Hebrew National

Hebrew National

homemade

A-

Well hello there, summer. Toasted potato bun. Grilled Hebrew National jumbo beef frank. Beaver brand deli mustard with horseradish. Claussen kosher dill pickle spear. Here endeth the lesson.

Togarashi Chicken

Togarashi Chicken Sandwich at Glutton

gluttonlv.com

B

We didn't expect new downtown restaurant Glutton to have a lunch menu full of delicious sandwich options, but there was this gem, right between a chicken salad sandwich with pickled tomatoes and a charcuterie panini with manchego cheese and fig preserves. (How good do those sound?) This selection, dropped on a French roll to create a sorta-banh-mi effect, features crispy chicken thighs breaded in light, crackly goodness with miso aioli, pickled vegetables and furikake, plus some greens action. It upgraded the typical banh mi, not only with much better bread but also the crunchy texture and rich, fatty meatiness of the poultry, both of which go great with the sweet brine of pickles. There are too many other interesting choices to get at this one again before trying something new, but it's a solid first step toward another great downtown sandwich destination. 

BBQ, Bacon and Cheddar SmashChicken

BBQ, Bacon and Cheddar SmashChicken at Smashburger

smashburger.com

B+

So far, the cow version of this sandwich is our favorite at Smashburger, so we decided to give the bird style a try. No disappointments here.  "Smashing" the chicken breast—which has already been sliced thin cutlet-style—in the same manner in which they treat their burgers on the flat-top grill proves to be an effective method with poultry as well, creating crispy, caramelized edges. Combined with thick slices of bacon and crunchy onion strings, it's a textural treat. What could be improved? Maybe the barbecue sauce could get spicier and less like ketchup, but overall this is a tasty chicken sandwich we'd eat again and again.

Hangover Slopper

Hangover Slopper at Tom's Urban

tomsurban.com

A

Temporarily straying from the Tom's Road Trip Sandwiches section of the menu, we discover one of the specialties of the house at Tom's Urban—the unfortunately named, incredibly craveable Hangover Slopper. This is the late night/early morning version of the Slopper, a super-solid Angus beef burger on buttery brioche smothered in pork chile verde, pico de gallo, queso fresco and cheddar and jack cheeses. And yep, you guessed it, now it has two fried eggs on top. It's a huge mess. It must be eaten with knife and fork. It's a silly something that could have only been conceived by someone drunk or stoned … and it's fantastic. The meat patty is satisfying in every way, the surprisingly spice green chile soaks into the bread to fabulous effect, and the eggs and cheese add over-the-topness. The burger or the chile would be great by themselves but they're better together. Two straight As for Tom so far.

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.