Tomato at Keller’s Drive-In, $3.45 (with tax)
6537 E. Northwest Highway
There are many reasons to sit patiently in the old fashioned drive-thru at Keller’s Drive-In on Northwest Highway. Their classic burger, with a white onion disc and double cheese, is one reason. Their BLT is another. Four slices of bacon, crispy as you might imagine from a diner-style drive-in, rest between toasted white bread that comes delivered in wax paper, translucent from contact with the mayo. There’s crunch and crisp and creaminess. Is there anything better than when classic mayonnaise hits tomato in a diner-style BLT? 


The BLT at Goodfriend Package, $9
1155 Peavy Road
Goodfriend Package knows what they’ve got. There are three smart, simple and well-executed dimensions to this sandwich: Bacon fat mayo, house-made bacon and griddled white bread. Hey, let's all say bacon fat mayo again! With fresh lettuce curtained in the center, this is a bullseye of a sandwich. It’s where simplicity meets indulgence. 

The Ultimate BLT at AllGood Cafe, $7.99
2934 Main St.
One of Dallas’ most reliable BLTs is at AllGood in Deep Ellum. The classic sandwich is sliced down the center, with peppered bacon and herb mayo that pops against toasted honey wheat. It’s a great salty-sweet sandwich. Add avocado and dot the sandwich with their freshly made salsa for a twist.

The Dastardly Duo and the V8 at Parker Barrows, $12 each
344 W. Davis St.
It’s easy to miss in a crowded cluster of restaurants, but there’s a new spot open in Bishop Arts. Since September, Parker Barrows has been serving a smartly curated series of hangover-cure sandwiches, two of which are a play on the BLT. The Dastardly Duo contains smoked bacon, pork belly (!), paprika aioli, bibb lettuce and tomato on thick, brilliantly proportioned bread. The V8 is a stunner of modern sandwich construction: Cornmeal-crusted fried tomato rests over sweet tomato jam topped by thick-cut bacon (smoky and still crisp) with lemon herb aioli. Hearty spinach bread is a nice surprise. You’ll want to pluck this bacon out of the sandwich and eat it alone. Both sandwiches are fantastic odes to one of the best sandwiches of all time.