The Best Sandwiches of 2022

Latin influence, vegetables and handheld versions of traditional dishes show operators’ creativity.

Sandwiches — convenient, versatile and usually affordable — remain a staple of the American diet, and Restaurant Hospitality’s Best Sandwiches competition remains a popular attraction, drawing some of the smartest independent restaurant operators who in turn provide inspiration for the industry as a whole.

As RH’s editors pored over the entries this year, we spotted a few notable trends. For one thing, vegetables are taking center stage with numerous handhelds, such as the char-grilled broccolini sandwich at Heritage in Long Beach, Calif., which offers its customers a meatless version of the classic Reuben, or the hash grilled cheese at Brekkie Shack in Columbus, Ohio, where a blend of sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, asparagus and radishes are at the heart of the sandwich.

Then there are the mashups, like the candied bacon tomato grilled cheese sandwich at Daddy Mac’s Down Home in Asheville, N.C., which has elements of a BLT and a Caprese salad, and the antipasto sandwich at Big Parm in Tustin, Calif., which as the name implies is a platter’s worth of Italian meat, cheese and vegetables on a roll.

Elegance — creating delicious meals but with restraint — are on display with The Glendale at Breadlam in Los Angeles, and with the subtle chicken club croissant at District South Kitchen & Craft in Tampa, Fla.

There’s plenty of Latino influence on sandwiches these days, such as the Torta Ahogada at MX Taco in Orlando., Fla., where the sandwich is literally drowned (ahogada in Spanish) in spicy tomato sauce, or the barbacoa melt at Toasted, also in Orlando.

At Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine in Miami, the El Guapo, which means “the handsome,” is a striking Cubano-style sandwich, but with the Brazilian beef cut picanha.

El Guapo

Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine

Miami Beach, Fl

Price: $19.57

Ingredients: Roasted picanha beef, cream cheese chimichurri sauce, guacamole and roasted tomatoes pressed in Cuban bread topped with butter

Creator: Yunior Perez

Description: The picanha is the juicy cap of meat on a beef sirloin that is a popular cut in churrasco cooking. Here it’s used as the heart of this handsome and hearty sandwich, where it’s paired with its natural condiment, chimichurri, but enhanced with cream cheese as well as guacamole. Roasted tomatoes round out this South Florida Cubano-style sandwich that reflects flavors from different parts of Latin America.

Read on to learn more about this year’s winners of the Best Sandwiches competition, including one based on chicken and waffle, a crispy pork sandwich and a zippy porchetta.