The New Yorker

The New Yorker at PT's Brewing Co.

pteglv.com

B

In the history of meat-stacked, deli-style sandwiches, have you ever found one done the right way in a bar? How about in a brewery? It seems like it can't possibly work out, but PT's Brewing Co.—the new beer-making arm of the ubiquitous Las Vegas tavern company—delivers a monster of quality here, especially impressive because the pastrami and corned beef are made in house. Thick, salty slabs of those two sandwich faves, plus tender, medium-rare roast beef, all somehow stay upright between two holding-on-for-dear-life pieces of marbled rye. Provolone and Swiss cheeses are added to the mix to add a different kind of richness, while coleslaw brings a nice fresh crunch and Thousand Island rides in with a little tang. This is a true meat mountain, and there aren't a lot of delis around the Vegas valley that you can find legit sandwich monuments like this one. Here, you can wash it down with a cold brew made in the room on the other side of the wall, and that's pretty cool.

Dublin Corned Beef Brisket Sandwich

Dublin Corned Beef Brisket Sandwich at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill

caesars.com

A

Superchef Gordon Ramsay opened three restaurants in one year on the Las Vegas Strip in 2012—a steakhouse, then a pub, then a burger joint. The steakhouse and burger joint are both among the best in their category compared to other Vegas options. The pub? Not so much. At least not when it first opened. We had some disappointing meals there, and we weren't the only ones. But because it's Ramsay, and because it has the best possible location in Caesars Palace, and because of the type of restaurant it is, we knew that in due time we'd be back at this pub to see if it turned out to be as delicious as we'd hoped. Our recent visit proves that to be the case. And the highlight of the lunch was this killer corned beef sandwich, fatty, tender, moist, savory brisket brined to absolute perfection and stacked tall on dark caraway rye. Guyere cheese, a proper portion of tangy sauerkraut, pickled onions and gooey cucumber dressing make it a messy masterpiece, and quite Reuben-esque, too. This is one of those sandwiches that comes out, makes you drool, and forces you to eat the whole thing even though half is more than a meal. Perhaps Ramsay's pub has come a long way.

KLC's Pastrami Reuben

KLC's Pastrami Reuben at The Sandwich Spot

thesandwichspot.com

A-

The Reuben is a classic sandwich, one that lots of restaurants are happy to put their own spin on. The Sandwich Spot version gets it done, using wonderful pastrami as the core along with crunchy sauerkraut, creamy Thousand Island dressing and slabs of Swiss cheese. We doubled down on the salty crispness by adding thick slices of dill pickle, plus yellow deli mustard to bring it all together. This is also the first time we've ever had a Reuben on Dutch crunch bread, a Sandwich Spot signature and a delightful, satisfying way to work through any sandwich on this menu. It might look familiar, but this is one of the most unique Reubens we've ever chomped.

Italian Hero

Italian Hero at Montesano's

montesanos.com

B+

Cappicola, Genoa salami, mortadella. Is there a better all-pork meat combination? Salty, slightly sweet, oily, a little spicy, fatty, wonderful. Put them on a crusty sub roll with some thick-sliced provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, oil and vinegar, and you've got a fan in me. Longtime Las Vegas Italian deli Montesano's augments their classic Italian sub with onions and pepperoncinis, plus a roll that has a little more chew to it. But this one is all about the meat, and they don't go light with these high quality piggy slices. They also layer the meats just so, creating a thick, savory, juicy bite every time. This is one sandwich where it's a good thing if the meat-to-bread proportion seems a little heavy on the meat side.

Sandwich Sundays Presents: Everything on Everything

Everything on Everything

homemade-ish

B

Sandwich Sundays gets even sweeter when you pick up your supplies from Bagel Cafe. A holiday get-together proved the perfect excuse to get way too much meat, cheese, veggies, pickles, bagels and spreads from our favorite deli—nay, the best deli in Las Vegas!—and go to work. We couldn't decide what to put on our everything bagel, so we didn't—we grabbed it all. Turkey, ham, roast beef and pastrami, Swiss cheese and cheddar, lots of yellow mustard, tomato, cucumber, and pickles on the side. (Whitefish salad on the side, too, but that's another subject.) The result? Pure nap-inducing pleasure, a thick mess of meaty splendor. Add a soft couch and a football game and all of a sudden, holidays with the family is the best thing that ever happened.

Rueben

Rueben at MTO Café

mtocafe.com

A

We're not sure if the fine folks at MTO Cafe spelled this classic sandwich wrong on accident or on purpose, but we don't care. It's probably the best reuben in Las Vegas. One bite and you're overwhelmed by juicy, powerfully flavored corned beef … and then you realize this is corned buffalo. Boom. Mind blown. It's rich and tender and eats like a much fattier meat, and how this kitchen got this lean meat to taste so amazing is an act of pure wizardry. Top this majestic meat stack with melty Swiss, a Russian dressing-like "special sauce" and a bit of crisp sauerkraut, and you've got a powerful package enclosed in toasty rye. Even the fries are great! MTO already impressed us with its killer Hangover Burger; with this "rueben" staying on our minds, we have to wonder if this friendly breakfast and lunch joint—soon to expand to Summerlin—isn't secretly one of our top sandwich shops.

The Reuben

The Reuben at The Spread

downtowngrand.com

B

Could there be a more fitting first bite of a new Vegas casino than a classic sandwich from its sports book deli? I think not. The Downtown Grand is a true boutique hotel, it couldn't possibly be in a more hip location, and it's got terrific Vegas bones—this joint used to be the Lady Luck. The new operators have squished a whole lotta stuff into a relatively small space, including the sleek, cozy little book with this tiny deli counter connected. It's called The Spread and the menu's got all the basics … except pastrami. How come no pastrami? The Spread almost makes up for that misstep with this meaty, creamy, tangy Reuben. Deli lovers might prefer a more substantial meat pile within these thick, nicely grilled slabs of rye, but the corned beef that is there is solidly savory. Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and sweet Russian dressing and we're good to go. This is a nice first impression of the DTG; now let's go check out the lobster roll and the Cubano at the coffee shop.

Chicken Waldorf Salad

Chicken Waldorf Salad at Fanny's Bistro

fannysbistro.com

B-

People still make chicken waldorf salad? People still eat it? This slightly Italian deli/cafe in Henderson is a cozy, old-fashioned place to eat, so it makes at least a little sense to serve this throwback. And it's tasty: plump white-meat chicken diced into cubes and blended in a creamy, not-too-mayonnaisey mixture with lots of crunchy celery, apples, cashews and onions, slabbed onto fresh panels of bread with lettuce and tomato. (I feel like there were grapes, but I don't see any. Do you?) This feels like a guilty pleasure sandwich, something you won't order very much, but you'll be glad when you do.

Hot Pastrami Deli-Style

Hot Pastrami Deli-Style at the Peppermill

peppermilllasvegas.com

A-

So obviously I haven't been to all the delis in the world, or even all the big famous delis, or even all the delis in Vegas. But I've never been to a deli that puts an extra slice of bread in a hot pastrami sandwich. The Peppermill does it. I didn't think it was a good idea, but it worked. It took away from the meat-mountain effect that often occurs in piled-high deli sandwich construction, providing a nice crispy texture in every bite. The downside: the meat in this sandwich was stuffed into the middle, of course, making for an overabundance of bread in your face when you're eating around the outsides. Not a big problem, though, considering this toasty rye was grilled with lots of butter for guilty-pleasure, greasy goodness. The pastrami was sliced thin, lean, and tasty, and there was melty Swiss cheese and a few dabs of mustard-mayo sauce adding moisture and flavor. The Peppermill is fantastic place to eat a sandwich in Las Vegas; you should go and eat this one.

Hot Pastrami

Hot Pastrami at Zoozacrackers

wynnlasvegas.com

A

To the short list of spectacular pastrami sandwiches on the Vegas Strip, add this beauty from the underrated Zoozacrackers deli at Wynn. Give it a few extra points because unlike the offerings at imported joints like Canter's and Carnegie, the Zooza crew makes all this stuff in-house: pastrami, corned beef, even the latkes. And it's very steady.

This simple, sublime sandwich comes on some pretty great bread, also baked in the resort. It's soft but firm seedy rye with just enough flavor. The pastrami is very different from those other places, and from what you're used to eating with store-bought meat. It's incredibly tender with zero bites of weird fattiness or gristle, thanks to a very complicated and lengthy cooking process. All the familiar tastes are there, including a subtle smokiness, black pepper, garlic and coriander. It's not overly salty. The flavors are round and smooth, beefier than other pastramis. Great stuff. They tack on some Swiss cheese and let you go at it yourself with the mustard.

Scrumptious bites like these make us continue to hit the Strip for our regular deli fix. It's hard to say this is better than the rest, as it's so different. But for now, there's not another place anywhere in Vegas I'd rather get a pastrami sandwich.

George's Club

George's Club at Triple George Grill

triplegeorgegrill.com

B-

Considering the Triple George is a quasi-steakhouse, a downtown power lunch-type spot, it makes sense that their club sandwich is all about beef. There is sliced turkey, and there is bacon, so perhaps it still meets the club requirement. But there is a powerful stack of rare roast beef and its flavor overwhelms all other ingredients, which also include fresh lettuce and thinly sliced tomato, mayo and cheddar cheese. The cheese was also a different, but welcome twist. Of course, marble rye is the way to go for any club foundation. Definitely a decent bite, not bad, just different.

Cajun Turkey with Avocado

Cajun Turkey with Avocado at Heidi's Brooklyn Deli

heidisbrooklyndeli.com

C

This place confuses me. The first thing on the big menu boards reads "pie," and it smells like they're baking fresh ones, but when I get to the counter, dude tells me they don't have pie. Never have had pie. Those signs are old. How do you explain my nose sniffing out cherry pie? Then he punched me in the nose. Not really.

The problem with this sandwich is it's boring at best -- totally standard sliced turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, bland rye bread -- and creepy at worst, thanks to too much "Cajun" mayo and not enough avocado. It's a good sized meal and satisfying, if you wipe off the gunky weird spread. Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing. If this is supposed to be a Brooklyn deli, I shoulda gone with pastrami or corned beef, huh?

Corned Beef

Corned Beef Sandwich at Del Mar Deli

southpointcasino.com

B-

I figured a sandwich at this casino deli would be pretty good, because the homies at Bagel Cafe used to run this little quick food outlet. But they don't anymore; now the South Point Casino handles it. They probably haven't changed much, and why would they? This corned beef has the perfect lean-to-fat ratio, and it tastes great. Problem is the bread. Call it rye if you want, but it doesn't taste like it. It's too soft, not really chewy, and just cannot handle this massive meat mountain. Also, I appreciate that Del Mar has quick mustard dispensers for you to add your own, but get a legit deli mustard option. Can't do corned beef without it.

Viva Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas at Canter's Deli

treasureisland.com

A+

Canter's Deli is officially back, at least in my mind, to its original status. That status was a classic California deli, a landmark, that had opened a version on the Las Vegas Strip. When it first arrived at TI, it was pretty exciting. I don't know what happened between then and about a year ago, but that's when I returned for another taste of pastrami to find that all was right in the world again. And I've been back, and things are still right. Way right.


I can't pick a top pastrami in Vegas. The choices are this joint, Carnegie Deli (which is one casino over at The Mirage) or Bagel Cafe. But this creation, the Viva Las Vegas, is officially my favorite sandwich at Canter's. There's plenty of that spicy, juicy pastrami, and an equally tremendous stack of corned beef. Tasted separately, there is a distinct difference as the corned beef is more dense, beefy and salty, while the pastrami is, of course, peppery. But together in one mighty mouthful, everything swirls together in a decadent way. These are the two deli meats that the L.A. Canter's built its reputation on, so it's not a surprise that this sandwich is a winner. Also on these terrific slices of rye, there is some Swiss cheese, just enough creamy coleslaw to cut through the salt, and a barely there dab of Russian dressing. I recommend you add a significant wipe of whole grain, spicy Beaver brand mustard, which will overpower the kinda sweet dressing and legitimize this sandwich as a true deli masterpiece. Just cuz it's on the Strip doesn't mean it ain't real.

Turkey Pastrami

Turkey Pastrami at The Beat Coffeehouse

thebeatlv.com

A-

There are five sandwiches on the regular menu at this hip new downtown hangout, but the turkey pastrami is not one of them. This was the daily special, but we may lobby for its permanent inclusion. Tender, spicy meat is topped with melted cheese, fresh arugula and wondeful pickled red onions. The soft, chewy ciabatta is the perfect foundation for these ingredients, made all the more impressive by the fact that the Beat gets its bread from Bon Breads. For us Vegas sandwich worshippers, Bon Breads is a holy entity.

Sandwich Sundays Presents: The Super Sunday Mini

The Super Sunday Mini Sandwich

homemade

B+

In lieu of the traditional chips and dips, chicken wings and pizzas, we did up the big game with a fat stack of meats and cheeses and a nice fresh bread selection. Yes, our old family-style Sandwich Sundays returned, with a vengeance, on the day the Packers took the Steelers down.

Here we have the first of several sandwiches consumed that day. It looks big in this photo but the Super Sunday Mini is only about five inches across, intentionally little so we could continue to feast throughout the day. This bread is a spherical loaf of rosemary olive oil Italian stuff, and it is pretty delicious all by itself. Under fresh veggies lettuce, tomato and red onion rests Boar's Head-brand hot cappy, pepperoni, pastrami, black forest ham and provolone cheese. It's kinda Italian deli meets New York deli meets Super Bowl.

Whitefish Salad

Whitefish Salad Sandwich at Bagel Cafe

thebagelcafelv.com

A+

Writing this mini-review of this sandwich, in all seriousness, is making me angry right now because it makes me want to eat this bitch right now. I don't know if you can make a more perfect sandwich. I love you, Bagel Cafe. I love you and I am in love with you.

So I choose their homemade rye for this sandwich, not toasted even though it might hold together better if was toasted. But with soft bread, the rich, creamy, smoky whitefish salad will spill out every few bites, and I like that because I'm going to eat it all anyway and it doesn't matter if I have to use a fork to finish my sandwich. Fresh lettuce, red onion and ripe tomatoes are a wonderful complement but there's no stealing the spotlight from the fish, so moist with some celery and onion tossed in for a satisfying mini-crunch. There are few delicatessens of Bagel Cafe's category in Las Vegas but nothing that offers as much variety on the menu, and they make damn near everything themselves. So, yeah, there is no competition.

Reuben

Reuben at Zoozacrackers

wynnlasvegas.com

C

Yes, most everything you'll eat inside Wynn Las Vegas is ultra-delicious and fancy. Does that include this little deli stop near the sportsbook? Eh. Fancy, yes. Ultra-delicious? How about just slightly tasty?

Actually, this half-reuben was solid, unspectacular, and just a little boring. So ... definitely not living up to the Wynn standard. Riding on toasted seedy rye bread, you've got Swiss cheese, some pretty bland, kinda fatty corned beef, crisp, cool sauerkraut that really falls somewhere between typical 'kraut and coleslaw, and Russian dressing with a bit of a bite. Horseradish, perhaps? The bread was the best part. The meat just didn't bring it. I don't care if there's 'kraut or not, a deli sandwich has to be all about the meat.

It's kinda funny ... Wynn is one of the best hotels for food on the Vegas Strip, but the best sandwich spots on the boulevard (Carnegie, 'Wichcraft, Burger Bar, Canter's) are in hotels with lesser overall culinary acclaim.

Pastrami, Vol. 1

Pastrami, Vol. 1

homemade

A-

What if you lived in a city famous for its spectacular food, but none of that food was actually from that city?

What if you could eat almost anything you want at almost any time you want, but not everything is going to turn out just the way it should be?

Why is the best pastrami in Las Vegas made in New York City?

Why can't we make our own stuff? Why? Can't? We?

This is pastrami, dry-brined for three days, home-smoked for over three hours, sliced thick and dropped on dill rye bread with (unseen) garlic mustard. The relatively small size of the 2.5-pound brisket allowed the curing process to go bananas, and so this meat is very salty. Eating it by itself, it is juicy and delicious with all the right notes of coriander seed and black pepper until a few seconds in when the salt sledgehammer smacks your buds out your mouth. But on this pleasant, soft, fragrant bread, it's a magical meal, almost balanced and much more satisfying than any of the high-stacked piles of thin-sliced, fatty, pink meat I've eaten lately.

This is one. There will be two, then three, four, maybe more. I'm going to do this. Wanna taste?

Half Pastrami

Half Pastrami at Bagel Cafe

thebagelcafelv.com

A

In the case of the traditional deli stacked-meat sandwich, sometimes a half is all you need. Most times a half is all you need. So I usually pair this bad boy with a cup of Bagel Cafe's matzoh ball soup, which is much more food than I need in one sitting.

Bagel Cafe's pastrami is right up there with the best in town, and unlike most deli-type spots, they actually make it in-house. It's sliced thin, juicy with the right amount of fat, and salty with just a bit of spiciness. A dab of spicy table mustard is all you need on this meaty beast, ordered here on simple (also homemade) rye. This is as good a basic pastrami sandwich as you'll find in Vegas, just as tasty as those imported NY and LA sandwich spots as the Strip. And at the Bagel Cafe, you're not gonna take a hit in the wallet.