Best Sandwiches in America 2015: Meatball

Winner: Grilled Pork Meatball Banh Mi

Restaurant: Banh Shop, Dallas

Sandwich Creator: Mark Brezinski

Inspiration: “Pork is a widely used protein in Southeast Asia and we choose to use the meatball approach because we could get a nice char on the meat.”

Key Ingredients: Minced pork with black pepper, Vietnamese caramel glaze, scallions, pickled carrots, daikon, Thai basil and cucumber-cilantro aioli

Price: $8.25

Food Cost: $6.25

What the Judges Said: Last year we didn’t have a category for banh mi. This year we got so many entries for this Asian-style sandwich that we created as separate category and we moved some banh mi-style entries into other appropriate categories like this. The heart of any great meatball sandwich is the meat, and the pork here develops a nice grill flavor before it’s swabbed with a sweet, sticky glaze. The veggies, including the pickled carrots, and the aioli provide a nice counterbalance. What puts this sandwich over the top is the outstanding thin-crust baguette, which is the perfect cradle for this delicious baby.

Honorable Mentions:
• RHT Hat Trick: Red Heat Tavern, Wilmington, MA
• Mediterranean Lamb Meatball Sub: Our Daily Bread Deli/Café, Chatham, NY
• The Meatball Smash: The Meatball Shop, NYC
• Italian Baller: Kingy’s Pizza Pub, Canal Winchester, OH

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