The "Sunny's Veggie" at Adriana's On The Hill | Tara Mahadevan
5101 Shaw Avenue, the Hill
Adriana’s is a family-run lunch shop in St. Louis’ Italian neighborhood, The Hill. The 25-item sandwich menu includes a bevy of mouth-watering Sicilian ingredients such as Italian hot roast beef, hot ham, meatballs, Salsiccia, Salami and mozzarella, parmesan, provel, cheddar and cream cheeses. Even the vegetarian “Sunny’s Veggie” is a hit, piled high with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, lettuce, tomato, onion, green pepper and artichoke hearts, then topped with pesto dressing and served on piping hot garlic cheese bread.
The "Philly Cheese Steak" at 9th Street Deli | Ian Froeb
6. 9th Street Deli
900 Shenandoah Avenue, Soulard
Whether you’re in the mood for a just-out-of-the oven hot sandwich or one with fresh cold cuts and crisp veggies, 9th Street Deli has what you crave. American and global flavors pair perfectly on delicious sandwiches, including the Ninth Street Special with sautéed shredded beef, pepper jack cheese, oregano, garlic, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomatoes and green garlic aioli sauce on seeded French bread. And then there’s everyone’s favorite, the Philly cheese steak (pictured), with either shredded steak or chicken, cheese, caramelized onions and roasted peppers.
The "Kuban" at Monty's Sandwich Company | John Frangoulis Photography
7. Monty’s Sandwich Company
200 North Broadway Street, Downtown
Monty’s Sandwich Company is a shrine to the sandwich, named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, said to have invented the concoction. Here you will find meats that roasted in-house and fresh-baked bread for recipes full of tradition and flavor. One of the few places in town to offer a traditional Cuban sandwich, Monty's “Kuban” is a variation of a Cubano torta with spicy mustard, smoky ham, pulled pork, sharp Swiss cheese and pickles pressed panini-style on Bavarian pretzel bread.
The Ham and Cheddar at Union Loafers | Mabel Suen
8. Union Loafers
1629 Tower Grove Avenue, Botanical Heights
Ted Wilson and Sean Netzer's boulangerie in the up-and-coming Botanical Heights neighborhood is also one hell of a sandwich shop. Chef Brian Lagerstrom uses Wilson's delicious bread as the base for a host of marvelous creations, including the restaurant's signature roasted pork. As critic Cheryl Baehr describes it, "Thin slices of rosemary-kissed pork tenderloin; creamy, prosciutto-like country ham; and crisp pickles are accented with rustic grain mustard. Perhaps the best part of the sandwich is when the liberally slathered housemade garlic mayonnaise squishes out through the bread's little cracks." Herbivores need not despair: The vegetarian offering features roasted beets on ciabatta with sauerkraut, Emmenthaler Swiss, Thousand Island and sliced hard-boiled egg. Yum.
The "BABLT" at Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium | courtesy of Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium
1170 S. Big Bend Boulevard, Richmond Heights
Fozzie’s Sandwich Emporium approaches a sandwich as a vehicle by which to create an emotional experience out of tastes and textures. Classics and original creations are loved equally here and burgers and hot dogs are invited to the party, as well (they have bread, after all). Best sellers are the “Club Med” with marinated chicken breast, grilled zucchini, roasted red peppers, arugula, goat cheese and a lemon oregano vinaigrette and the “BABLT (Big A** BLT, pictured) with crispy bacon, romaine lettuce, tomato and roasted garlic mayonnaise on sourdough bread.
Editor's note: This post was amended in 2016 to remove Kopperman's Deli, which closed after its original publication.
Follow Sara Graham on Instagram and Twitter at @engagetaste. E-mail the author at [email protected].
