18 Of The Best Sandwiches In America

Miami's contribution to this guide (and humanity) is the best version of the city’s most recognizable sandwich: the Cuban. Sanguich De Miami is home to the platonic ideal of crispy bread and juicy pork. Each one is prepared in an assembly line and brushed with pork fat before being pressed into warm, perfect triangles. Unlike a lot of the more casual Cuban options in the city, they make almost every component of this sandwich themselves, with plenty of time and care. It's a difference you’ll taste the nanosecond the combination of ham, roast pork, pickles, mustard, and swiss cheese touches your tongue.

Philly is a town of many sandwich traditions, but the clear meat king among the overstuffed royalty is the cheesesteak from Angelo’s. Tender shredded ribeye and melted american cheese are layered into a warm and crackly seeded roll baked in-house. And each time we have one, we feel like an Eagles fan watching the team win a championship (well, almost). The spot is always as packed as Walmart on Black Friday, but it’s definitely worth the wait.

There’s plenty of New Orleans sandwich royalty—shout out the muffuletas from Central Grocery—but po’boys are king. And Castnet Seafood makes our favorite one in the city (yes, even better than Parkway). If it’s your first time, go with the quintessential dressed fried shrimp, which comes with lettuce, pickle, tomato, Blue Plate mayonnaise, Crystal hot sauce, and a little butter on Leidenheimer French bread. They also serve a hot sausage option that’s equally good, made with Patton’s, which is the gold standard for ground meat patties, and tastes great dressed with cheese.

Italian beefs rule Chicago, but there are no better sandwiches in the city than the ones from this iconic family-run Italian deli and sub shop. J.P. Graziano has been around since 1937 and the industrial exterior hasn’t changed since the neighborhood was full of meatpacking warehouses. Inside, they’re still making the most delicious Italian subs and sandwiches in the city. Specifically, the Mr. G, which has spicy soppressata, prosciutto, salami, hot oil, marinated artichokes, and a surprisingly delicate truffle mustard balsamic vinaigrette.

This LA institution has been serving Jewish deli staples like matzo ball soup and a creamy macaroni salad since 1947. But you’re coming here for the #19: Langer’s signature thick-cut pastrami smothered in swiss cheese, russian dressing, and homemade coleslaw between two slices of the famous, twice-baked rye. The pastrami and rye fuse together to the point where you can’t even tell which is which. It’s euphoric, plain and simple. We love this place, (and so does Chris Pine and his short shorts).

The Caribbean roast pork sandwich from this Seattle shack has the power to do two things: bestow upon you eternal joy and destroy your white T-shirt with meat drips. It’s worth it, though, for this toasted baguette stuffed with braised pork clinging to tangy marinade, sweet onions stamped with char from the grill, tart pickled jalapeño, romaine, and a zesty aioli that laughs in the face of standard supermarket mayo. Just be sure to have your Tide Pen on standby.

NYC’s best sandwiches are on Staten Island. On Wednesdays, Anthony’s Paninoteca makes pastrami. On Thursdays, they make porchetta. And on Tuesdays, the special is The KiKi—a bread-based behemoth involving lemony layers of chicken francese and melted mozzarella, which you can (and should) get on a hero made of butter-soaked garlic bread. In other words, there is no bad day to come here. Though young compared to some of NYC's other Italian sandwich shops, Anthony’s small counter with four stools in the window and chandeliers on the ceiling feels like an instant classic.

At Limoncello in SF, sausages hang over a loaded deli case, shoppers browse the aisles of shelves well-stocked with every San Pellegrino flavor, and friendly staff wrap up classic Italian sandwiches from behind the counter. Those sandwiches are the main reason we return to this Italian deli as often as Adele gravitates to belting heartbreaking songs. The fillings include tissue-thin mortadella and hot coppa, plump mozzarella, and spicy marinara meatballs worthy of a ballad. We’re always pulled toward the Mafioso sandwich, a colorful stunner stuffed with mortadella, prosciutto, bacon, and turkey, with pepperoncini that add a zippy tang to each bite.

Once you taste the dặc biệt bánh mì from Alpha Bakery & Cafe in Houston, it will tease you forever, reaching out in daydreams like a pork-laden angel. Watching a staffer spread a thick layer of creamy butter on a fresh baguette for the first time is a thing of wonder, especially when that baguette then gets stuffed with pâté, bologna, pork belly, head cheese, and a fistful of sliced vegetables and herbs. This is the best bánh mì in Houston, which is why it’s hard to believe it only costs $5.

The Rachel sandwich at Mum Foods in Austin combines everything you love about New York Jewish delis with everything you love about central Texas-style BBQ. That means brined, oak-smoked brisket that’s been cooked low-and-slow until it pulls apart with a gentle tug. The rye is grilled, the sauerkraut is subbed for coleslaw, and the dressing is russian. It’s crunchy, smoky, tangy, and rich, and it’s something that could only exist in Texas.

The original owner of Prince’s in Nashville basically invented hot chicken, and there’s a lengthy origin story that involves an angry girlfriend and a tub of cayenne. But for the purpose of this guide, we’re more concerned with their extremely delicious Andre sandwich. It’s a messy one, thanks to the combo of creamy coleslaw and sweet heat sauce that’s reminiscent of Frank’s Red Hot, but the perfectly seasoned fried breast soaks up everything flawlessly. There are newer, better hot chicken spots that have captured our attention, but the sandwich here is a classic that we keep returning to.

Though this pizzeria makes some of the best pies in Atlanta, we’d promptly trade them in for their incredible pita sandwiches. Firewall’s bread is baked in a wood-fired oven, so you get a nice crunch and a subtle smoky flavor from the sesame pitas. Every sandwich here is game-changing, but the Southern Italian is the best. Even though it’s inspired by Philadelphia’s roast pork, it stays true to Georgia with a load of tender collard greens that pairs naturally with braised shredded pork, salty provolone, and tangy hot peppers.

Joe’s is the gold standard of KC BBQ, and their Z-Man sandwich might be the best thing involving smoked meat you can eat in Kansas. It comes loaded with brisket, provolone, onion rings, and barbecue sauce, all on a kaiser roll. You’ll probably have to wait around 30 minutes for your sandwich, but that only gives you more time to make friends in line and appreciate the functioning gas station restaurant in all its glory.

There’s a heated New Jersey debate on whether to call the famed breakfast sandwich pork roll or Taylor ham. It’s Taylor ham for us, but it’s certainly not called that at Frank’s in Asbury Park on the Jersey Shore. This is among the best places to get this iconic deli meat sandwich in the state, which actually means any other place on Earth. Get that thick-cut Taylor ham with egg and cheese on rye for a breakfast sandwich that can rival anything the neighbors over in NYC are putting out.

The Saltie Girl in Boston has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to seafood, particularly when it comes to excellent seafood served in a bun. While their regular lobster roll is great, served cold or hot with a white wine butter sauce, Saltie Girl really levels up with their top-secret off-menu fried roll. The lobster is fried in a light, tempura-like batter and tossed in beurre blanc sauce before being piled into a warm buttered roll and served alongside housemade salt and vinegar chips.

In Honolulu, and Oahu in general, many places have started cranking out ph​​ở french dips. The Pig & The Lady was one of the first on the island to serve it, and while you’ll find a few other versions around, this is still the best. While the sandwich is only available for lunch, it’s worth stopping by for a midday meal powered by this braised brisket-stuffed creation that’s spiked with a Thai basil chimichurri and comes with a side of phở broth for dipping.

The sandwiches at Wario’s in Columbus easily rival their counterparts in New York City and Philadelphia. Their take on a Philly cheesesteak, featuring eight ounces of quality rib-eye and housemade whiz on a soft semolina roll, is a clear standout. So are the chicken cutlet, roasted pork and broccoli rabe, and Italian cold cut subs. Wario’s sizable sandwiches run $13-19, but they’re gigantic. 

You’ve probably heard of Baltimore’s penchant for crabcakes and softshell crab, but real ones know the best sandwich in town is the pit beef from Chaps. It’s made of thinly sliced rare roast beef that’s been cooked quickly at a high temperature. According to the owner, the key to good pit beef is serving up a lot of it, so that the slices never have time to dry. Sandwiches come with just meat, on a soft and squishy bun, and you should dress them up with an array of sauces (go with the classic tiger sauce, a horseradish/mayo combo), sliced onions, and pickles.