Best Sandwiches in America 2015: Panini

Winner: Chef’s Cubano

Restaurant: Old Town Social, Chicago

Sandwich Creator: Chef Stephen Paul

Inspiration: “We wanted to utilize leftover scraps of house-made charcuterie.”

Key Ingredients: Tuscan bread, beer-whole grain mustard, quartered sport peppers, housemade aioli, housemade piccalilli relish, Gruyere cheese and scraps of pepperoni, toscano, sopressata, finochiona and bresaola

Price: $13

Food Cost: $2.34

What the Judges Said: In our opinion, the salumi at Old Town is among the best in the country. Executive chef Jared Van Camp has been sourcing whole pigs from local farms for years to create crazy good charcuterie. Clearly, his chef, Paul, understands the goldmine of great salumi scraps at his disposal and he’s put them to great use for a Cuban-style sandwich that is light-years ahead of most of its competitors.

Honorable Mentions:
• Angry Aussie: Fins & Noodles Italian Seafood, Centennial, CO
• The Jewbano: The Comfort, New York City
• New Orleans: Plenty Café, Philadelphia
• The Cotoletta Panini: Café Barocco, Garden City, NY
• Diavolo: Trattoria Roma, Columbus, OH

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