Flagship Sandwich

Flagship Sandwich at Beecher's

beechershandmadecheese.com

A

Pardon the already munched photo, but it's hard not to chomp on a deadly-delicious grilled cheese once it's in your hot little hands. The famous Beecher's at Pike Place Market is always packed, and worth the wait, no matter if you're getting one of these, a dungeness crab sandwich, the killer mac and cheese or just stocking up on other cheesy goodness. The Flagship is layered with Beecher's eponymous signature cheese, a cow's milk cheese with a nice nutty flavor, plus their ridiculously creamy Just Jack cheese. It's quite the combination, melted or not. Fresh basil, tomato, and a smooth spread round things out, all panini-pressed between toasty sourdough. First rule of a great grilled cheese is using great cheese, pretty easy to come by at Beecher's.

Beer Steamed Hot Dog

Beer Steamed Hot Dog at the Orleans Casino Sportsbook

orleanscasino.com

B-

The $1.50 hot dog served from a street-style cart right behind the sportsbook at the aging, locals-oriented Orleans Casino is still one of the best dogs in Las Vegas, an all-beef meat tube that's alway been cooked by steaming over bubbling beer. The price used to be 75 cents, including all the condiments you wanna splash on top, but inflation is a bitch, I suppose. Still, it's a good deal, and you find similar ones at other Boyd Gaming-owned casinos that once operated under the Coast Casinos banner. But for some reason, the Orleans dog just tastes better. Maybe it's because this casino is a little grimy and worn, and it feels like the kind of place where lunch or dinner should be a quick wiener between hands or slot machine pulls.

Meatball

Meatball at Port of Subs

portofsubs.com

D

I wanted to remember this sandwich, and how I used to eat (sometimes two of) them in high school for lunch. How did I do that? There's something about the contrast of the thick, bittersweet tomato paste that passes for marinara-ish sauce to the pale, tasteless whiteness of the sub roll that feels like a murder scene. Don't you think? Also, it's impossible to eat this without making a mess, as halved spheres of forcemeat squish around within the soft roll, lubed by the paste, sliding down sheets of slick, miraculously unmelted provolone and plopping on the paper below. Yes, I did ask for banana peppers. I was trying to make it work. But alas, I'm not in high school anymore, and this is not a suitable sandwich.

BLTA

BLTA at Eat

eatdowntownlv.com

A+

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to the definitive Las Vegas bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. We're willing to cop to the fact that the Club must be the official sandwich of Las Vegas because it is the de facto room service order. But the BLT has got to be right there behind it, and though it seems like a simple task to assemble one, it's often fucked up somehow (just like the Club). But not at Eat. Like it does with just about everything on its compact, perfect menu, Eat takes the basic ingredients of this classic creation, emphasizes that each element is the best it can be, and then elevates everything with some special little twists. You can see those twists right here in the picture: there's bright, fresh, creamy wedges of avocado topping things off, and the bread is unbelievably thick, toasty and buttery. The layers of crunchy, wonderful bacon, crisp lettuce and juicy tomatoes are distinct and generous. There's a slight spread of chipotle mayo on each piece of toasty awesomeness, too. Usually when a sandwich is built to look good, it tastes good, too. This skyscraper isn't easy to bite, but it's worth the effort. Best BLT in Vegas, hands down.

Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork at Lulu's Bread & Breakfast

lulusonthemove.com

A-

You better hurry up if you wanna eat this baby, a mass of tender pulled pork crisped together into a brick of barbecue goodness and then panini'd in a perfect French baguette with chunks of pickled carrot and daikon and fresh cilantro. Act fast, because the sandwich guy at Lulu's is switching up the menu soon. This will become a version of a Cuban sandwich, which will almost certainly be just as delicious as this pulled pork. Lulu's is quietly and quickly becoming one of the best sandwich spots in Las Vegas. Stay tuned as we'll have more beautiful bites from this up-and-comer.

Red Rock Dog

Red Rock Dog at Pink's

redrock.sclv.com

B+

Now we're talking. The Red Rock Resort way out on the west side of Vegas has its very own Pink's hot dog shop, hiding in the casino corner near the sports book and poker room. The signature, namesake dog is a slightly spicy, extra garlicky Polish sausage topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions, cheese sauce and full strips of bacon. I call it a delicious disaster. One of the things that sets the Las Vegas versions of Pink's (there's one at Planet Hollywood, too) apart from other local hot dog joints is that they always serve their crazy creations on warm, soft, fresh buns. Buns are so important. They can never be dry or crumbly; that's just hot dog blasphemy. Pink's buns are great, especially when you get a bite smothered with nacho cheese and bacon.

Grilled Cheese and Peppers

Grilled Cheese and Peppers

homemade

B-

It's nice to have a garden. The thought of walking out back, grabbing something and eating it is very soothing. And then there's the thought of plucking some sweet banana peppers and pepperoncinis from that backyard garden, slicing 'em and sizzling 'em up with some olive oil, and melting them in-between toasty bread with gooey cheese. And then you take that thought, and you make it real. And then you bite that thought.

Bacon Jalapeño PBJ

Bacon Jalapeño PBJ at Border Grill Brunch

bordergrill.com

A

You already know this is a winner because of its name. Seems like it gives everything away, and it also makes you think Of course, why hasn't someone thought of this already? But there are a few delicious elements to this breakfast sandwich not described in its lengthy moniker. Yes, there are crispy strips of swine, nice-sized coins of raw, bright green pepper, salty peanut butter and sweet jelly, but there's also a fried egg. Usually, we're all about runny egg goodness, but on this sandwich it's the only thing that doesn't add much to the package. It doesn't take anything away, either, it's just that the egg doesn't seem to meld with the other ingredients in the same perfect way as they do with each other. But the oozy yolk and crispy-edged white part of the egg do pair nicely with the house-made biscuit that provides this masterpiece's foundation, and the biscuit really makes the whole thing. It's dense and slightly buttery, and just adds a rustic touch to a bite that could be a little over-the-top otherwise. Basically, this baby—one of the most popular items on the all-you-can-eat small plates brunch at Border Grill—is the breakfast sandwich to end all breakfast sandwiches.

Mr. Ho's Burger

Mr. Ho's Burger at Bachi Burger

bachiburger.com

A

I know, I know ... too many burgers on allsandwich. We're trying to mix it up more, but the fact is we are eating mostly in Las Vegas, and there's a whole lotta burgers here. They're impossible to avoid. And though we sometimes get sick of burgers, many are delicious enough to keep us wanting more. This is usually the case at Bachi Burger, where lots of different Asian ingredients get incorporated into lots of different, delicious burgers.

Mr. Ho's might be the most bizarre of Bachi's burgers. An angus beef patty is blended with pork, garlic and ginger, lacquered in some sort of sweet soy after being charred to perfection, and dropped on a taro bun. That's right: it's purple. It's soft and sweet with a very gentle yam-like flavor, and it's a nice contrast to the super savory burger. Adding to this mouth rainbow are sauteed mushrooms, crisp lettuce and some Chinese sausage. There are a lot of varying elements that somehow work together on this burger, but that's pretty much what they do at Bachi.

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz at Beach Hut Deli

beachhutdeli.com

C

Beach Hut Deli, a franchise new to the Las Vega area, is kind of like Port of Subs did a bunch of steroids then smoked a huge joint. The sandwiches are gigantic, and while a huge sandwich is not inherently problematic, they are cramming way too much stuff onboard rather bland, dry hoagie rolls. Restraint is important when you're making food for people to eat, especially when you're trying to make exciting food that people will talk about and blog about and take Instagram pictures of and be hungry and come back for more. Be creative, try some wild combinations, but draw the line the somewhere or else you're gonna drop a monstrosity in which PASTRAMI AND CREAM CHEESE ARE ON THE SAME SANDWICH. (Capital letters indicate sandwich blasphemy, in case you hadn't noticed.) So this thing, the Santa Cruz, has those two unhappy partners, plus avocado, bacon, mayo, mustard, pickles, tomatoes, red onion, lettuce, peppers and more cheese, melted. I think it was provolone. I don't know. How can you keep track? Look at this photo: ridiculous. Now look at it and imagine it without the pastrami—which, by the way, was decent and there was a lot of it—melted cheese or pickles. All of a sudden you've got a killer BLT, no? I know there are those of you who see a sandwich like this and get excited. Keep it coming, you'll say. No, friend, that is not the way. Restraint is important.

Turkey Burger

Turkey Burger at Terrace Pointe Cafe

wynnlasvegas.com

B

Ah, the turkey burger. The blandest burger you can order, right? For when you don't really want to enjoy your burger, the turkey burger. It's just the truth, people. So under what circumstances would we order one? Lunching alone at Wynn's lovely Terrace Pointe Cafe, of course. Turns out, it's a delicious choice. Maybe the best turkey burger ever. There was a savory outer crust on this turkey patty that is usually unattainable due to the fact that turkey is so lean. Leave it to casino coffee shop chefs to work some magic. Fancy toppings include avocado, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and pea tendrils. The bread: a rather robust honey wheat bun. Next time we'll get the blackened blue cheese burger. You know, stop fucking around. No pea tendrils on that one.

Banana French Toast

Banana French Toast

homemade

C

Look, it's a sandwich if we say it's a sandwich. Honey wheat bread griddled in cinnamon egg batter, sliced bananas and a drizzle of pomegranate honey inside. Damn ... forgot the peanut butter.

Double Del Cheeseburger

Double Del Cheeseburger at Del Taco

deltaco.com

D+

On one hand, there's a little voice inside us that thinks Del Taco deserves a little extra credit as the rare fast food franchise that combines fake Mexican food like tacos and burritos with traditional drive-thru eats like burgers, fries and shakes. On the other, there's the undeniable fact that while Del Taco does a lot of stuff, it doesn't do anything particularly well. The Double Del is Del Taco's version of the Big Mac or Double-Double in two ways: it offers standard toppings of two questionable beef patties, two slices of American cheeseness, tomato, lettuce, onions and "burger sauce" on a sesame seed bun; and secondly, it offers flavors that are similar to other burger chains while simultaneously tasting singularly like Del Taco. Only someone who has eaten too much fast food will understand what we're talking about. Should you eat this? No. Should you eat something else at Del Taco? Depends on what you were drinking and what time it is.

Chicken Parkers

Chicken Parkers

homemade (sort of)

B+

Two ingredients and mighty tasty. You know that thing where you go out to dinner at a great Vegas steakhouse (in this case, Brand at Monte Carlo) and they give you a whole, fresh batch of Parker House rolls to take home with your leftovers? Yeah, well, it's cool when that happens.

Farm Burger

Farm Burger at Gordon Ramsay BurGR

gordonramsay.com

A

A super celebrity chef fancy burger joint! This would not usually excite us, but Gordo's spot at Planet Hollywood is putting it down. This is our favorite burger on the menu so far, topped simply and perfectly by English sharp cheddar cheese, duck breast bacon and a lovely fried egg. The beef is a wonderfully composed grind, fatty and juicy, and though we are getting a bit tired of sweet brioche buns for burgers, the goodies here are so savory that it's a nice counterpoint. This is an awesome burger. Look, people are going to complain about the prices and the service at a place like this. You just have to remember you're on the Vegas Strip. Take a bite and enjoy yourself, and if this isn't for you, head south to Fatburger and spend less for a lesser burger.

Denver Omelet

Denver Omelet at Einstein Bros Bagels

einsteinbros.com

C-

Apparently it wasn't enough for Einstein Bros to bastardize bagels, they had to go and fuck up omelets, too. I mean, really. Call it a Denver sandwich at least. Doesn't the stuff have to be mixed in with the eggs to even merit the word omelet? So maybe this is a deconstructed Denver, with slices of ham, cheddar-ish cheese and diced green bell peppers atop an unholy disc of egg (Is it scrambled? Fried? Why does it look like that? What color is that?) all piled into your choice of bagel. We went with plain. Call us boring. Whatever. It still beats a McMuffin.

Caesar Steak

Caesar Steak at Those Guys Pies

thoseguyspies.com

B

This is one of the weirdest sandwiches we've ever eaten, but it was good enough that we'd like to try it again. This pizza shop also claims to specialize in cheesesteaks, but we just had to try this Caesar Steak,  chopped and griddled ribeye steak, ribbons of romaine in a creamy dressing and plenty of hard-to-see but easy-to-taste parmesan cheese. It tastes exactly like what you think it would, but the chewy-soft Italian roll elevates this sandwich, a super-delicious foundation with the perfect texture for these ingredients. We need to get back to Those Guys Pies and try their basic cheesesteak—expectations are high.

Flyin' Hawaiian

Flyin' Hawaiian at LBS Burger

lbsburger.com

B+

There are lots of Asian burgers around these days, but whenever someone tries to put a Hawaiian twist on our classic American sandwich, it usually involves little more than some teriyaki sauce and a pineapple ring. (And yes, there is pineapple on this bad boy, but it comes in the form of a subtle, sweet chutney on top.) But this burger, thanks to the masterpiece-making kitchen crew at LBS (of Block 16), brings all the flavor without going the cheesy route. (Don't take that literally; there is melted pepperjack on this bitch.) The beef patty also is topped with grilled spam, frisee and chili mayo, and it goes great with onion rings. Now if only somebody would upgrade the Hawaiian pizza, we'd be set.

Muffaletta

Muffaletta at Bread & Butter

breadandbutterlv.com

A

Our favorite Las Vegas Valley sandwich shops have been in a state of upheaval recently. One of our favorites, Johnny McGuire's, no longer exists. Likewise for Eddie D's Italian deli. The amazing chef and baker Chris Herrin (formerly of Bouchon) has sold his great Bread & Butter bakery/cafe, which all but guarantees menu changes and differences in quality and food focus. But the last time we checked, B&B was still serving the best muffaletta in town. A thick layer of meat and cheese—stripes of ham, salami, mortadella, capicola, Swiss, provolone and mozzarella—becomes something else, greater than the sum of those parts, almost impossibly savory, hearty and rich. Cutting through the indulgence is a slathering of briny olive spread and a bit of vinegary giardiniera. Everything is stacked on the house version of a Sicilian loaf, which is more like buttery deep-dish pizza crust than Italian bread. One bite is filling. Change may continue here and all over town, but hopefully this beauty will be maintained in good faith.

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.