The best sandwiches in Miami to devour right now

What began as a lockdown pivot has turned into a regular pop-up for Boia De, which holds its Sando Sundays every once in a while. Every single sandwich they make is pretty darn special, but the muffuletta is like an airmail gift from New Orleans: chewy roll, tangy homemade giardiniera, soppressata and provolone. To make sure you don’t miss the next one, monitor Boia De’s Instagram page like it’s your job.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Stanzione 87 (@stanzione87)

The subs at Brickell’s best pizza place (and also one of the best in the city) are like if the corner deli suddenly started sourcing each of its ingredients with the utmost care. Being the house sandwich, perhaps then it’s no surprise that this is especially true with The Stanzione, a combo of Italian meats, homemade mozzarella, tomato, iceberg, onion, Stanzione hot sauce and zesty sauce, each ingredient elevating the classic Italian sub to something far better.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚐’𝚜 (@oldgregspizza)

The job here was to pick just one of Old Greg's hoagies for this item, and it wasn't easy. We debated the garlicky, creamy awesomeness of the Ceasar chicken cutlet or the cheesy greatness of the homemade whiz on the cheesesteak. But in the end, we're going with Old Greg's OG, the chicken parm: red sauce, crispy cutlet, mozz, basil and parm. Just to be sure, we might need to eat every one of their hoagies again just to be sure.

Coral Way’s handsome wine and cheese shop sells sandwiches made of no-messing-around ingredients, like the El Padron, stuffed with Iberican ham and labeled "a sandwich for royalty." But it’s the La Italiana ($18) that we’d have on our coronation day, with Sullivan Street Mezzo Doppio bread, whipped ricotta, shaved mortadella, pesto, truffled wildflower honey and—for a surprising crunch—pistachios.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by T R A N A N (@trananmiami)

It would be hard to disagree if you labeled the fried chicken banh mi as the best sandwich at Tran An because those crispy fingers stuffed inside a Vietnamese sandwich add a terrific crunch. But it’s the old standard here that’s a true winner, that grilled pork adding a nice smoke and meaty texture to the crispness of the veggies and chewy hoagie roll.

Sanguich is home to the best Cubano in Miami and its cousin, the croqueta preparada. How does one improve upon an already perfect sandwich? Stuff it with croquetas and wait for the customers to go wild. We can’t say with certainty how the Sanguich folks arrived at this stellar croqueta creation, but we can tell you their sandwich sorcery resulted in one of the tastiest sammies you’ll find in Little Havana. Pair it with an order of mariquitas and cancel your afternoon plans—you’re going to need a nap.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Proper Sausages (@propersausages)

Sometimes, we want a sandwich loaded with every single ingredient a kitchen can muster to stuff in the thing (at those moments, we go to La Sandwicherie). But sometimes we want a simple thing made great by its excellent ingredients, like this $15 wagyu roast beef sandwich from the Proper Sausages butcher shop. Along with that tender, pink-hued beef, there’s romaine, a tomato slice or two and horseradish mayo, held together by a toasted Portuguese muffin—each ingredient downright impeachable.

Hey, it’s Miami, so of course we had to have an over-the-top item on this list. This one comes from Zeru, the excellent Spanish-via-Mexico restaurant in Brickell, where the bikini sandwich comes on grilled brioche with roasted fennel cream cheese, salmon cured in citrus and Ossetra caviar. At $100, that’s a heck of a sandwich.

South Beach’s original gourmet sandwich bar caters to a fabulous mix of clubbers, drinkers, tourists and pretty much anyone else who appreciates a well-made sandwich at all hours of the day (read: this place stays open very late). It offers pretty much every combination of bread, cheese and meat under the sun, but our go-to has always been the turkey and brie cheese on a croissant, loaded with toppings and doused in La Sandwicherie’s signature magic sauce—an addictive French vinaigrette, and the real reason everyone flocks to the beloved spot.

Are we cheating by including a breakfast dish on the list? Maybe, but El Bagel’s B.E.C. is one hearty sandwich you’ll want to eat at any time of the day—which is bound to happen when the shop fills up. El Bagel is notorious for its wait times but we’ll sit patiently if it means getting our hands on a hand-rolled everything bagel with thick-cut bacon, Lake Meadow Farms fried eggs and American cheese. It’s a classic combo that wins every time.

The Shicken Sandwich at Michelin-starred Cote looks utterly charming, like a beautiful remake of McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish. There’s a big, fluffy La Provence Bakery bun, tartar sauce dripping out the sides and a slice of melty American cheese. The patty in the center is as thick as a butcher’s block, and inside there’s something quite unique: layers of pounded chicken and diced shrimp, layered together and then panko battered and fried golden. At $23 ($16 during happy hour), this is a pricey sandwich, but the thing is big enough for two, which means splitting it in half will score a cross-section worthy of social media.

The hilariously named Thic-Fil-A is a lot about why we like Nicole Ponseca’s cooking: she’s a master at combing Filipino flavors and a range of textures in her dishes. Here, there’s the fluffy bun, crispy chicken tenders, salsa, tangy pickled veg and kewpie mayo.

Miami’s favorite grilled cheese spot isn’t a place to search the menu for the healthiest item—it’s a place to indulge in all the gooey greatness. And if we’re going all in, we’re going even richer with braised short rib and oozing jack cheese, with a nice tang coming from pickled caramelized onions. There’s arugula somewhere between the sourdough, so you can still count this as a salad.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Flour & Weirdoughs (@flourandweirdoughs)

As the name suggests, the mad scientists at Flour & Weirdoughs do some truly strange/delicious things to bread products (ex., croissant cubes, mortadella pizza, salmon danish). But this number leans far more traditional, in all the best ways. The smoked brisket that stars on this very tall sandwich starts two weeks earlier with a curing and then smoking process, then piled up with chipotle aioli, arugula, caramelized onions, charred peppers and gruyere. Weird, not really. But incredible, yes.

Most likely you drove down to Palmetto Bay for Babe’s burger, which, yeah, we wouldn’t blame you. But the rib sandwich is a glorious thing, bits of pork back ribs with cured onions, curry bread and butter pickles, beer-spiked barbecue sauce and a potato bun. The whole messy thing is like a richer, more textured pulled pork sandwich, and you just might order it again next time instead of that burger.

This sinful mashup marries the best parts of a classic, deli-style reuben—corned beef, swiss cheese, pickles, sauerkraut—and the only part that matters in a Cuban pan con lechón, the juicy roasted pork. It’s all stacked high on a couple of pieces of grilled rye bread and dressed with yellow mustard and Russian dressing, which is a real treat for folks who like their sandwiches on the saucier side. The drippy concoction is so good we even added it to our list of the world’s best sandwiches.

We loved La Camaronera long before the Food Network helped turn the charming fish shack in Little Havana into a downright tourist destination. While the menu’s grown quite a bit since we first started lining up for a pan con minuta, it’s still the reason that keeps us coming back. The fried snapper sandwich is served on a lightly toasted Cuban roll (tail and all!) with raw onion, ketchup and tartar sauce, and it clocks in at under $16. Name a better deal on freshly caught fish. We’ll wait.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Enriquetas Sandwich Shop (@enriquetas_sandwich_shop)

We’re so glad Enriqueta’s held out when Wynwood’s development sprawl nearly pushed it out. What would we do without its perfect pan con bistec? The Cuban spot’s steak sandwich is a perennial favorite that’s consistently delicious and cheap: Get a couple of thin, lightly fried steaks between toasted Cuban bread that’s filled with shoestring potatoes, lettuce and tomato for less than $7.

This Cuban sammie sparks so much nostalgia, taking us way back to when our mom would toast up discos (toasted pocket sandwiches) stuffed with cream cheese and guava for breakfast. While you can’t use the disco contraption on a ceramic stovetop (we know, we know), you can get a ready-made cutie at Caja Caliente. The Coral Gables restaurant serves up a variety of fillings, from ham croquetas and roasted lechon to vaca frita, but we like to step it up with the Euro-inspired version stuffed with goat cheese croquetas and prosciutto.

Every Tuesday, Perricone’s lures folks with an unbeatable sandwich special that includes your choice of two sandwiches with two drinks and two bags of chips for just $14.95. You can choose from a variety of perfectly respectable combinations, but there’s no way we’re getting anything but the world-famous chicken salad sando. The chunks of white meat chicken are lightly dressed in mayo and combined with golden raisins and walnuts for an expected take on the cold deli salad. The move is to go alone and save the second chicken sal san (how us in-the-know people order it) for dinner. It holds up remarkably well, though you might find yourself eating it well before supper time.