McNally's Tavern, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Official
Sultan of Sandwich

Full disclosure: I am a former employee of McNally's tavern. I cooked up Schmitters there during the Fall of 1993. Even though that's a long time ago I have fond memories of working at this Chestnut Hill institution and think that the McNally family are some of the nicest people you can meet. I especially enjoyed doing food prep (slicing the steak) with Mr. Hugh McNally and conversing with him in the mornings.

With that out of the way, the sandwiches here are inventive and delicious. The flagship Schmitter is one of mankind's finest creations -- like compound interest or metallurgy. It's a simple variation on the traditional cheesesteak. These transmutations include: a Kaiser roll instead of hoagie and the inclusion of salami, tomato and Russian dressing. I can seriously eat three of these things. Might be the finest sandwich in the country.

Other equally good options include the Dickens (carved turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce on a roll) and the George Bernard Shaw (3-cheese vegetarian sandwich with onion, green pepper and Russian dressing). Confession time: when I was once making the stuffing for the Dickens, I used cilantro instead of parsley. Mea culpa.

http://www.mcnallystavern.com/