After a week at The Masters, I had my fill of turkey and mustard sandwiches on one slice of wheat bread. I was doing my best to stay on Weight Watchers and threw away the top slice of bread and felt that was fairly healthful. I mean, I walked a lot most days to boot. Everything was going well till I broke down and had a pimento cheese, which is the No. 1 seller at every Masters concession tent. And though it was good, it doesn’t compare to my friend Sandy Zitkus’s pimento cheese.

I’d written about this same thing before I left, even putting her recipe in my column. At the time, I wondered what she would think of Masters pimento cheese and wasn’t surprised that, when she came down to the tournament for a couple of days, she agreed with me.

On my return home, my company e-mail was flooded with mail, but I saved this one from John Reed who gave his opinion on the best pimentos:

“Don’t know if you realize it, but the brand of pimentos makes a big difference!

Though somewhat difficult to find in Chattanooga, I strongly recommend the Mario brand (same people who make the olive oil). I’ve tried them all! Nothing else will do!

Mario pimentos are the prettiest, most tender and flavorful on the market. They also have the most intensely red, aromatic liquid, which adds additional flavor to the final product. Yes, I use the Mario liquid in the dressing.

I have to buy “Mario Diced Pimientos” privately labeled under the Food Lion name, because they’re so hard to find. They’re also sold online at www.marioolives.com.

I “ga-ron-tee” these pimentos make a difference.”

Sounds like a good recommendation and makes me hungry for more pimento cheese!