Pulled Pork with Cincinnati Chili

Pulled Pork with Cincinnati Chili at Top Notch Barbeque

topnotchbarbeque.com

B+

Top Notch Barbeque is a caterer/food truck in Las Vegas, casually styled as some sort of west coast-desert-cowboy barbecue cuisine, but the cook has some serious midwest roots. Also, he' s crazy. How else would you explain topping a juicy mountain of a pulled pork sandwich with spicy, volcanic Cincinnati-style chili? It's pure meaty madness, and you won't believe you ate the whole thing. With a fork.

Honestly, Top Notch earns its name as one of the best barbecue suppliers in Vegas, and it's pulled pork is as good as any in the city. You can also get it topped with creamy coleslaw, if you're not in the mood for this monster. But with the chili added, and with the soft egg bun absorbing lots of pork and beef juices, this really becomes more than a sandwich, something like a barbecue/chili version of Philippe's famous French dip. Mighty and tasty.

Grilled Queso Blanco

Grilled Queso Blanco

homemade

B-

It's a safe assumption the original grilled cheese was conceived much like this one, as a quick and tasty sandwich improvisation. We just happened to have some fresh Mexican farmer's cheese in the fridge, and we just happened to have some couple-days-old bread mom baked. Not just any plain bread, but cottage cheese and dill bread, a big, flat, round loaf of it. So we sliced it, tossed it on the griddle, dropped bombs of queso on it, splashed on some Tapatio hot sauce, and there you have it. Slightly spicy, very cheese, and very savory from the homemade bread. Plus, crunchtastic.

Kalbi Burger

Kalbi Burger at Bachi Burger

bachiburger.com

A

Oh sweet lord, my infatuation with Asian burgers continues. Bachi's Kalbi Burger grinds some sweet piggy into the beefy patty, adding to the juicy succulence of this perfectly sized sandwich, and spices things up with soy, garlic, ginger and chili paste. You will definitely notice, with your first bite, that this isn't just some vaguely Asian-flavored burger. It's definitely got that Kalbi short ribs-barbecue-ish tang. On a soft, nicely chewy bun, there's also lettuce, kim chee, green onions and something called Ko Chu Jang mayo. Wonderfulness abounds, with the great texture of the meat swimming in the sharply flavored, distinctly Korean glaze and the slightly funky -- in a good way -- kim chee packing some crisp punch.

Steak Banh Mi

Steak Banh Mi at Tbones

redrocklasvegas.com

B

Hold up, a banh mi sandwich at a fancy Vegas steakhouse? Yep, there it is, smack in the middle of T-bones' special "T-Time" happy hour snack menu: thin-sliced ribeye on a crusty baguette with some zesty mayo, pickled cucumbers, red onions and carrots, and a little crispy taro chip action. It's not authentic, but it's not supposed to be, and it's not spicy but it packs a meaty punch. If a Vietnamese mainstay can make its way onto the finger foods menu in Summerlin's neighborhood casino flagship, that's a good thing.

Green Eggwich

The Green Eggwich

homemade

B-

Sometimes you're too lazy to even throw some pants on and go out to breakfast on a Sunday morning. That's when things like this happen: scrambled eggs with fresh basil and cilantro, dropped on a toasted kaiser roll. Done deal. Not bad, but a little dry. And no, I didn't have any bacon in the fridge. Duh.

Number 40

Number 40 at Mr. Sandwich

Mr. Sandwich at Yelp

A+

It's the bread. It's warm. And crackly.

Is banh mi my favorite type of sandwich? Some days, yes. I am currently infatuated with Asian food, almost as much as I am obsessed with sandwiches. But there is something about banh mi that is bigger than just a temporary craving. It goes deep, straight to the heart of what makes a sandwich great.

If we are to believe the origins of the sandwich -- that some rich dude playing cards demanded that his meat supper be served between two slabs of bread, so he could eat without using both hands or a knife -- then I put forth the theory that banh mi, among other types of sandwiches, is something of an evolution of the species. Sure, there is meat tucked inside bread, but that is not what makes it great. Yes, there is a balance of taste (salty, sweet, spicy, sour) and texture (crisp veggies, mushy cold cuts). But what separates a terrific banh mi sandwich, the kind found at Mr. Sandwich, from a mediocre-to-worse one, like Lee's and most other places in Las Vegas, is the bread. It's warm. And crackly. It's an exceptional French baguette, and it'd be fine to sit and munch with a few pats of butter; no need to transform it into this culture-spanning masterpiece of a sandwich. But that's what they do here, and behold, they are good. It's sandwich evolution because it's all about the bread, as the fillings serve a complementary role. And I love this backwards sandwich world, because a beautiful, delicious baguette is as close to art as food can get, while meat ... is just meat. Anybody can make a decent hunk of meat.

There are many different decent hunks of meat available at Mr. Sandwich, but the best comes inside the Number 40. These are salty, smashed up sardines, doused in a slightly spicy, rich sauce, and slathered in a creamy mayo-type concoction. There's just the right portion of fishy goodness inside our beloved baguette, augmented by -- of course -- do chua, that snappy combination of fresh pickled carrot and daikon, plus raw cilantro, jalapeno and cucumber. Super clean tastes across the board, decadence with the sardines, garden goodness holding it down. Mr. Sandwich, you should be annointed to Sir Sandwich status.

S'mores Ice Cream Sandwich

S’mores Ice Cream Sandwich at Trader Joe's

traderjoes.com

B+

We at allsandwich have learned through experience you can’t always trust foods that are clearly one thing, but claim to taste like a different thing. And so we treated the box of S’mores Ice Cream Sandwiches that somehow found its way into our Trader Joe’s cart a couple of weeks ago with some skepticism. As it turned out, we had no need to.

This is not a completely perfect ice cream sandwich. The cookie “bread,” made of graham cracker in this case (naturally), is just the tiniest bit too soft, leaving the sandwich without much textural variety. But for a store bought treat, the ice cream is divine. Fluffy and indeed somewhat marshmallowy in texture and flavor, it also has a nice light swirl of chocolate to complete the classic s’mores trifecta of delicious.

By the way: we don’t usually review ice cream sandwiches here. But since allsandwich is located in Las Vegas, and it’s currently 147 degrees here (with the comfort index figured in) we’re going to go ahead and say, “Oh hell YES” to ice cream sandwiches.

Traditional Gyro

Traditional Gyro at Market Grille Cafe

marketgrillecafe.com

B+

Is a gyro a sandwich? Yes, dummy, it is. Pita bread is one of the world's great breads, and the warm, soft pita served at Market Grille Cafe is decent stuff. Even better is the flavorful blend of beef and lamb inside its traditional gyro, well spiced and ultimately savory. Anybody who says Mediterranean food can't be meaty-delicious needs to try one of these, especially because MGC serves a generous portion of meat in its gyros. Topping it off, you've got chopped lettuce, red onions, tomatoes and cucumbers, with a sprinkle of feta cheese and a slathering of creamy yogurt dill sauce. There are so many mingling flavors going on in this sandwich ... how could you have ever questioned it's validity in the first place? Shame on you!

The Cheffini

The Cheffini at Cheffinis Hot Dogs

Cheffinis Facebook

A

It's late Saturday night, and you're drinking. You're on East Fremont Street in Downtown Vegas. You stumble out of your favorite bar looking for something to munch (knowing there are few restaurants in the area) and then you catch sight of this little hot dog cart. So of course, gimme one with everything.

The guy serving it up called it a Columbian Dog, but it turns out it's the specialty of the house. Er, cart. Let me try real hard to remember everything on this dog, besides the always tasty Hebrew National weiner and the soft sesame seed bun: There were jalapenos, onions and tomatoes. Definitely mustard and relish. Was there lettuce? Bacon? Not sure. Crushed up tortilla chips, yes, and also pineapple sauce. Wait, what? Yes, pineapple sauce. And shit, I think there was mayo and avocado, too.

Look, sometimes you just gotta go with it. Was it crazy? Yes. But it was delicious, a textural delight, sweet and spicy and soft and crunchy. Kinda makes you wanna find any old hot dog stand and just tell 'em you want everything they got, huh? It won't be the same, though. Not everybody has pineapple sauce.

Mastodon

Mastodon at Kuma's Corner

kumascorner.com

A-

We close our Chicago sandwich escapades with a return to Kuma's Corner, perhaps the greatest burger bar on the planet. Vegas is burger city, yes, but we don't have anything like Kuma's. It's the metal, baby.


There are so many interesting options to beef up your burger here, and we must admit, the Mastodon is not the most exciting. It's basically the best version of a Western Bacon Cheeseburger you could possibly imagine, with its fried onions, bacon, barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese. So if this burger must receive an A-, we'll take credit for the minus because we should have ordered something more exotic. But that's not to say the Mastodon isn't satisfying; in fact, it's the most satisfying BBQ burger we've ever munched. The meat patty is huge and perfectly cooked, and the sauce is not too sweet. Like it's namesake, this sandwich is pure awesome.

Cheezborger

Cheezborger at Billy Goat Tavern

billygoattavern.com

B-

The Billy Goat Tavern is famous for several reasons, but the food at this cool, old school bar is famous for inspiring the classic "cheezborger, cheezborger" Saturday Night Live sketch. There is much more on the menu than just the cheezborger, good looking stuff like a ribeye steak, corned beef or salami sandwiches, and hearty breakfast options. But, cheezborger it is, at least on this visit.

This is a totally respectable diner burger. Take the staff's advice and order at least a double, even better a triple, because the beef patties are very thin, if still flavorful. This cheezborger is just a single but augmented by a nice big fried egg and some crispy bacon strips. You'll wanna add this stuff, too, or at least hit the do-it-yourself condiment bar from some dill pickle chips, fresh white onions, mustard and ketchup. The cheezborger needs a lot of toppings, because not only is the meat thin, but the bread is big and puffy, a nice soft kaiser roll. So order big, get it how you want it, and enjoy. And get some beer, too. This bar is pretty awesome.

Green Goddess

Green Goddess at Goose Island Clybourn

gooseisland.com

B

I like when I go to a bar for a sandwich and there's a section of the menu called "Beer Food." Makes sense.

Goose Island appears to be one of Chicago's favorite craft breweries, and there are tasty suds galore up in here. There's some pretty good food to go with 'em, too. The green goddess sandwich is a crusty, warm baguette with a decent-sized pile of rotisserie chicken (mostly dark meat -- yum), artichokes, frisee, ramps and a light, creamy, seemingly whipped spread probably based on green goddess dressing. The dressing is mayo, sour cream and a bunch fresh herbs; this sandwich spread might be the same but it wasn't mayonnaisy at all. It was closer to cream cheese without the overpowering cheese taste, flavored instead with lemon juice and maybe basil or tarragon. Not sure. But it was unique and delicious, and added a nice subtle touch to this sandwich.

Absu

Absu at Kuma's Corner

kumascorner.com

A+

Kuma’s Corner has a serious reputation – as soon as we mentioned we’d be visiting Chicago, we were inundated with recommendations to check it out, and when we arrived in the windy city, our hosts had already made plans for us to lunch there. That lunch was in fact the only plan they made for us.

If you’re not familiar – Kuma’s boasts loud heavy metal, a bustling bar and the best burgers on the planet. Each of the offerings is named for a band, and while many are topped with the same fixings you’ll find at your neighborhood bar, these enormous burgers are anything but ordinary. Juicy and delicious, the hamburger patty on a Kuma’s burger is a 10-ouncer, which is only possible if you weigh it after it has been cooked. I went for the slightly spicy Absu, topped with spicy tomatillo salsa, pepperjack, red onion/avocado relish, queso fresco and a trio of breaded, deep fried chiles on a chewy pretzel roll. Yum is right.

Everything about the Absu was delightfully delicious, but the deep fried chiles were the clear MVP. Breaded in a nice thick batter that managed to be both substantial, crispy and light all at once, the chiles added a spicy bite and a good amount of crunch to a perfectly saucy burger.

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?

Red Slider

Red Slider at Sloppi Jo's

sloppijos.com

A

Pay no attention to the slider on the left. It's a green chile slider in a tortilla, served from the oh-so-awesome Vegas food truck known as Sloppi Jo's, and while it is super spicy and delicious, it cannot be reviewed because it's in a tortilla. (But it's really fucking good and you should eat one if given the opportunity. Seriously. Come on, this is why we link everybody's website to these reviews, so you can track them and eat their food. You won't be sorry.)

Ahem, excuse me. On the right you'll find the slider version of Sloppi Jo's great red burger, a thick and juicy mini-patty of substantial beefiness with bacon, caramlized onion, cumin, a tiny melted pool of havarti cheese and red chile aioli. It's not as spicy as the green chile, but it's hearty, rich, hot and amazing. It's a whole lotta flavor packed into a few oozy, melty, juicy bites. This is the best mini burger I've ever had, on a truck, off a truck, in a restaurant, whatever. The best. The only slider I ever liked better was ... um ... in a tortilla.

Sandwich Sundays Presents: The Monkey

The Monkey

homemade

B+

You gotta have a nice veggie sandwich on your roster. You just have to have at least one. The Monkey represents the quest for that perfect combination of vegetables, toppings and bread. It was a real nice try. Almost there.

The bread: kalamata olive ciabatta purchased from the local Whole Foods store, soft, chewy and rustic. The spreads: straight up cream cheese on the bottom, smooth honey truffle mustard on the top. And the goods: sunflower seeds, chunks of juicy green bell peppers, ripe red tomato slices, avocado slices, thin shreds of red onion, and fresh arugula. Overall, a very interesting combination of flavors. The different shape of the bell peppers made for an interesting if not improved bite. We're all about finding new and delicious substitutions for lettuce, and arugula always is a nice, spicy experiment. Maybe there's a better combo here. Stay tuned.

Prime Rib Dip

Prime Rib Dip at Red Robin

redrobin.com

B

The big fancy burgers at supermegaburgerchain Red Robin are pretty good. So why would you order a glorified French dip here? Well, it's pretty glorious. And sometimes you just want a hot beef sandwich and some hot beef juice to dip it in.

Red Robin claims to use prime rib in this sandwich. Maybe it is. Doesn't matter. It's tender, juicy, and flavorful enough. There's melty provolone cheese and caramelized onions. But the second most important part of a dip, after the beef, is the bread. It needs to be strong enough to survive a salacious dunking in au jus, yet still soft enough to bite and chew, all while maintaining its own flavor. This rustic roll does the trick. A solid choice, especially when you can't decide which weird Red Robin burger to order.

The Cadillac

The Cadillac at P.J. Clarke's

pjclarkes.com

B-

Does this look like one of the famous sandwiches of all time, an iconic hamburger, a cornerstone in the history of New York City? Well, it is. This is the Cadillac, named such by Nat King Cole, from the recently opened Vegas version of the venerable P.J. Clarke's saloon. In NYC, this is an institution, apparently. In Vegas, this is just another "classic, simple bar burger," along the lines of the beloved Bradley Ogden burger. On the Vegas Strip, there are eight million fancy gourmet burger places, and then there are restaurants that serve burgers like this so they can say, "Hey, do you really want another fancy gourmet burger? No, you don't. Eat this simple burger."

Emphasis on simple. This thing looks and tastes like the homeburgers my mom or dad used to cook in a frying pan when I was kid. This is not a bad thing. The bun is super soft and squeezable, a nice texture alongside the crispy, thick smoked bacon, melty American cheese and a nice fat patty of freshly ground Angus beef. There's a slice of bermuda onion served on the plate under the burger, which is supposed to serve some purpose but I don't know what purpose is. I didn't eat it. I did, however, wipe some Grey Poupon on the inside of the top bun. It is simple. It is classic. And considering how local foodie critics have drooled over this thing, I am a bit surprised at how simple and homey it is. I could literally go home and make this thing right now. That doesn't mean it doesn't taste good, but it's not really what I want when I order a burger at a bar in a restaurant. Just sayin'.

CCBLT

CCBLT at Comme Ca

commecarestaurant.com

A+

There's no doubt about it: the food at The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas is awe-inspiring. Sandwich-wise, we figured the great burgers-and-more-store Holsteins would be the place to go in this cool hotel casino, but turns out there are plenty of badass sandwiches up on level three, too, at David Myers' Comme Ca. (That's the celebrity chef name behind this place, but perhaps props for this delicious treat should go to the pork friendly chef Brian Howard.)

The C.C.B.L.T. puts a succulent twist on one of the most boring classics, throwing great slabs of juicy, fatty, amazing pork belly on lightly grilled bread with crispy bacon, crunchy romaine hearts and a fresh-from-the-graden tasty tomato jam. It's really a simple sandwich, but completely overloaded with salty piggy flavor. Every sandwich on the lunch menu at Comme Ca looks like a winner, but this one's above and beyond, an easy addition to the A+ list.

Chicken Nastro Azzuro

Chicken Nastro Azzuro at Radio City Pizzeria

radiocitypizza.com

A

This brand new Summerlin pizza joint does a damn good chicken sammich. They pan-fry chicken cutlets so they are nice and juicy and crispy with an Italian breadcrumb coating, and post 'em up on a soft, chewy ciabatta roll with shaved prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and a rich, sweet balsamic syrup. That's a lot of great stuff, and as you can see, there's a lot of chicken piled high on this baby. Go eat one. Another word of advice: this is one of those sandwiches that needs to be taken down with the quickness, 'cuz the sog factor can come in and ruin all that crispy chicken perfection. But yeah, it's huge, so good luck.