Elro and its Hoagie and Meatball Sub are gone as the last year closed, but there are still a fair share of worthwhile detours for sandwiches, hot and cold. Below is a current list of my favorite sandwiches. Sandwiches, not shawarmas, wraps, or the sandwich-adjacent hamburgers or hot dogs, though I like all those – with the expected exception of wraps. Unintentionally, among the sandwiches I’ve got on the list: a Houston original; Texas barbecue; a regional Italian; Italian-American via New Orleans; a New Orleans-style po boy; deli, including pastrami a couple or three times – always loved pastrami – banh mi; Philadelphian; and a torta. Properly Houston. Here are the ten favorites, listed alphabetically:
Angelo’z – Regular Po Boy – $7.15 – With the distinctive, airy 9-inch rolls, a tad dry and slightly crunchy, recently baked at Royal Bakery in Montrose, Angelo’z is the truest and best successor to the once-loved, family-operated Antone’s that plied Houston with inexpensive sandwiches for several decades. My favorite these days, this basic, classic cold combination features ham, salami, provolone cheese, the signature chow chow, mayonnaise and pickles that somehow tastes much better than it seems it should.
Blood Bros. BBQ – Tritip Pastrami Sandwich – $15 – This is a terrific take on the familiar starring a 44 Farms-brand ground brisket patty bearing a lightly smokey taste, melted Swiss cheese, onions, and its Duke’s of Hazzard spread in between slices of grilled marbled light rye. Delicious there and even travels well.
Casetta Cucina – Mortadella Schiacciata – $15.50 with the robiola – If you enjoy the sandwiches in Italy, from the Autogrill or lesser autostrade stops or just like Italianate versions anywhere, you'll really like the ones here featuring top-notch ingredients used intelligently and judiciously. Schiacciata is a slightly dense focaccia-like bread from Tuscany, where chef and proprietor Francesco Casetta hails, which provides a sturdy base for these sandwiches that are a little different. Baked in house, the bread makes a difference in the quality, too. In between slices of the schiacciata, with some big chunks of sea salt atop providing a little additional texture, goes the soft mortadella with pistachio, melted, mild robiola cheese, contrastingly bitter arugula, and a little peppery Tuscan olive oil (I’ve assumed). This is a perfectly Italian or Tuscan construction.
Feges BBQ – Chopped Brisket Sandwich – $15, large – There are a lot of really good brisket sandwiches in town these days, but I opt for the one at Feges in Spring Branch here, a comfortable stop. Sliced is a better test for barbecue joints, which Feges passes with flying colors, and I often go for the fairly manageably-sized and lazier-to-eat chopped. The roughly chopped beef is fitted with a quality soft bun and is best with a few squirts its mustard-y barbecue sauce to add a little complementary zestiness.
Josephine's – Muffuletta ½ – $19 – It does a terrific job with the muffaletta, even better than at the reported originator, Central Grocery in New Orleans, and now my favorite version in Houston. Unlike the original, it is toasted and served a bit warm, and the meats – capicola, mortadella and salami – slightly melted provolone and Swiss, and the bracing olive salad meld together extremely well, maybe helped by some of the cooking heat. The bread from Royal Bakery on Dunlavy is properly robust, tasty and fresh, making for a great start and base for the sandwich. It goes on from there, from the slight crunch of the warmed loaf, then the vinegary touch of the vegetable mix and soft, hearty slices of meaty proteins, making for a delicious bites. With a lot of oil, it is messier than most. Served with potato chips.
Kenny & Ziggy's – The One And Only Reuben, with pastrami – $26.95 – Quite overstuffed, with melted Swiss, hot sauerkraut, and Russian dressing, excellent seeded rye baked on site, and a copious amount of the triple-smoked, house-made pastrami – making a cardiologist’s nightmare – is even more delicious than it is messy to eat. Many extra napkins are necessary. The Pastrami Sandwich, $23.95, served hot, is worthwhile substitution that’s also a favorite.
Pappa Geno’s – Philly Steak and Cheese Sandwich – $13.99 – These invariably also messy sandwiches are large, featuring fresh, soft rolls, thinly sliced seasoned beef that is tender and flavorful and well complemented by the plentiful melted provolone and nearly caramelized onions that come with it in this, its base cheesesteak. The ingredients might not have the provenance of those on many upscale restaurants, but they are more than good enough and work wonderfully together. This and the other versions were definitely better than from the local location of Tony Luke’s – highly regarded in the City of Brotherly Love – that I tried a couple of times but had the misfortune of being located near of Pappa Geno’s during its brief tenure.
Roostar – Grilled Pork Sandwich – $8.19 – Now with a trio of locations in various parts of town, this Banh Mi 2.0 operation is both slicker and more efficient, and better, overall, than its predecessors. Jalapeños cut horizontally – if less plentiful than I like – shredded pickled carrots, cucumbers, cilantro with stems, soy sauce and garlicky aioli fill the sliced rolls from the excellent Slow Dough Bakery that are maybe more traditionally French than is found at other banh mi spots. Not just the bread, but the proteins, including grilled pork, are generally better quality than elsewhere, too. It’s my favorite of the bánh mì thịt nướng options these days, a sandwich I’ve consumed into the hundreds by now.
Tio Trompo – Torta al Pastor – $9 – This is a fairly bare-bones counter service taqueria with a limited menu that specializes in cuts of pork from the spinner, the trompo, the vertical spit used to cook pork al pastor. That slowly roasted pork from it – which retains its moistness even in crisp pieces, unlike for al pastor at far too many taquerias in Houston – fills several types of tacos and the torta. Telara bread from local favorite El Bolillo, almost always quite fresh and crusty, provides a tasty complement to the pork, which is joined by a thin slather of refried beans, tomato slices, shredded lettuce, and wedges of avocado. Excellent salsas complete the experience.
Winnie’s – Shrimp Po-Boy – $17 – This New Orleans-style po boy is just one of the reasons to fight the parking hassles to get here. Featuring medium-sized, cornmeal-dusted Gulf shrimp deep-fried and properly overflowing from the classic Leidenheimer po-boy roll that’s shipped in fresh twice a week, it is dressed a little differently – tomato, Savoy cabbage, pickles, mayonnaise a Creole mustard vinaigrette – that all works really well.
The Shrimp Po-Boy at Winnie's
Angelo’z – Regular Po Boy – $7.15 – With the distinctive, airy 9-inch rolls, a tad dry and slightly crunchy, recently baked at Royal Bakery in Montrose, Angelo’z is the truest and best successor to the once-loved, family-operated Antone’s that plied Houston with inexpensive sandwiches for several decades. My favorite these days, this basic, classic cold combination features ham, salami, provolone cheese, the signature chow chow, mayonnaise and pickles that somehow tastes much better than it seems it should.
Blood Bros. BBQ – Tritip Pastrami Sandwich – $15 – This is a terrific take on the familiar starring a 44 Farms-brand ground brisket patty bearing a lightly smokey taste, melted Swiss cheese, onions, and its Duke’s of Hazzard spread in between slices of grilled marbled light rye. Delicious there and even travels well.
Casetta Cucina – Mortadella Schiacciata – $15.50 with the robiola – If you enjoy the sandwiches in Italy, from the Autogrill or lesser autostrade stops or just like Italianate versions anywhere, you'll really like the ones here featuring top-notch ingredients used intelligently and judiciously. Schiacciata is a slightly dense focaccia-like bread from Tuscany, where chef and proprietor Francesco Casetta hails, which provides a sturdy base for these sandwiches that are a little different. Baked in house, the bread makes a difference in the quality, too. In between slices of the schiacciata, with some big chunks of sea salt atop providing a little additional texture, goes the soft mortadella with pistachio, melted, mild robiola cheese, contrastingly bitter arugula, and a little peppery Tuscan olive oil (I’ve assumed). This is a perfectly Italian or Tuscan construction.
Feges BBQ – Chopped Brisket Sandwich – $15, large – There are a lot of really good brisket sandwiches in town these days, but I opt for the one at Feges in Spring Branch here, a comfortable stop. Sliced is a better test for barbecue joints, which Feges passes with flying colors, and I often go for the fairly manageably-sized and lazier-to-eat chopped. The roughly chopped beef is fitted with a quality soft bun and is best with a few squirts its mustard-y barbecue sauce to add a little complementary zestiness.
Josephine's – Muffuletta ½ – $19 – It does a terrific job with the muffaletta, even better than at the reported originator, Central Grocery in New Orleans, and now my favorite version in Houston. Unlike the original, it is toasted and served a bit warm, and the meats – capicola, mortadella and salami – slightly melted provolone and Swiss, and the bracing olive salad meld together extremely well, maybe helped by some of the cooking heat. The bread from Royal Bakery on Dunlavy is properly robust, tasty and fresh, making for a great start and base for the sandwich. It goes on from there, from the slight crunch of the warmed loaf, then the vinegary touch of the vegetable mix and soft, hearty slices of meaty proteins, making for a delicious bites. With a lot of oil, it is messier than most. Served with potato chips.
Kenny & Ziggy's – The One And Only Reuben, with pastrami – $26.95 – Quite overstuffed, with melted Swiss, hot sauerkraut, and Russian dressing, excellent seeded rye baked on site, and a copious amount of the triple-smoked, house-made pastrami – making a cardiologist’s nightmare – is even more delicious than it is messy to eat. Many extra napkins are necessary. The Pastrami Sandwich, $23.95, served hot, is worthwhile substitution that’s also a favorite.
Pappa Geno’s – Philly Steak and Cheese Sandwich – $13.99 – These invariably also messy sandwiches are large, featuring fresh, soft rolls, thinly sliced seasoned beef that is tender and flavorful and well complemented by the plentiful melted provolone and nearly caramelized onions that come with it in this, its base cheesesteak. The ingredients might not have the provenance of those on many upscale restaurants, but they are more than good enough and work wonderfully together. This and the other versions were definitely better than from the local location of Tony Luke’s – highly regarded in the City of Brotherly Love – that I tried a couple of times but had the misfortune of being located near of Pappa Geno’s during its brief tenure.
Roostar – Grilled Pork Sandwich – $8.19 – Now with a trio of locations in various parts of town, this Banh Mi 2.0 operation is both slicker and more efficient, and better, overall, than its predecessors. Jalapeños cut horizontally – if less plentiful than I like – shredded pickled carrots, cucumbers, cilantro with stems, soy sauce and garlicky aioli fill the sliced rolls from the excellent Slow Dough Bakery that are maybe more traditionally French than is found at other banh mi spots. Not just the bread, but the proteins, including grilled pork, are generally better quality than elsewhere, too. It’s my favorite of the bánh mì thịt nướng options these days, a sandwich I’ve consumed into the hundreds by now.
Tio Trompo – Torta al Pastor – $9 – This is a fairly bare-bones counter service taqueria with a limited menu that specializes in cuts of pork from the spinner, the trompo, the vertical spit used to cook pork al pastor. That slowly roasted pork from it – which retains its moistness even in crisp pieces, unlike for al pastor at far too many taquerias in Houston – fills several types of tacos and the torta. Telara bread from local favorite El Bolillo, almost always quite fresh and crusty, provides a tasty complement to the pork, which is joined by a thin slather of refried beans, tomato slices, shredded lettuce, and wedges of avocado. Excellent salsas complete the experience.
Winnie’s – Shrimp Po-Boy – $17 – This New Orleans-style po boy is just one of the reasons to fight the parking hassles to get here. Featuring medium-sized, cornmeal-dusted Gulf shrimp deep-fried and properly overflowing from the classic Leidenheimer po-boy roll that’s shipped in fresh twice a week, it is dressed a little differently – tomato, Savoy cabbage, pickles, mayonnaise a Creole mustard vinaigrette – that all works really well.
The Shrimp Po-Boy at Winnie's
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