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I like a variety of tomato sandwiches, but my top four would be-

Homemade-type white bread enclosing thick slices of tomato dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper. Eaten over a sink is best. (If I have homemade mayonaisse on hand, I sometimes will flavor it with Balsamic vinegar and use it on the bread.)

Thinly sliced homemade-type white bread, liberally spread with butter, topped with thin slices of tomatoes (marinated as in the previous, but I often add some mint or dill).

Grainy wheat bread, spread with peanut butter (one of the natural brands that is less sweet), topped with medium-thick slices of tomatoes.

Grilled rustic bread (pugliese or something like that) rubbed with garlic, drizzle of olive oil, then rubbed with a tomato halve so the flesh permeates the pores of the bread, top with coarse salt.

Bread. Almost any kind I have on hand will do. Toasted or not. Tomato. Mayo. Eat. Maybe some seasoned salt if I'm feeling particularly fancy.

One day DH and I were making sandwiches in the kitchen, and his had ham and mine was just tomato and mayo, and he pointed out that there was enough ham for me to have some too. He was astounded that I'd eat a sandwich with just tomatoes.

Now, he has gotten used to this sort of thing. Then, it baffled him.

The important thing for a tomato sandwich is to cut the tomatoes from pole to pole and not across the equator.

thick, crusty bread (toasted, but not crispy), a little mayo on one slice (something i've picked up from my husband), some avocado if it's on hand. mmm so good i wish i had space to plant a tomato plant in my teensy new york apartment (no lighting, unfortunately).

thick sliced tomato with just a little portugese sea salt, on grilled sourdough bread, that has been smeared with avacado.
or
thick sliced tomato with salt on grilled peasent style bread, and a thin slice of aged provolone
or
thick sliced tomato with salt on any toasted bread with a light drizzle of olive oil and vinegar.
or
thick slices of tomato and salt no bread or dressing of any kind.

All these variations sound so good...I'm really bummed that fresh tomatoes are still two months away where I live.

this is SO funny - I've never had one but just heard about tomato sandwiches and was planning on making some this weekend. You read my mind! thanks!

BLT is always top on the list but I have an alternative that is right up there;
(Bottom to top) toasted sourdough bread, softened cream cheese, salted sunflower seeds, alfalfa sprouts, tomato slices and a pinch of kosher salt. The deluxe version would add avocado slices below the tomatoes...

Two ways.
Bradley Cooper (who played Bourdain in Kitchen Confidential the show) and John Corbett (my big fat greek wedding) and me in the middle. [wink wink]
OR
Some nice fresh italian bread, sliced/salted/peppered fresh roma tomato, slice of fresh buffalo mozzerella, and drizzled cold pressed olive oil. Splash of balsamic if I am feeling fancy.

Pepperidge Farm white bread, Hellman's, salt & pepper

OR

seeded Italian bread, thinly sliced tomato with a dash of good fruity olive oil, and a dash of balsamic vinegar, a few basil leaves, a few slices of fresh mozzarella.

tomatoes are my favorite!!!! I like them on white bread with mayo and thinly sliced onions. or just bread/tomato/cheese. or bread/egg salad/tomato.

when I was in Israel, my host father made a pita sandwich with really thin omelet and slices of fresh tomatoes. THE BEST (he grew tomatoes professionally!).

Red onion, a garlicky vinaigrette brushed on a baguette or ficelle, and anchovies!

Pumpernickel, bree, dijon, spinach, salt and pepper. Grill 'til gooey and loverly.

@Lippy - I'll "bite" - why cut the tomatoes pole to pole instead of through the equator? Less leakage?

Pumpernickel, sharp cheddar, mayo, tomato, pesto, buttered and toasted on a griddle. Can't beat it.

mmm, Jerzee's sounds so good! I mean, the latter ;-)

I usually saute thick slightly salted tomato slices in various herbs and add a splash of balsamic vinegar as I take them off the heat. Then I put them on thick fresh bread with a thin smear of cream cheese and some basil and toast the whole sandwich. My husband and I eat these a few times a month in the summer.

All of the above.

@hmw0029 Bradley Cooper holding a tomato. I may SWOON!

There is a huge huge difference in eating a tomato sandwich made from a tomato sliced fresh off the vine in your yard and one from a tomato that has been shipped. They arent the same fruit. I wouldn't eat the latter but the former is a rite of southern passage and a beautiful thing. White bread, salt, pepper, hellmans and the warm from the sun tomato. ahhhhhh

Thick slices of beefsteak tomato warm off the vine lightly salted and peppered, shredded basil leaves, olive oil, finely minced fresh garlic or roasted garlic (if I have it available) on chewy ciabatta bread. Fragrant. Messy. Fan-freakin-tastic. To make it more meal-like, I'd add slices of brie and grill it. All the freshness of summer and the luxury of brie. The best of all worlds.

Tomato sandwiches are part of life here in western North Carolina. I've probably eaten more tomato sandwiches than anything in the world. When I was growing up in the 1980s, we couldn't afford to buy lots of grocery store food, so my mom planted a HUGE garden. Tomato sandwiches were cheap and we had so many tomatoes we almost had to eat them.
The perfect tomato sandwich:
1. DUKE'S MAYO - This is absolutely essential. I know you cannot buy this mayo in many parts of the country, which is so very sad, because there is no better condiment in the universe. You must try it if you haven't already. There must be mayo on both sides of the bread, which must be white bread or homemade sourdough.
2. A huge slice of a homegrown tomato. This is also essential. Store-bought tomatoes do not compare to homegrown.
3. Salt and pepper must cover the tomato.
This is it: The PERFECT tomato sandwich! Three steps to food heaven! I'm walking outside right now to pick a tomato and make one!

I like to make a sandwich consisting of an English muffin, egg, slice of canadian bacon, big tomato slice and topped with a big piece of cheddar and put under the broiler to melt the cheese. That's one of my breakfast favorites.

OMG! In all my travels when discussing this exact topic I have never ceased to be amazed @ the one M-A-J-O-R difference that sets me apart from all of you ORDINARY people...............I don't know why, maybe because my mom was a farm girl, or perhaps just her love of dairy, [alas, we WERE the REAL original "Butterton" family] but....................our tomato sandwiches were ALWAYS made using B-U-T-T-E-R, not mayo!
We always had warm tomatoes which my dad brought home by the peck or bushel, via the local farms, on his way home from work in the AM.
Toast the bread [usually Hall's bakery bread delivered to our door - now known as Homepride on store shelves to all of you] slather on the soft butter, add precisely 4 slices of tomato, & lots of salt. No fancy bread, no fancy salt, and NO MAYO!!!!! Heaven! Enjoy two sandwiches if you liked! We truly lived on these.
Which is probably why this 59 yr old fat Italian girl has a stent in her coronary artery. But the ride was well worth it!

Oh what great stories!
I personally love Hellman's mayonnaise AND butter (sigh) with freshly sliced un-refrigerated homegrown beefsteak tomatoes, a whole Haas avocado chunked up, and S&P, all on thick toasted white bread - preferably homemade!
This is definitely a hot summer day sandwich....Haven't seen many hot summer days, yet! ;o)
I love sandwiches like Homer Simpson loves doughnuts!...come to think of it, I love doughnuts, too, but that's another thread!
Cindy H
Brown Sugar

I just don't get the Hellman's and Miracle Whip fascination.....
Take a creole tomato fresh off the vine. Use very fresh or toasted white bread. Sunbeam's not good since they started batter whipping it years ago, so I stick with Bunny Bread. Blue Plate mayonaise (a thin layer), salt and pepper. OMG!!! I gotta go make one now!

I know this is off topic, but when there are too many tomatoes coming ripe at one moment, I make a tomato pie and it is equal in yumminess to the sandwiches. Sort of like a sandwich, it has crust, layers of salted and peppered tomatoes, green onions and a topping of mayo and grated cheese. Oh my...need to go make one this minute.

You are spot on, jessleigh! After moving to NC in the mid-70's, I learned quickly you don't get between a local and a good 'mater sandwich...just the way you described it.

Caprese salad between two slices of bread:
Whole wheat toast ever so lightly buttered (a moisture barrier),
Thick slices of Creole tomato (beefsteak works, too),
Medium-large leaves of fresh basil,
Thin, thin slices of smoked mozzarella (I use one of those wire thingys to keep slices uniform),
A fine drizzle or spray of extra virgin olive oil,
Salt and pepper.

I have always made mine pretty much like the basic ones mentioned.

A cpl of things I didn't see mentioned for a regular tomato sandwich, are the following additions:

Back in the early 70's, I sometimes sprinkled bacon bits on top.

I also often used Lawry's salt, and use a homemade substitute sometimes now. Otherwise I use alaea salt, if given my druthers.

When I have them, I add pieces of green onion; the green part, or my chives, which grow to about that size!

Yeah tomato sandwiches! I have green tomatoes on my plants. They should be ripe pretty soon. Maybe while I'm waiting I can use a few of them for fried green tomatoes, so I can stand the wait.... ;)

Mine's nearly the same - Pepperidge Farm white bread, mayo, salt and pepper, but the tomatoes have to come from my garden. Store tomatoes don't cut it.

The best is Atlantic City bread (Rando's or Formica's) with thin slices of fresh Jersey tomato add just a little Hellmans and a touch of Sicilian salt, two turns of fresh ground pepper. Nothing better!

Two pieces of white bread, the firmer the better, spread with mayo. Cool fresh sliced tomatoes, i slice of fresh mozzarella and a pinch pepper and balsamic vinegar

Oh my gosh I work on a vegetable farm and we have all types of tomatoes coming out our ears every summer. And LOTS of discussion about the perfect tomato sandwich! I go for soft white bread (not toasted), Hellman's (lots), salt (lots) and thickly sliced tomato - the newest variety we're growing is one I'm crazy about, called Tasti-Lee. High lycopene and red in and out. You wouldn't believe how nicely it slices. (so I'm thinking maybe the healthy lycopene cancels out all the mayo, white flour and salt?) I'm in the minority - most of the others in the office go for Miracle Whip. Some for potato bread.

Toasted pumpernickle, then good chuncky peanut butter, and onto a cast iron pan until the PB is melted. A nice thick slice of tomatoe with a sprinkle of sugar.

I love love love tomato sandwiches.....I've made them a million ways, but my top two faves are as follows:

Yellow tomatoes, w/ Hellman's, kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper on whole wheat bread (or toast...doesn't really matter)
OR
Heirloom tomatoes w/ the freshest mozz you can find (buffalo mozz is excellent here), a few basil leaves, balsalmic vinegar and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

My mouth is watering as I type. :)

Bunny Plantation style white bread
Hellmans mayo
tomatoes (just got the first ones from the garden last weekend!)
salt/pepper
Yum

For me it has to be a fresh from the garden tomato, sliced, put on toasted homemade bread (can be any kind but not too squishy), spread with some Hellmann's and then a nice shmear of pesto sauce, Covered and eaten with face over a table or plate. Mmmm...

I also love chopped tomatoes in pita bread with some tzatziki sauce. Maybe a bit of onion.

1. bread, mayo, sliced red tomato, salt and pepper.
2. bread, mayo, sliced yellow tomato, salt and sprinkled parsley.
3. bread, mayo, sliced german tomato, salt and pepper and parsley.
with a glass of real cold milk. delish.

a tomato sandwich has thick slices of tomato, a piece of cheese (whatever is handy), lettuce, butter on one slice of bread, and a little mayo on the other.

I prefer to grill it and make a tomato grilled cheese, though, if i access to a pan... (no mayo, another slice of cheese, butter on outside only, and no lettuce).

as for the bread as long as its hearty and not falling apart when i butter, i dont care.

Yikes. Tomatoes are my one food aversion I've never overcome. The idea of just eating a tomato sandwich to me is very yucky. I've tried everything, but I am just not a raw tomato eater.

I keep it simple.

White bread.
Mayo.
Tomato.

Eat.

Grilled sourdough bread...nice slather of homemade pimento cheese made with Duke's mayo (holla. NC!)...thick slices of a homegrown heirloom tomato, sprinkled with salt.

Perfection

I cube my tomatoes, toss them with olive oil, basil, and pepper, and then stuff them into a hot dog roll. Avocado is nice, but not essential; thin sliced red onion is a plus.