I watched a few movies in the theaters this summer but my favorites by far were Top Gun: Maverick and the Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis. If you didn’t see either of these on the big screen, you really missed out. You’ve heard all the rage about Top Gun and the claims that it “saved Hollywood.” In the case of Elvis, it not only re-introduced me to one of the greatest American icons, but it sent me back down the rabbit hole.
One of the biggest takeaways I had from Elvis was how little of an actual life Elvis Presley had. Once “That’s Alright (Mama)” took to the airwaves, any chance of a normal existence vanished. From then on, it was work, work, work for the King. He was the cash cow and work mule for Col. Tom Parker.
One of the side effects for Presley was he never truly grew up. This led to a myriad of bad habits, which were well documented. While the drug use was briefly touched upon by the movie, it left out his biggest vice: over-eating.
Elvis loved food, especially junk food, and the greasier the better at that. One of his favorite snacks was what is called a Fool’s Gold Loaf. What is it? Well, buckle up. Invented by the Colorado Mine Company, a Fool’s Gold Loaf is a hollow loaf of bread that is filled with one whole jar of creamy peanut butter, one whole jar of grape jelly, and one pound of bacon. Checking in at a massive 1,000 calories, this sandwich was meant to feed around ten people. Elvis would have paid $49.95, $238 in today’s dollars, and he bought 30 of them during one famous incident.
I was able to try something very similar to this famous sandwich during my last outing in Spokane. The Guilded Unicorn is one of my favorite places to eat and on this particular occasion, I took the dive on their fabled Deep Fried PB&J. To make it truly Elvis-like, I asked for bacon on it.
I was almost ashamed of how much I loved it. Do you want to eat like The King? Just don’t get too carried away.
LOOK: 38 Amazing Actors That Have Called Washington State Home
Sure, Washington is known for Amazon, coffee, wine, apples, grunge music, Microsoft, and Boeing. But you may not know how many actors and actresses have come from the Evergreen State. Yeah, our state has had an impact on the television and film industry. We’ve got A-listers, an Oscar winner, and faces of big franchises.
Check out our list below, I’m sure you’ll find some surprises.