Debate Over the Perfect Tomato Rages as New Varieties Pop Up

There is a small sandwich—three bites, give or take—available as an add-on to the four-course, $85 tasting menu at River Twice, a contemporary American restaurant in Philadelphia. To make it, chef-owner Randy Rucker toasts two sourdough brioche slices, then adds a thin layer of applewood smoked mayonnaise and a crispy sheet of the Korean seaweed gamtae. At its heart is a thick slab of heirloom tomato, lightly seasoned with sea salt from Delaware.

Even though it’s loaded with more than $50 worth of caviar, Rucker calls it “the Tomato Sandwich.”

How is it that such a sandwich is not ...