The muffuletta has changed very little since its invention in 1906, but the most major modification is also the most controversial: heating the sandwich in the oven, so that the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted.
Normally, I err on the side of heated sandwiches, but with the muffuletta, I come down on the cold side. And I'm not the only one with a strong opinion. According to Tom Fitzmorris, host of “The Food Show” on New Orleans’s WWL, “Every time this comes up on my radio show, it’s a guaranteed hour or two-hour conversation,” says Fitzmorris.
The debate over the best muffuletta in New Orleans used to be Central Grocery vs. Progress next door, but now it's usually Central and the Napoleon House. Since the latter serves its muffuletta hot, the two restaurants are fighting a proxy war of cold vs. warm muffulettas.
I didn't realize Napoleon House served a hot muffuletta (pictured) until I sat down to order one, and I definitely wasn't disappointed. The addition of chickpeas to the olive salad, as well as pastrami in place of mortadella, gives the sandwich an earthy, salty twist. The ingredients are well-aligned, and I love the melted cheese. But warm olive salad is a mess: the heat makes the oil liquefy and drip all over, so you can't really put the soggy sandwich down between bites.
More troubling, the whole concept of a hot muffuletta goes against what makes the sandwich so special to begin with: its ability actually to improve over time, as the olive oil soaks into the bread and makes the flavors meld perfectly. But hey, don't take my word for it. Eat as many muffulettas as you possibly can and decide for yourself.
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