Sanguich De Miami is home to the platonic ideal of a Cuban sandwich—it’s a perfect example of the combined powers of ham, roast pork, pickles, mustard, and swiss cheese between Cuban bread. Each one is brushed with pork fat before being pressed into crispy triangles. Unlike a lot of the more casual Cuban options in the city, they make almost every component of this sandwich themselves, with plenty of time and care. It's a difference you’ll taste as soon as it touches your tongue.

Philly is a sandwich town, but the clear meat king among the overstuffed royalty is the cheesesteak from Angelo’s. Tender shredded ribeye and melted american cheese are layered into a warm and crackly seeded roll baked in-house. And each time we have one, we feel like an Eagles fan watching the team win a Super Bowl (well, almost). The spot is always as packed as Walmart on Black Friday, but it’s definitely worth the wait.

Castnet Seafood makes our favorite po’boy in New Orleans (yes, even better than Parkway). If it’s your first time, go with the quintessential dressed fried shrimp, which comes with lettuce, pickle, tomato, Blue Plate mayonnaise, Crystal hot sauce, and a little butter on Leidenheimer French bread. They also serve a hot sausage option that’s equally good, made with Patton’s, which is the gold standard for ground meat patties, and tastes great dressed with cheese.

This iconic family-run Italian deli and sub shop in Chicago has been around since 1937. J.P. Graziano’s industrial exterior hasn’t changed since the neighborhood was full of meatpacking warehouses, and inside they’re still making the most delicious Italian subs and sandwiches in the city. Specifically, the Mr. G, which has spicy soppressata, prosciutto, salami, hot oil, marinated artichokes, and a surprisingly delicate truffle mustard balsamic vinaigrette.

This LA institution has been serving Jewish deli staples like matzo ball soup and creamy macaroni salad since 1947. But you’re coming here for the #19: Langer’s signature thick-cut pastrami smothered in swiss cheese, russian dressing, and homemade coleslaw between two slices of the famous, twice-baked rye. The pastrami and rye fuse together to the point where you can’t even tell which is which. It’s euphoric, plain and simple. If we could vote this sandwich into public office, we would.

The Caribbean roast pork sandwich from this Seattle shack has the power to do two things: bestow upon you eternal joy and destroy your white T-shirt with meat drips. It’s worth it, though, for this toasted baguette stuffed with braised pork clinging to tangy marinade, sweet onions stamped with char from the grill, tart pickled jalapeño, romaine, and a zesty aioli that laughs in the face of standard supermarket mayo. Just be sure to have your Tide Pen on standby.

Looking for the city’s very best sandwiches in New York City? They’re on Staten Island. On Wednesdays, Anthony’s Paninoteca makes pastrami. On Thursdays, they make porchetta. And on Tuesdays, the special is The KiKi—a bread-based behemoth involving lemony layers of chicken francese and melted mozzarella, which you can (and should) get on a hero made of butter-soaked garlic bread. In other words, there is no bad day to come to this shop in Great Kills.

At Limoncello in SF, sausages hang over a loaded deli case, shoppers browse the aisles of shelves well-stocked with every San Pellegrino flavor, and friendly staff wrap up classic Italian sandwiches from behind the counter. Those sandwiches are the main reason we return to this Italian deli as often as Adele gravitates to belting heartbreaking songs. The fillings include tissue-thin mortadella and hot coppa, plump mozzarella, and spicy marinara meatballs worthy of a ballad.

Once you taste the dặc biệt bánh mì from Alpha Bakery & Cafe in Houston, it will tease you forever, reaching out in daydreams like a pork-laden angel. Watching a staffer spread a thick layer of creamy butter on a fresh baguette for the first time is a thing of wonder, especially when that baguette then gets stuffed with pâté, bologna, pork belly, head cheese, and a fistful of sliced vegetables and herbs. This is the best bánh mì in Houston, which is why it’s hard to believe it only costs $5.

The Rachel sandwich at Mum Foods in Austin combines everything you love about New York Jewish delis with everything you love about central Texas-style BBQ. That means brined, oak-smoked brisket that’s been cooked low-and-slow until it pulls apart with a gentle tug. The rye is grilled, the sauerkraut is subbed for coleslaw, and the dressing is russian. It’s crunchy, smoky, tangy, and rich, and it’s something that could only exist in Texas.