O.M.G.

O.M.G. at LVB Burgers & Bar

mirage.com

B-

So we popped into LVB (the burger bar that has replaced BLT Burger at the Mirage hotel-casino on the Vegas Strip) in its very early days to check out the goods. Why make the trip to the Strip just to eat a pricey burg? Because chef Michael LaPlaca (from Mirage's stellar Portofino Italian restaurant) designed this menu, and he's one of our favorites. So of course we had to get the weirdest burger on that menu: the O.M.G. (which apparently stands for Oh My Gosh) is founded on a ground duck patty stuffed with Muenster cheese and topped with heirloom tomato, watercress, smoked ketchup and roasted duck mayo. Note the quality sesame seed bun, too. So can you actually taste all this funky duck flavors? Pretty much. It's really rich and will fill you up faster than the average burger, and there's a lot of cheese. These aren't bad things. The tomato and ketchup bring some fresh flavors into the mix, but they don't really lighten it up. Is this an indicator that we'll be back to LVB? Yes.

The Mayor of Flavortown Burger

The Mayor of Flavortown Burger at Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen & Bar

caesars.com

B-

The thing I notice most about the food at Guy Fieri's Las Vegas restaurants—there are two now—is the presentation. This burger is not just put together. It's carefully constructed for maximum height and to make sure it looks like you could never get your mouth around it, but it also needs to be a bit sloppy, as if the kitchen crew didn't use any tweezers placing a single strand of the caraway seed coleslaw intentionally out of place. And the fries, even ... they're not in an kind of container. They're just pile-mounted onto a metal frame with a piece of paper holding them up. It's quite scientific. It's pretty tasty, too, especially if you can manage to order this sucker by name without giggling. The burger is good quality meat, smash-grilled for juiciness and nicely textured outside (but mine was just a bit overdone), and piled with pastrami, Swiss cheese, that slaw, pickles, fried onion strings and Dijon mustard, all on top of a garlic-buttered pretzel bun. All those flavors get a little bit muddled; it still tastes like a burger first and foremost. But you do get little tingles of the 'strami and the pickles and the mustard, and the chewy bun makes it even more satisfying. This probably isn't the best burger at Guy's first Vegas spot, but it's pretty close to being on the money.

Regular Combo Beef & Sausage

Regular Combo Beef & Sausage at Al's Italian Beef

alsbeef.com

A

This is a once-a-year kind of sandwich, and by that I mean I'll probably die if I eat it more often than that. But it's so good. Al's classic Italian beef, super tender and savory meat sliced thin enough to melt into your face and saturated in "gravy," is augmented here not only with provolone, hot giardiniera and sweet peppers but also a char-grilled spicy pork sausage. You can't really see the link in this pic but it's there, lurking beneath the meaty, saucy mountain, piled into a soft, delicious roll. It's almost impossible to pick this thing up and eat it like a proper sandwich; you're better off knife and forking your way to glorious gutbomb satisfaction. Worth the effort, and the occasional splurge.

Ninth Island

Ninth Island at Steamie Weenie

steamieweenie.com

C+

Putting some sort of Hawaiian ingredients on a hot dog and calling it the "ninth island"—a common nickname for Las Vegas due to its high number of islander expats—is kinda cute. Piling a load of fried Spam on top of a tube of also processed meat? Not so cute. It's too much weird meatstuff, even for me. Granted, the soft bun and frank on this dog are nice and tasty, and the pineapple relish and scallions are flavorful additions. I wish there was more of them, and a little less Spam. I mean, I love Spam, but ... not this much.

Land & Sea Burger

Land & Sea Burger at Cafe 6

palms.com

B-

When you go to a goofy gourmet burger joint, consider getting the goofiest burger on the menu. It turned out well at Cafe 6 at the Palms, where this surf-and-turfwich includes a sweet Hawaiian bun with a fairly juicy Angus beef patty and the sushi joint mainstay crab dynamite (there's a chance no actual crab was harmed in the making of this burger) plus red onion, fennel, kale, radish, havarti cheese and tomato tartar sauce. Shockingly, you could actually taste the sauce and it was nice. The kale, radish and fennel brought some necessary crunch to the mix, and the beef and creamy seafood combo was funky in an acceptable way. This burger certainly isn't for everybody, but it was an overall success.

Zydeco Special

Zydeco Special at Zydeco Po-Boys

zydecopo-boys.com

A+

So Zydeco's debris po-boy might have been our favorite new sandwich of 2015. Its luscious combo of slow-cooked brisket, classic Leidenheimer bread from New Orleans and spicy jalapeño mayo is simply fantastic, and we couldn't imagine eating a better po-boy sandwich. But that was before we tried the Zydeco Special, which is the same exact sandwich perfection with the addition of thick, juicy slabs of house-brined turkey breast and sweety, salty ham (also cooked here and used to flavor other dishes like red beans and rice). It's way, way over the top, so much incredible meat stacked and stacked, along with lettuce and tomato and provolone cheese. But you can still taste each amazing ingredient. You know you're overdoing it, but that's kinda the point. It's great on great, the crispness of the bread pushing you along each savory, meaty bite. Could this be our favorite sandwich of 2016? We're gonna go get another one right now and see.

The Grandfather

The Grandfather at Cheffini's

cheffinis.com

B

Most of the dogs at Cheffini's are instantly placed, upon first bite, into contention for our favorite dog in town. The Grandfather isn't quite up to that level, but it's still delightful, which proves Cheffini's is the top dog in Vegas. Even its second-tier franks kick ass. This dog is grilled and dropped into a soft bun before being layered with crisp bits of pork belly, chopped red bell pepper, pickled mango, crunched-up potato chips, caramelized onions and a fried quail egg—that's the thing that gets most people—and then fired up with a couple of sauces: spicy  mayo and basil aioli. The basil is hard to see but easy to taste, the mango adds sweet and sour, and the bacon and onions bring the richness. It's quite powerful.

PBR Pulled Pork

PBR Pulled Pork at PBR Rock Bar

pbrrockbar.com

C+

You can't really tell from this picture, but this is a mountain of a sandwich. It's just huge. And the amount of tender, juicy pulled piggy in this thing is obscene. Couldn't eat half of it. Half. PBR Rock Bar is smack in the middle of the Strip, a gigantic, somewhat cheesy themed restaurant that sucks in tourists whether they're rodeo fans or not. It's a big food machine. But what most people don't know is that it's the home of what is probably the best barbecue on the Las Vegas Strip, including some smoky brisket and some righteous ribs. This sweet, supple pork is right up there, too. The problems here are the dried-out burger bun, the mostly bland, creamy coleslaw, and the portions: some more of that slaw, if it had more crunch and flavor, would help moisten the bun and cut through the richness of all that sweet meat. When you order a barbecue sandwich, you're not supposed to want to scrap the bun and topping and only eat the barbecue.

Shack Stack

Shack Stack at Shake Shack

shakeshack.com

A

Compared to pretty much every other burger joint—especially the much-hyped ones here in Las Vegas—Shake Shack is decidedly sane. Logical. Rational. Simple, even. I mean, you could say the same thing about In-N-Out, but they've got that secret menu stuff, Animal Style and Four-By-Fours and all that, and that's pretty crazy. Shake Shack is not crazy. Until you find your way to the Shack Stack, the only insane item on the menu. It basically slaps together the standard, delicious Shack Burger with the Shroom Burger, which is (laughably) the Shack's vegetarian option: crispy fried portobello mushroom caps filled with gooey, molten muenster and cheddar cheeses. Maybe it's vegetarian, but it certainly doesn't eat like something that's supposed to be better for you. Anyways, put the Shack's melty-cheese-topped Angus beef patty under one of those crunchy, explosive portobello pucks of glory—and put it all between the puffy bun with lettuce, tomato and Shack Sauce—and you've got a cheese-messy, wonderful accident waiting to happen. It's silly, but it's good. It might not be what you go to Shake Shack for, but mix it up sometimes. Keep it interesting.

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.

Krispy Kreme Pulled Pork

Krispy Kreme Pulled Pork at Truck U Barbecue

truckubbq.com

B

This is clearly insane, but also impossible to not order. It was a special from our beloved Truck U Barbeque food truck, and even though we also devoured fried chicken tacos and a burnt-ends brisket burrito that were off-the-charts delicious, we felt compelled to go to work on this super-sweet indulgence: Truck U's slightly smokey, slightly spicy, juicy and wonderful pulled pork and a slice of cheddar sandwiched between two Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts. We've seen other people make crazy sandwiches out of Krispy Kremes, but usually they cut one in half. Nope. Not Truck U. Two full doughnuts, over the top in an irresistible way.

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.

Panchero

Panchero at Cheffini's

cheffinis.com

A

Cheffini's refuses to disappoint. A holiday hot dog tasting presented the opportunity to try several of their wild wiener variations, including the Panchero—a lovely grilled frank topped with caramelized onions, red bell pepper aioli, diced and grilled bits of chorizo and a classic chimichurri sauce. And wow, do these flavors sing. Rich, sweet onions. Creamy, zingy mayo. Fatty, spicy, caramelized bliss from those squares of chorizo, which seem to magically work their way into every bite. You gotta give it up for sausage on top of other sausage. And the chimi, which could overpower any standard hot dog due to its powerful garlickyness, somehow fades into the background, a soft blast of brightness when you least expect it. Cheffini's hot dogs are magical.

Double Char Dog

Double Char Dog at The Wiener's Circle

redrocksclv.com

A

So Chicago's infamous Wiener's Circle has landed in Las Vegas. There are casino sports book-adjacent locations at both the Red Rock and Santa Fe Station resorts, which makes perfect sense. Of course, you won't be insulted and abused at these eateries the way you could be at the Windy City original, but just because the experience is "watered down" doesn't mean the food isn't delicious. The Char Dog is as good a traditional Chicago-style hot dog as we've tasted in Vegas, with lots of yellow mustard and all those vibrant, colorful veggie toppings you expect. What pushes these wieners over the top is the cooking method; they're split and grilled for caramelized, super-savory satisfaction. When something is this good, why not double up? It's difficult to eat two dogs in one bun, especially with all these deliciously slippery goodies slathered all over, but it's worth the mess.

El Mexicano

El Mexicano at Cheffinis

cheffinis.com

A+

Congratulations! You are reading the 300th post at allsandwich. What an accomplishment this is for you! For almost five years now, you've been reading all about all kinds of delicious (and sometimes not-so-delicious) sandwiches in Las Vegas and many other places, demonstrating your commitment to this most important of foodstuffs. We salute you. And it's no coincidence that the 300th is an absolute treasure, maybe the best hot dog in Las Vegas. We've been fans of Cheffinis for years, happily and drunkenly munching its street cart goodies after wild nights downtown, and now these crazy-talented hot dog craftsmen have taken up permanent residence at Container Park. Do check out their new spot, and do sample El Mexicano. Somehow these guys make the bacon-wrapped and grilled frank into something that seems like it occurs naturally. It's like the skin of the dog is bacon, thin and crisp and savory and wonderful. Stacked on that meaty foundation are fresh chunks of avocado, onion and tomato, a bit of cilantro, plus a tangy green sauce, a tangier chipotle guava sauce, creamy garlic aioli and an acidic cherry pepper relish. It sounds like topping overkill but when you get a bite of everything—and you do, on almost every bite—it's absolute bliss, full, wild flavor balance with the familiar sensation of soft bun and snappy meat tube. The Cheffinis crew knows what they're doing.

Brioche Donut

Brioche Donut at Metro Pizza's beer and pizza dinner

at Lulu's Bread & Breakfast

metropizza.com

A

It's no surprise that one of the most epic ice cream sandwiches ever created was done so at Lulu's Bread & Breakfast, one of our favorite local sandwich depots and the offshoot of stalwart Vegas pizzeria Metro Pizza. The occasion: a multi-course pizza and beer pairing dinner that filled us so completely full, we wanted nothing to do with dessert … until this baby arrived. A sweet, fluffy cloud of brioche converted into doughnut form was split and stuffed with caramel-sea salt gelato, studded with chocolate chunks, and then drizzled with a little extra ganache and powdered sugar just for fun. The beautiful texture of the dough against the thick, creamy gelato was nothing short of ethereal. As if we weren't swimming in sandwich happiness already, Wasatch's Black O Lantern pumpkin stout was served along with this treat. Too much awesome.

Sandwich Sundays Presents: The Colby Burger

The Colby Burger

homemade

B

It's called this because it's full of Colby cheese, right? Wrong. It was made by brother Colby, one of the originators of Sandwich Sundays. It's his take on a Juicy Lucy, a massive beef patty magically stuffed with cheese before being cooked into a gooey, greasy, delicious mess. He filled these babies with sharp cheddar, creating a lava flow of cheese when you cut or bite into them. We grilled 'em and plopped 'em on soft rolls with griddled ham, homemade spicy brown mustard, and yes, another layer of cheese … Colby Jack! There's no doubt that this is the cheesiest burger ever consumed.

TNB Cafe Signature Hamburger

TNB Cafe Signature Hamburger at Truffles N Bacon Cafe

trufflesnbacon.com

A+

I don't want to like this burger, which seems ridiculous and gimmicky and gluttonous. I damn sure don't want to love it, but I do. It's undeniably delicious, and despite the indulgence of its toppings, it works. It really works.  The first thing you'll notice: Despite the fact that this beef patty is absolutely drenched with melted cheese, there still appears to be a need for a "slice" of crispified mac and cheese onboard this luscious cruise ship. That mac is fantastic; You'll want a side order of the stuff. All this meltiness, all this velvety cheesy texture is almost too much to handle, almost too rich to be awesome. But not quite. Because there's bacon jam on top, a thin but powerful layer of swine as condiment, and it's sweet, spicy, salty and salacious. There's a little sriracha ketchup inside this soft brioche bun, too. But it's undetectable. The flavor that's not overpowered by cheese, more cheese and bacon amazingness—the flavor that you need most—is cow. The burger patty itself is cooked exceptionally, juicy and just right. Truffles N Bacon Cafe is a tiny little hideaway in a weird little antique mall, but it'd be worth braving any environment to get your mouth on this masterpiece.

Chicken Fried Foie Gras

Chicken Fried Foie Gras at Comme Ça

commecarestaurant.com

A

Dude. Do you understand the concept of dirty food? Stuff that is so rich, so over the top, so decadent, that it can't be described any other way? This is the dirtiest slider ever invented or consumed, and it defies description. A sweet roll. A mound of crunchy, ridiculously guilt-inducing chicken-fried foie gras, pure pleasure in every way. Way, way, way too much black truffle gravy. Caramelized onions. Ho. Lee. Fuck. Dirty, y'all.

Pho French Dip Banh Mi

Pho French Dip Banh Mi at The Pig and the Lady

thepigandthelady.com

A+

That's right, we took the allsandwich show to Hawaii. Try not to be jealous. Day one of our summer vacation was all about Honolulu Chinatown, and the amazing, not-to-be-missed Vietnamese-ish cuisine at The Pig and the Lady. What happens when you take the flavors of pho and mash them into a hybrid banh mi-French dip? Perfection, that's what, and an easy A+ to add to our list. This crispy, crunchy baguette is absolutely filled with juicy, unbelievably rich 12-hour brisket, great, thick slabs of beefy supremacy. There's a chimichurri-style sauce based in Thai basil, crisp bean sprouts and fresh cilantro leaves, too, and honestly, this would probably be an A+ sandwich all on its own. But it's not alone, oh no. There's a steaming cup of au jus waiting for dippage … but it's not jus, it's pho! See what they did there? This is the ideal, upgraded banh mi we've been searching for our entire sandwich loving lives. Thank you,  Pig. Thank you too, Lady. Yum.