Today’s Sandwich: Genoa Salami Italian (West End Deli)

Location: 133 Spring Street
Price: $6.00 (small)
Notes: Today’s sandwich is the Genoa salami Italian from the West End Deli. I almost feel like this sandwich is telling itself a little joke, that only it is in on. It combines all the traditional elements present in an “Italian” sandwich, and ever so slightly improves on them. The peppers are cut a little more thickly. The red onions aren’t as strong as their raw, white, massive chain sandwich shop counterparts. The Provolone cheese has a nice smokiness. The Kalamata olives are wonderful, and I love the whole spear of pickle wedged in the sandwich. Doused in oil with perhaps ever-so-slightly too heavy a hand, this sandwich nods to where it came from, doesn’t alienate, but still manages to elevate. I wish there had been pickled hot peppers. I must remember to ask for this.

Tagged as: italian, salami, sandwich, sotd

About the Author: Malcolm Bedell

My first memories of cooking start in Maine at six years old, when I wore a yellow rainslicker to avoid getting spattered by the bacon I was frying in a skillet. My interest in both Mexican cooking and recreating classic New England dishes from scratch developed while living in Mexico, on a steady diet of pork and habanero peppers. You can see more of my writing and photography online on Serious Eats, the Huffington Post, BlogHer, and Foodista, as well as in print for Downeast, Indulge, and Cigar Snob magazines.