# Fool's Gold Loaf
The **Fool's Gold Loaf** is an oversized American sandwich made by hollowing out an entire loaf of bread and filling it with a whole jar of peanut butter, a whole jar of jelly or [fruit preserves](https://www.edgepedia.org/fruit-preserves), and a pound of cooked bacon. It was created at the Colorado Mine Company restaurant in the Denver area in the 1970s and became famous through the devotion of [Elvis Presley](https://www.edgepedia.org/elvis-presley), who is said to have flown from Memphis to Denver by private jet to eat it.[1](https://buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich/archive/notable-sandwich-67-the-fools-gold-loaf/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Composition | A hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with the entire contents of one jar of peanut butter, one jar of jelly, and one pound of bacon[1](https://buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich/archive/notable-sandwich-67-the-fools-gold-loaf/) |
| Origin | Created at the Colorado Mine Company, a restaurant in the Denver area operated by Buck and Cindy Scott, in the 1970s[2](https://onesandwich.com/elvis-sandwich/) |
| 1970s price | $49.95, then roughly $292 in current dollars[3](https://www.thetakeout.com/1672836/colorado-sandwich-fools-gold/) |
| The Elvis flight | On the night of February 1, 1976, Presley flew his Convair 880, the Lisa Marie, from Graceland to Stapleton Airport in Denver, where restaurant staff delivered the sandwiches[4](https://www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-sandwiches-in-western-united-states) |
| Cost of the trip | J.D. Sumner, Presley's confidant, estimated the round-trip flight at $16,000[5](https://www.denvergazette.com/2020/06/29/the-colorado-cafe-where-elvis-lives-on-and-where-his-favorite-sandwich-is-still-served/) |
| Energy content | Reported at about 8,000 calories, 92% fat, with 400 grams of peanut butter[6](https://as.com/tikitakas/gastronomia/este-era-el-sandwich-favorito-de-elvis-presley-8000-calorias-92-de-grasa-y-400-gramos-de-mantequilla-de-cacahuete-f202609-n/) |
| Where to try it | Nick Andurlakis, who made the sandwich for Presley as a teenager, continues serving it at Nick's Cafe in Golden, Colorado[5](https://www.denvergazette.com/2020/06/29/the-colorado-cafe-where-elvis-lives-on-and-where-his-favorite-sandwich-is-still-served/) |
## Composition and preparation
The defining form is consistent across accounts: one warmed, hollowed-out loaf of bread, the contents of one jar of creamy peanut butter, one jar of jelly, and a pound of bacon.[1](https://buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich/archive/notable-sandwich-67-the-fools-gold-loaf/) In the standard method, the loaf is halved lengthwise, spread with butter or margarine, and baked until golden; the interior is scooped out, peanut butter goes on one half, the preserves on the other, the crisp bacon is laid between, and the loaf is closed.[7](https://www.westword.com/food-drink/elviss-beloved-fools-gold-loaf-sandwich-was-born-in-denver-5764529/)
One detail varies by account: the preserves. Grape jelly appears in many printed recipes, while people connected with the Colorado Mine Company described the restaurant's version as using blueberry preserves.[4](https://www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-sandwiches-in-western-united-states) The Denver Gazette describes the menu item as a sourdough loaf loaded with peanut butter, blueberry jam, and bacon,[5](https://www.denvergazette.com/2020/06/29/the-colorado-cafe-where-elvis-lives-on-and-where-his-favorite-sandwich-is-still-served/) and Andurlakis, who was 16 when he first fixed the sandwich for Presley, put the quantities at a pound each of peanut butter, blueberry preserves, and bacon on a one-pound sourdough loaf.[8](https://www.escoffier.edu/blog/culinary-arts/the-fools-gold-loaf-a-true-culinary-curiosity/)
Despite its size, the loaf was sold as a single sandwich rather than a platter for several people, though the $49.95 price and the dish's origin as a conversation piece suggest sharing was anticipated; recreations are commonly cut into portions.[4](https://www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-sandwiches-in-western-united-states) • [3](https://www.thetakeout.com/1672836/colorado-sandwich-fools-gold/) According to a 5280 write-up, the original version was buttered, browned in the oven, then coated with a jar of peanut butter plus a jar of jelly, and a pound of bacon was folded into it.[9](https://5280.com/for-ol-times-sake/)
## The 1976 flight
The story that made the sandwich famous concerns the night of February 1, 1976. Presley was at [Graceland](https://www.edgepedia.org/graceland) in Memphis when the Fool's Gold Loaf came up in conversation, and he decided he wanted the sandwich of the Colorado Mine Company, a Denver restaurant then operated by Buck and Cindy Scott. He took off in his private [Convair 880](https://www.edgepedia.org/convair-880), the Lisa Marie, which landed at Stapleton Airport in Denver in the early hours of the morning. Staff from the restaurant brought a batch of freshly made loaves directly to the airport, where Presley and his companions ate them with champagne and Perrier before flying back to Memphis; different accounts give different numbers of loaves.[4](https://www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-sandwiches-in-western-united-states) Graeme Wood's 2011 retelling describes 22 loaves on silver trays in a private hangar, with a chest of cracked ice and [Dom Pérignon](https://www.edgepedia.org/dom-perignon) on the side.[1](https://buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich/archive/notable-sandwich-67-the-fools-gold-loaf/)
Nick Andurlakis was there that night, delivering the sandwiches to the plane at the former [Stapleton International Airport](https://www.edgepedia.org/stapleton-international-airport). J.D. Sumner estimated that the trip ran the private jet $16,000 to fly from Graceland and back.[5](https://www.denvergazette.com/2020/06/29/the-colorado-cafe-where-elvis-lives-on-and-where-his-favorite-sandwich-is-still-served/) One popular version has Presley making the run for his daughter's birthday celebration, ferrying a planeload of party guests to Denver for the sandwiches.[10](https://www.westword.com/food-drink/nicks-cafe-elvis-presley-favorite-sandwich-fools-11928871/)
## Documentation and confusion with the Elvis sandwich
The sandwich's written history is thin relative to its fame. The story first appeared in print in David Adler's 1993 book *The Life and Cuisine of Elvis*, nearly a generation after the flight, and one food writer has questioned whether the recipe predated the legend.[1](https://buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich/archive/notable-sandwich-67-the-fools-gold-loaf/)
It is also frequently conflated with a different sandwich, the griddled peanut-butter-and-banana snack associated with Presley's Graceland household, sometimes with bacon, fried in butter on sliced white bread. These are distinct sandwiches: the Fool's Gold Loaf did not count banana among its defining ingredients, as its signature filling consists of peanut butter, fruit preserves, and bacon within an entire loaf.[4](https://www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-sandwiches-in-western-united-states) The smaller Memphis version is the older and better-attested of the two, a Depression-era Southern staple of peanut butter and banana on white bread; the Denver loaf is the larger restaurant creation, and the cultural weight of the "[Elvis sandwich](https://www.edgepedia.org/peanut-butter-banana-and-bacon-sandwich)" name now sits mostly on it.[2](https://onesandwich.com/elvis-sandwich/)
## Afterlife
The Colorado Mine Company is now defunct, but the sandwich survives in Colorado food culture. Andurlakis later opened Nick's Cafe in [Golden, Colorado](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-colorado), a nine-table restaurant with an Elvis-signposted parking spot, where the Fool's Gold remains on the menu four decades after the 1976 flight.[5](https://www.denvergazette.com/2020/06/29/the-colorado-cafe-where-elvis-lives-on-and-where-his-favorite-sandwich-is-still-served/) Denver's Berkshire Restaurant offered a $9 tweaked homage,[9](https://5280.com/for-ol-times-sake/) and [Coors Field](https://www.edgepedia.org/coors-field) introduced a milkshake version of the sandwich for its 2022 season.[11](https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/04/13/what-to-eat-coors-field-2022-season) The 2014 romantic comedy *[What If](https://www.edgepedia.org/what-if-2013-film)* gave the sandwich a recurring role as a storytelling device, with screenwriter Elan Mastai calling it a metaphor for messy romance.[12](https://time.com/3071192/sandwich-relationship-quiz/)
## References
1. [Notable Sandwich #67: The Fool's Gold Loaf, The Sword and the Sandwich (Buttondown)](https://buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich/archive/notable-sandwich-67-the-fools-gold-loaf/)
2. [Elvis Sandwich, One Sandwich](https://onesandwich.com/elvis-sandwich/)
3. [This Colorado Sandwich Combines PB&J With A Very Unlikely Ingredient, The Takeout](https://www.thetakeout.com/1672836/colorado-sandwich-fools-gold/)
4. [6 Best Sandwiches in the Western United States, TasteAtlas](https://www.tasteatlas.com/best-rated-sandwiches-in-western-united-states)
5. [The Colorado cafe where Elvis lives on, Denver Gazette](https://www.denvergazette.com/2020/06/29/the-colorado-cafe-where-elvis-lives-on-and-where-his-favorite-sandwich-is-still-served/)
6. [Este era el sándwich favorito de Elvis Presley, AS Tikitakas](https://as.com/tikitakas/gastronomia/este-era-el-sandwich-favorito-de-elvis-presley-8000-calorias-92-de-grasa-y-400-gramos-de-mantequilla-de-cacahuete-f202609-n/)
7. [Elvis's beloved Fool's Gold Loaf sandwich was born in Denver, Denver Westword](https://www.westword.com/food-drink/elviss-beloved-fools-gold-loaf-sandwich-was-born-in-denver-5764529/)
8. [The Fool's Gold Loaf: A true culinary curiosity, Escoffier](https://www.escoffier.edu/blog/culinary-arts/the-fools-gold-loaf-a-true-culinary-curiosity/)
9. [For Ol' Times Sake, 5280](https://5280.com/for-ol-times-sake/)
10. [Nick's Cafe Still Serves a Fool's Gold Sandwich, Denver Westword](https://www.westword.com/food-drink/nicks-cafe-elvis-presley-favorite-sandwich-fools-11928871/)
11. [What to eat at Coors Field this season, Axios Denver](https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/04/13/what-to-eat-coors-field-2022-season)
12. [What Kind of Sandwich Is Your Relationship?, TIME](https://time.com/3071192/sandwich-relationship-quiz/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Food, cooking and hospitality › Dishes, foods, and foodstuffs › Fast food, takeaway, and convenience dishes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license