Photographs by Iris Dumuk and Keith Shimada
According to Boston disc jockey Dick Summer of WBZ, whom I listened to in the '60s, the Earl of Sandwich was an evil dude who stole credit for having invented the sandwich from the Duke of Shrewsbury. Summer called sandwiches "shrewsburies" and maybe we should, too.
When my editors asked me to do a sandwich story, I remembered Summer, then watered at the mouth. Las Vegas isn't quite the great shrewsbury town that Boston, New York and Chicago are, but we do have good New York-style hot dogs (at Manhattan Franks on Sahara), estimable Chicago beef (at Chicago Hot Dogs on North Rancho) and terrific burgers (at In N'Out Burger) all over town.
In fact, I ate dozens of excellent sandwiches for this story that didn't make the list, like the BLT with avocado at Table 34, the croque Madame at Bouchon (a French grilled ham and cheese) and the No. 12 at Jersey Mike's, basically an Italian cold-cut sub. You won't see any hot dogs or burgers here, either, because we figured they should be grandfathered in.
I also left out gyros at Opa, the vegetarian sandwich at Viale, anything even close to a taco and what I consider a sandwich but you may not, the simmered-beef-stuffed pancake at Shanghai Noon, which is really not a pancake at all, but a flatbread. Well, hey, who goes to a Chinese restaurant for a sandwich, anyway?
Here, in no special order, are 10 for the ages.
Sloppy Joe Beef Brisket
Strip Sandwich Shop, 603 Las Vegas Blvd. 382-6292. $5.25.
When a friend boasted that this hole-in-the-wall at the top of the Strip, where judges, solicitors and politicians jam in for lunch, had the best brisket sandwich in the city, I was skeptical. But now I'm a believer, especially since the late Max Corsun of Max C's, who was our longtime brisket king, is no longer with us. This modest place slow-roasts its brisket, and serves big chunks of it on rye bread with Swiss, coleslaw and creamy Russian dressing. At this price, it's feels like a giveaway, even more so because the meat is tender and delicious.
Grilled Cheese
White Cross Drugs, 1700 Las Vegas Blvd. 444-4459. $4.45.
No one should eat American cheese, white or yellow, unless it is melted. You don't have to at this 24/7 greasy spoon and institution, where they even make egg salad to order with just about anything chopped into it. The grilled cheese, cooked on a griddle alongside many other things, so that it acquires flavors like hamburger and bacon, is a classic, the cheese oozing out in little rivulets. My inner child prefers the grilled cheese here on sourdough, because it absorbs more butter. It comes with a choice of fries or industrial-looking but tasty potato salad. Pickles, too.
Prosciutto Cotto Panino
Giorgio Caffe and Ristorante, at Mandalay Place. 920-2700. $10.95.
Panini are Italian sandwiches, generally served cold on foccaccia bread, or hot on grilled country white, similar to those George Foreman sandwiches the old boxer pushes on TV, or ones you eat at highway rest stops on the Italian toll roads. At Giorgio, chef Nicola Chessa uses prosciutto cotto, a kind of Italian ham, and crams thin slices into bread with Gorgonzola cheese mousse and oven-dried tomatoes, an almost illegally delicious idea.
The Fairfax
Canter's, Inside the TI, 894-7111. $11.50.
Gary Canter, scion of the famous family that has Canter's Deli in LA, does the best spice-crusted pastrami and intensely red, tender corned beef in town, not to mention a fragrant double-baked rye bread at his TI deli. Why not combine all three in hefty sandwich, which turns into a feast via the accompanying half-sour pickle and a choice of sides, preferably the vinegary coleslaw or creamy potato salad.
Cuban Sandwich
Florida Café, 385-3013. $7.25.
No surprise, our best Cuban restaurant also serves our best Cuban sandwich, a wondrous combination of sliced roast pork and smoky ham, plus sweet cheese, all sandwiched between two pieces of crunchy grilled bread. Florida Café also adds pickles, which in purist's terms is a condiment Cubans reserve for a sandwich they call medianoche, or "midnight." Either way, it's worth eating 24 hours a day.
Half and Half Po'boy
Commander's Palace, Inside Desert Passage 892-8272. $16.
It isn't on the menu, but this N'awlins favorite, half a crusty roll stuffed with fried oysters, the other half with lightly battered shrimp, is as close to Riverfront neighborhood fare from the Big Easy as you are likely to get in southern Nevada. The sandwich also includes lettuce, ripe sliced tomato and a stiff remoulade dressing. The result is a large meal for one or a nice light lunch for two.
The Bobbie
Capriotti's, locations all over town. $6, $7 or $11, for small, medium or large.
This family-owned sub shop, with roots in Delaware, is popular for having crusty bread and good ingredients, but I always keep coming back to the Bobbie, a creation that combines fresh, roasted turkey, homemade stuffing and cranberry sauce. It's Thanksgiving between two pieces of bread, and you do not have to wait until November to eat one.
House Special Sandwich
Hue Thai's Sandwiches, 5115 Spring Mountain Road. 943-8872. $2.33.
No, that price isn't a misprint. The new Hue Thai's Sandwiches, which also serves exotic tropical milk shakes, Vietnamese snacks and pho soups, offers the cheapest, and close to the best, sandwiches in the city, foot-long affairs on steamy French loaves that come from the oven piping hot every few minutes. Char-grilled pork and chicken, each with a caramelized char, make great hot sandwiches, but banh mi dac biet, "house special," is even better, three kinds of pork-based cold cuts, pickled radish, cucumber and carrot in thin slices, and a light vinegar dressing, one byproduct of colonialism we can all enjoy.
Torta al Pastor
Fausto's Mexican Grill, 229 N. Stephanie St., Henderson, 436-5059. $3.60.
Torta is Spanish for sandwich, and the ones served at Fausto's come on a puffy roll smeared with guacamole and piled high with finely chopped lettuce and tomato. Pastor is spiced, fatty, barbecued pork, redolent of Mexican spices like cumin, achiote and cinnamon, which is broiled and then chopped until it becomes multi-textured. Here, the meat is generously heaped into the middle of the sandwich, which is then served inside a piece of wax paper. Try not to let it drip all over your shirt when you bite in.
Pulled Chicken
Barbecue Masters, 563-3588. $6.95.
No local chef puts out better 'cue than pit-master John Charles, who plies his trade at a modest Henderson storefront restaurant and takeout. His pulled chicken sandwich is a masterpiece of the genre, a sesame seed bun crammed with six ounces of mesquite fired whole chicken that is served with a choice of one of Charles' homemade sauces, medium, sweet or hot. The sandwich comes with one side dish, and the best match is the barbecued beans, sweet, rich and inflected with notes of smoked pork. The Duke of Shrewsbury would love it.