Celebrity chefs, cutting-edge cuisine, multimillion dollar venues—the Las Vegas restaurant landscape can be quite exciting, sometimes even overwhelming. Maybe that’s why I crave simplicity.
I’m eager to try all those curious new Chinatown restaurants, and those cool coming-soon Downtown spots, and definitely those big Strip projects from Julian Serrano and Masaharu Morimoto. But point me in the direction of a new sandwich shop and I’m all yours.
We need more sandwich shops in Las Vegas. I wrote a list of local favorites for the Weekly in July 2012, and five of my 15 picks aren’t available anymore. (Bread & Butter, Eddie D’s, Johnny McGuire’s and ’Wichcraft closed, while RM Seafood’s crazy Catfish Sloppy Joe is no longer a permanent menu fixture—though it’s back this month for the restaurant’s 10th anniversary.)
All things considered, I was cautiously optimistic heading into the northwest’s new Sandwich Spot, our first location of a small franchise started in Sacramento in 2005. The simple, yet still Vegasy decor—an homage to neon signage—immediately put me at ease, and the menu proved mouth-watering. Other than a few salads and sides, the Spot is all sandwich, familiar ingredients assembled with care and attention and, sometimes, creativity.
The Winston Cooper ($8.49) jumps out first, hot pastrami paired with lean roast beef and salami. Choose a cheese and decide which standard toppings you want; “everything” includes mayo, mustard, secret sauce (more of a vinaigrette than a sauce) lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions and peppers. That’s a lot of stuff on a standard sandwich, especially pleasant considering the veggies are fresh.
You’ll find your favorite combo, like the Roger That ($8.49) with its turkey, bacon, cheddar and avocado; the vegetarian Darius ($7.49), which adds avocado, cucumber and sprouts to the mix; and the Sweet Science ($7.99), teriyaki chicken with pineapple. The Buffalo wing-ish sandwich is called the Bayer Necessity, and the meatball is called Binion’s Baller. My favorite so far is the Runnin’ Rebel ($7.99), salami and pepperjack with “bomb sauce,” which is something of a suicide sauce—everything mixed together. It tastes kinda meaty, which is delicious with actual meat.
The Spot offers several house-made sauces that can help make these sandwiches more memorable, so feel free to ask for a sample before augmenting your lunch. Bread options are also surprisingly varied, from the seldom-used Dutch Crunch roll, dense and sweet, to sourdough or marble rye if you prefer slices to subs. I also applaud the presence of cream cheese, which just doesn’t get the love it deserves in basic sandwich construction. It elevates the turkey-and-cranberry Pilgrim and the roast beef-based Tom Slick ($7.99).
There’s nothing at the Sandwich Spot that’s particularly trendy or hype-worthy, and that’s fine by me. My craving for simplicity is fully satisfied here.
The Sandwich Spot 3250 N. Tenaya Way #104, 702-749-7400. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.