Ousler's cellophane-wrapped perfection

Mountain Brook natives are rolling their eyes at the idea of Ousler’s as a “find,” given there’s practically never been a time it hasn’t been around. What’s to find? For many in Birmingham, Ousler’s sandwiches at a tea are as ubiquitous as potato salad at a barbeque.

Not everyone knows about Ousler’s, though, and it deserves to be seen as a source for old-fashioned boxed lunches that are alternatives to subway and hoagie-style sandwiches. Ousler’s sandwiches are crustless, quartered, white bread perfection, soft enough for gumming. New teethers can make do with the sandwiches and they are just as suitable for taking to the nursing home before the Brownie troop program. Choices are:

• Chicken Salad
• Pimento Cheese
• Ham Salad
• Egg Salad
• Ham & Cheese

And talk about affordable – a boxed lunch is $3.99 and includes a deviled egg (now it’s a real picnic!), chips and a brownie.

Pick up boxed lunches at Ousler’s and take them just down the street to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, where you’ll have shaded tables and room for the kids to run. Martha Stewart would approve of the logo-free, pristine white box with its cellophane-wrapped, evenly cut sandwich. Doesn’t the thought of it put you in a seersucker-and-straw-hat mood?

Order a bundle of sandwiches the next time you host a young child’s birthday party or a ladies’ luncheon. Pull them apart and stack the little triangles on your prettiest serving platters, and they’ll go a long way with cheese puffs (kids) or fruit salad (ladies). If you have a large order, call the day ahead and your sandwiches will be ready for pick up at the time you specify. They are wrapped tightly and will keep in your fridge until you are ready to serve them that afternoon or even the next day, in a pinch.

One thing you must know is that Ousler’s takes cash or check only. Being a banking town, there is an ATM just across the street.

You don’t need white gloves and pearls to enjoy a dainty sandwich from Ousler’s, but you will appreciate the generations who have been nibbling these tasty sandwiches for years.