Fool's Gold Loaf is a sandwich made by the Colorado Mine Company, a restaurant in Denver, Colorado. The sandwich's connection to Elvis Presley is the source of its legend and prolonged interest. According to The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley, it was the focus of a midnight sandwich run by Elvis Presley and his friends. Taking his private jet from Graceland, Presley and his friends purchased 22 of the sandwiches and spent three hours eating the sandwiches and drinking Perrier and champagne before flying home. The story became legend and the sandwich became the subject of continued media interest and part of numerous cookbooks, typically focused around Presley's love of food.
There are two accounts on the origin of Fool's Gold Loaf. According to Graeme Wood, the Fool's Gold Loaf was created by Cindy and Buck Scott, owners of the Colorado Mine Company restaurant. Wood writes that Elvis obtained the recipe from the Scotts, so his personal chef could make it, but noted that "the Fool's Gold Loaf never made a recorded encore".
The name of the sandwich is derived from its price of $49.95.
The Fool's Gold Loaf connection to Elvis dominates the media's coverage of the subject. It was widely reported as "legend" by the media; including the NBC's Today, Joplin Globe, and Gloucester Times. Doug Clark, a columnist for The Spokesman Review, recounts the popular story and writes that the Fool's Gold Recipe is "surprisingly tasty" and notes that it contains around 8,000 calories. The popular legend and sandwich were also noted by the Smithsonian Magazine.
The Fool's Gold Loaf has been included in numerous publications and cookbooks. The Fool's Gold Loaf was included and generated national interest with David Alder's book The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley.
Alder's work would continue with the television documentary: The Burger and The King. Another publication by Alder, Eating the Elvis Presley Way was later released.
The Fool's Gold Loaf has been detailed in Ramble Colorado: The Wanderer's Guide to the Offbeat, Overlooked, and Outrageous. The The Peanut Butter and Co. Cookbook refers to the Fool's Gold Loaf legend and ties it to the peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich, also known as the "Elvis sandwich".
According to Nick Andurlakis, he helped create the sandwich while he was working at the Colorado Mine Company as a chef and suggested the Fool's Gold Loaf to Elvis. Andurlakis claims that he personally delivered the sandwiches to Elvis on the famous night.
After the Colorado Mine Company closed, Nick Andurlakis opened Nick's Cafe.
