College days are the days to remember. The sleepless nights, cram sessions right before finals, roommates, and tight budgets forced me to be creative about what I ate. I don’t know about you, but I have vivid memories of doctoring up ramen, stretching a can of tuna fish, and sometimes splurging at the campus café for a treat.

One of those little splurges was a tasty sandwich called the Marv ‘n’ Joe. This open-faced sandwich is widely known throughout my tiny college town. It was created by two engineering professors, Marv and Joe, who came together over their love of garlic tomato sandwiches and concocted this legendary masterpiece. Both professors said it was one of the highlights of their careers.

Since my college days are long gone and I’ve moved away from that little town, I recreate the Marv ‘n’ Joe at home—it tastes just as good today as it did over 20 years ago. The crunch from the toasted bread, the juicy tomato, the zing from the vinegar, and the gooey cheese all come together in perfect harmony every single time I make it.

This sandwich is so simple to make, but the order in which you place the ingredients onto the bread matters. I’ve made it several different ways, and this recipe is the best way to ensure everything stays intact.

For example, make sure you drizzle olive oil and vinegar onto the tomato. If you do this before adding the tomato, it’ll slide right off the bread. Drizzling it on top of the tomato lets it soak in! Adding the cheese next (and melting it) holds the tomato onto the sandwich, so everything stays intact.