The Olive Nut Rocks On

Since at least the 1930s Beerntsen’s has been a landmark on the main street of Manitowoc, WI, a small city on Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shoreline. Generations of high school students have consumed sundaes and sandwiches in its booths and people of all ages stop by to purchase its delicious specialty chocolates and other candies. My most vivid memories are of the early 1940s when one of my favorites was the olive-nut sandwiches that still are listed on the menu almost 65 years later. After three generations of ownership by the Beerntsen family, a longtime employee now owns the shop but, to me, the sandwiches, chocolates, mint patties, and profusion of sundaes appear just the same as ever, and I am transported back to when it all was such a source of delight.
My mom

It’s been around for 65 years or so and apparently has never changed. The decor — it’s visible in the one photo — is dark wood booths, tile floor, and glass candy cases and is in beautiful shape. The menu may not have ever changed either. Pineapple figures prominently in many of the sundaes; I’m not sure why. I bought some “fairy food,” a favorite of Mother’s from when she worked there, and served it to some friends, all guys. (I didn’t tell them the name.) One of them, who has spent time in Buffalo, said, “Oh, sponge candy!” When I did mention the name, another of the guys said, “Now you tell us!” It looks like hard foam rubber covered in chocolate. The prices, while they aren’t original, still are pretty low. The sandwich was about $3 and my turtle sundae (with hot fudge on the side so it would stay hot) was about $4.
My sister, Mara

The sandwich surveyors out in the field cannot be expected to eat and shoot. Eat, shoot and leave, she did, but without reviewing the images. Dang that flash. This olive nut doesn’t know what hit it. Still, you can see a bit of the tasty, salty paste blopping out on the left.

I did a little browsing around on the dubbyou-dubbyou-dubbyou and found a surprising number of recipes for olive-nut sandwiches. Who on earth is making them? And why do the recipes all call for sliced olives? Finely chopped seems the way to go. Put the olives and nuts down on a board and run across them and back a few times with a chef’s knife. Soon olives won’t know themselves from nuts and vice versa.

Here is a representative sample:

Olive-Nut Sandwich

Let cream cheese stand at room temperature until soft. Mash with a
fork and add mayonnaise. Add chopped pecans, olives, olive juice and
pepper. Stir well. This will be mushy. Refrigerate in pint jar for at
least 24 -48 hours. It will then become thick. (Believe it or not.)
You will have nearly a pint of delectable spread! It’s best served on
very thin toast or fresh, thinly sliced bread will do. A little
lettuce is a good touch, and cutting into finger tip sizes completes
the feeling of first class.

Servings: 4 servings

Maybe the olives mash to bits when they are mixed hard with nuts, the nuts acting as tiny millstones. Love this unpretentious recipe with its enthusiastic “You will have nearly a pint of delectable spread!” Don’t know what’s meant by “1 bread” and “1 lettuce”, although I can imagine sitting down with 1 loaf, 1 head, 1 batch, 1 knife, 1 salt craving and scarfing the lot. In the middle of the night. Palm size, rather than finger tip. First class, alright.