Is there any food more essential to America’s on-the-go lifestyle than the grab-and-go sandwich?
The richness and variety of American sandwiches owes much of their greatness to the creativity and resourcefulness of immigrant communities.
From coast to coast, cities and states assert their own traditions. New Orleans’ olive salad-studded muffaletta was invented by Italian immigrants who settled in the city’s Lower French Quarter.
The Cuban sandwich has its roots on the island, but it evolved into the form we know today in Florida, where it was formed by immigrant communities. And both Miami and Tampa take credit for that.
Are you getting hungry yet? We’ve rounded up 12 more of America’s best sandwiches that are worth the trip. If you’re lucky, you can even try looking for it in your own backyard. What are your recommendations? Share them in the comments section below.
The origins of this spiced roast beef sandwich, made famous beyond Chicago thanks to The Bear, date back to the early 1900s and the city’s Italian immigrants.
This is basically a hero roll stuffed with thinly sliced beef and topped with pickled Italian relish mix called giardiniera. It’s also delicious with green peppers and melted cheese on top. Ciccio’s on Navy Pier is a popular spot for bargains.
The version featured on the FX/Hulu series “The Bear” was created by the show’s culinary producer, chef Courtney Storer, who grew up in Chicago with her brother and series creator Chris Storer.
A rustic Southern staple, pimento cheese is sometimes referred to as Southern patty, but there is evidence that its early roots were in New York City. But the southern version that made it famous is especially popular in states like North Carolina and Georgia.
It’s regularly offered on the concession menu at the Masters Tournament, the classic men’s professional golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia (where the sandwich still sells for $1.50). Traditional recipes are always served on white bread. Inside, it’s a mashup of ingredients turned into a thick spread, including the classic artery-clogging mix of sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, and diced pimento peppers (a Spanish derivative of pimientos). Depending on the recipe, cream cheese, grated onions, cayenne pepper or hot sauce may also be used.
Beef on Weck is a local legend in Western New York (mainly in the Buffalo area) and is served on a kummelweck roll.
Have you never heard of it? A wek is a salt-dusted kaiser roll topped with caraway seeds. The top bun is dipped in au jus, then topped with a mound of thinly sliced roast beef (usually served rare), topped with plenty of horseradish.
Buffalonians can’t agree on whose Beef on Weck is the best, but Anthony Bourdain tried the sandwich at Schwables, founded in 1837, and called it “a delicious little masterpiece.”
Florida may be best known for its Cuban sandwich, which both Miami and Tampa claim as their own. But wherever you go along the Sunshine State’s Gulf Coast, especially in the Florida Keys, you’ll find grouper sandwiches on the menu at seafood shacks and even upscale waterfront restaurants.
The white, flaky fish is a popular catch in both the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, and is served grilled, fried, or blackened. According to an article in Tampa Magazine, the first restaurant ad for a grouper sandwich was in Panama City in 1974. For a classic version of the grouper sandwich with tartar sauce and pickles, French’s Original Cafe in Clearwater Beach offers the original beer-battered and fried version, as well as a delicious Reuben twist.
New York City’s oldest deli, Katz’s Delicatessen, located on the Lower East Side, debuted in 1888 as a small kosher Iceland Brothers Deli before the Katz family became involved in 1903. Known for its excellent American Jewish deli dishes such as corned beef, Katz’s has become a place of pilgrimage to sample one of the city’s most iconic sandwiches: pastrami on rye.
The sandwich is believed to have been first popularized in New York by Lithuanian immigrants who sold it at their Delancey Street deli. Pastrami’s roots trace back to Ottoman Turkey and then to Romania, where jerky-like beef, goat, or mutton was replaced by pastruma, which is, perhaps surprisingly, made from goose. Immigrants in New York again adapted to take advantage of cheap and abundant beef brisket. The American version uses smoked brisket marinated in pickle spices, piled high between two slices of rye bread and slathered with spicy brown mustard.
Beyond country music and bachelorette party mayhem, Nashville is the birthplace of the homemade hot chicken sandwich, legendary as the city’s de facto fun fuel.
The famous spicy chicken dish is said to have been invented over a century ago. A scorned lover concocts a spicy food trap in the form of overwhelmingly chili-spicy fried chicken that, unfortunately, her man doesn’t hate but loves. That man is Thornton Prince, whose great-niece still serves the classic dishes that draw crowds to Prince’s Hot Chicken.
The debate over whether Los Angeles restaurants Phillips or Coles invented the French dip sandwich in the early 20th century may never be resolved. But there’s no denying that what sets this product apart in the thinly sliced roast beef sandwich category is the fact that the French roll is soaked in pan juices or soup before eating.
According to Cole’s custom, the effect drips deliciously, whether the sandwich is served already “wet,” as is the case with Phillips, or served with au jus for diners to dip into to their liking. Purists prefer to order sandwiches without cheese, served with spicy mustard as a condiment.
The quintessential New England summer sandwich has earned fame across the United States and around the world. Thick, fresh-from-the-shell lobster meat is chilled, mixed with ingredients like lemon juice, mayonnaise, and herbs, and stuffed into a bun that’s split on the top rather than the side. In Maine, lobster rolls are typically served cold with mayonnaise, while the classic version in Connecticut is served warm and with butter.
The best place to experience this crustacean sensation is along the coastline between Maine and Connecticut. Better yet, sit at a picnic table overlooking the ocean at a laid-back seafood shack like The Lobster Shack, a seasonal restaurant at Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
A sandwich shaped like a hot sandwich. Nothing tastes better than the City of Brotherly Love’s favorite sandwiches. In the typical Philadelphia version, the hoagie roll, crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, is the essential bread container.
Inside, ribeye steak is mixed with melted cheese. This may be provolone, or, as some purists claim, Cooper Sharp cheese. Other Philadelphia cheesesteak fans claim that American cheese or Cheez Whiz is best. You can also add green peppers and onions depending on your preference. The sandwich was invented by hot dog vendor Pat Olivieri in the 1930s. His family still operates Pat’s King of Steaks, open 24/7 in South Philadelphia.
This California favorite, also known as the “hippie sandwich,” is made with seasonal ingredients and features bean sprouts, avocado, and plenty of crunchy veggies sandwiched between multigrain bread.
The California veggie sandwich has no clear origins, but it may have begun spreading beyond the Golden State during the health food boom of the 1970s and 1980s. Now, All Time in Los Angeles is offering a delicious version: a white cheddar veggie sandwich with Japanese mayonnaise on homemade sourdough.
Think of this sandwich as a salad sandwiched between two slices of bread, making it easy to customize at home. Feel free to create your own arrangement by adding layers of cheese or hummus. You can’t go wrong with avocado and sliced cucumber inside, but it’s important to focus on the freshest, most seasonal ingredients.
Said to have been invented in 1929 to feed drivers during the New Orleans streetcar strike, many go-to po’boys spotlight fried seafood caught in the waters around Louisiana. Shrimp, oysters, crawfish, and catfish are common fillers.
A staple in New Orleans’ gourmet pantheon, this sandwich, far from a snack, is served on French bread with shredded lettuce and a generous dollop of creamy remoulade sauce. Look for the hand-painted sign at Domilise’s in the quiet Uptown neighborhood and try the popular version at the city’s po-boy establishments
Louisville’s most legendary cuisine dates back to the 1920s at The Brown Hotel. There, a grilled open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon and mornay sauce was created as a late-night snack for the hotel’s popular dinner dancers.
At the hotel’s restaurant and bar, it is served on Texas toast with trimmed crust. The sandwich is on menus at restaurants throughout Louisville and Kentucky, including the Kentucky Derby.
Terry Ward is a Florida-based travel writer and freelance journalist living in Tampa and loving the Cuban sandwiches at La Segunda in Tampa and Sanguucci in Miami.
