Guest blogger Mike Riccetti is author of the Houston Dining on the Cheap and the Zagat Survey for 2008 Texas Restaurants for Houston. I welcome him to the MikeMcGuff.com Blog.
A recent request by my editor at My Table magazine for an article listing the best of the sandwich chains prompted my thoughts about my favorite sandwiches, which are certainly not made at these ubiquitous franchised operations. I love a good sandwich; it’s affordable, quick, and when done right, very satisfying. My favorite sandwiches are made at locally run places, sometimes at restaurants in which sandwiches are just one of several reasons to visit.
Most of my favorites, divided between those served hot and those served cold, are shown below:
Hot Sandwiches
- 100% Taquito - 3245 Southwest Freeway - Torta de Tinga (chipotle-spiced beef brisket in French-style roll)
- Cabo - 419 Travis - Grilled Chicken Sandwich; Habanero Shrimp Sandwich
- Giannotti’s - 6539 Bissonnet - Hot Cappicolla Sandwich (slices of mild capocallo, thin slices of onion, slices of tomato, black olives and melted provolone on a freshly baked, crusty large roll); Prosciutto Sandwich
- Goode Co. Barbecue - 5109 Kirby & 8911 Katy Freeway - Beef Brisket Sandwich; Spicy Pork Sandwich
- Kahn’s Deli - 2429 Rice - Olajuwon Special (grilled knockwurst, hot corned beef, mustard, melted cheese, Russian dressing, sauerkraut on rye; it’s huge); Reuben; Hot Pastrami Sandwich
- Katz’s - 616 Westheimer - Grilled 3 Cheese Supreme with Tomato and Fire Dog Sandwich (on rye, of course)
- Market Square Bar & Grill - 311 Travis - Pete’s Philly Sandwich (sliced beef, bleu cheese, sliced and quickly sautéed fresh jalapeños on a crusty Vietnamese baguette)
- Mexico’s Deli - 2374 Dairy Ashford - torta with oven roasted pork loin; torta al pastor (cut from the spinner, the trompo); torta with chorizo, mozzarella and mushrooms
- Panini - 711 Louisiana (in the tunnel, below the Pennzoil Building) - Arcobaleno Sandwich (meatballs with red bell peppers on ciabatta roll); Roast Beef Sandwich (with provolone, lettuce and tomato); Mozzarella Pomodoro & Prosciutto Sandwich; Ciabatta Deliziosa (mozzarella, mortadella and roasted red bell peppers)
- Paulie’s - 1834 Westheimer - Principe Panino (Italian sausage, mozzarella, grilled onions and bell peppers); Pizzitola Panino (mozzarella, roma tomato slices, and pesto); Torregrossa Panino (Genoa salami, ham, Swiss cheese and olive relish)
- Ragin Cajun - 4302 Richmond - Shrimp Po Boy
- Sandwich King & Deli - 6615 Long Point - Giant Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich
- Thelma’s - 1020 Live Oak - Fried Fish Sandwich (catfish filet)
- Tortas el Angel - 1018 N. Shepherd - Del Maestro Torta (roast pork, milanesa, hot dog slices and chorizo with avocado, mayonnaise and mustard; the regular “grande” size is quite manageable)
Cold Sandwiches
- Antone’s Import Co. - 2424 Dunstan, 8057 Kirby & 3823 Bellaire - Super Original Po Boy; Piggy Po Boy (not for the squeamish)
- Hoang Son - 1005 St. Emmanuel (at McKinney, in the Kim Hung Market) - banh mi thit nuong (Vietnamese sandwich with char-grilled pork); to note that there are similarly very good versions at Don Café (9300 Bellaire), Givral Hoang Sandwich (9308 Bellaire), and Thanh Noi Sandwich Shop (9284 Bellaire)
- Kahn’s Deli - 2429 Rice - Sam’s Special Sandwich (roast beef and turkey with cheddar and Russian dressing on an egg roll)
- Ponzo’s - 2515 Bagby - Ponzo’s Original Sub (hard salami, cotto salami, mortadella, provolone with pepperoncini and an olive relish)
- Mike Riccetti
This is McGuff again, you can see my picks for top sandwich here.
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