El Mexicano (or Los Mexicanos, as it was previously known, though it appears to still be run by the same friendly folks) is one of the most reliable taco spots in a city full of great taco spots. But the best thing on the menu might be this gut-busting carnitas torta, a sandwich best split with a friend or ordered when you’ve got an especially large appetite. This monster of a sandwich comes overstuffed with tender, crispy-edged pork and fresh lettuce, tomato, and avocado, and it tastes especially delicious when you drizzle some of the taqueria’s good red salsa over the filling periodically.

This family-run, Mexico City-focused pop-up has been one of the stars of Richmond’s burgeoning quesabirria scene since 2019, but head taquera Laura Rivera’s best dish is actually her pambazo, a kind of sauce-soaked sandwich — loaded with chorizo, soft-cooked potatoes, fresh lettuce, and Cotija cheese — that’s popular in Mexico City. The beauty of the sandwich is that the telera roll gets soaked in a flavorful red chile sauce before it’s toasted on flat-top, so it winds up equal parts crunchy and soggy — a true textural delight. The pop-up’s exact hours and location are subject to change; check Instagram for pre-ordering information and the latest updates.

One of Berkeley’s most underrated restaurants, this half-Mexican, half-Venezuelan spot might serve the Bay Area’s best arepas. El Patio’s classic reina pepiada (or “curvy queen”) comes so shockingly overstuffed with shredded chicken that it resembles a small tower, or a football, more than it does a sandwich. But what a sandwich it is — the outer surfaces of the corn cake griddled until they’re crispy, spotted brown, and unbelievably fragrant; the chicken tender and abundant, tossed with avocado that has been mashed into a pale green dressing of sorts. The wonderful thing is the contrast, in every bite, between the coolness of the filling and the warm crunch of that griddled shell.

Butcher shops often double as excellent sandwich shops, which has long been the case for this popular Claremont neighborhood gem, which sits in the back of the Star Grocery grocery store and sells a variety of carefully constructed cold-cut sandwiches with goofy, mostly Italian-American-inspired names: the Raging Bull, the My Cousin Vinny, and so forth. Anything that features the house-roasted roast beef is a good bet, especially the Fat Albert: plenty of that pink, perfectly rare roast beef, cheddar, arugula, and chipotle aioli, all served on a good crunchy baguette. During the shelter in place, Star Meats is currently only offering a single sandwich variety each day; call in at 510-652-7712 to see what the day’s option is and to place a pre-order.

If sandwiches were judged purely on the basis of the height of their respective meat stacks, the Le Montroyal would stand in a class of its own. It’s a preposterously tall pile of Augie’s Montreal-style smoke meat crammed between two slices of rye, with no adornment other than, perhaps, a swipe of brown mustard — you won’t find a speck of lettuce or other vegetable matter to distract from that pastrami-like smoke meat, which is wonderfully rich, especially if you ask for a fatty cut. There are smaller sandwiches on the menu (this one weighs in at a whopping 12 ounces of meat), but the real pro move is to go for the Le Montroyal anyway, split it with a quarantine buddy, and get an order of Augie’s classic poutine on the side.

At star sushi chef Masa Sasaki’s casual Japanese-leaning burger joint, the headliner of the menu is a crispy, katsu-style tuna belly burger that might be the Bay Area’s most luxurious fried fish sandwich. Just as enjoyable, though, is Masabaga’s take on yakisoba pan, the noodle sandwich that is a staple of Japanese convenience stores. Sasaki’s version of this carb-on-carb classic features stir-fried noodles and grilled pork belly tossed in tangy-sweet yakisoba sauce, half a hot dog, Sriracha mayo, and a scattering of scallions and sesame seeds — all served on a nicely toasted hot dog bun. It’s a full-on meal.

Among the dozens of Bay Area sandwich shops that have jumped on the Nashville hot chicken sandwich bandwagon, the HotBoys stand in a class of their own — for the outrageous crunch, juicy flesh, and no-joke heat of that boneless thigh, and for the way the whole sandwich comes together: chicken, slaw, pickles, bun. Only the foolhardy, or those with iron stomachs, should even think about going for the spiciest version, the “Hot Hot,” which comes with a no-refund policy and multiple bold-faced warnings. Pre-order online only.

The shaobing sandwiches are the most famous offerings at Oakland’s buzziest new restaurant — a menu staple for longtime vegan pop-up chefs Marie Chia and Shane Stanbridge. Like the rest of the Singaporean menu at Lion Dance Cafe, the #36 is a meatless dish: a thick slice of creamy coconut-lemongrass Hodo Soy tofu that’s been grilled and then chilled, a spicy peanut sauce, and a pile of tangy slaw. It’s a spicy-sweet symphony of flavors and a cool contrast to the toasty, sesame seed-flecked shaobing, which has a wonderful crunch and chew that’s worth seeking out all on its own. For now, the restaurant is taking online pre-orders only for Friday and Saturday pickup — place your order right at noon on Wednesdays to snag a sandwich before they sell out. 

You can’t go wrong with any of the sandwiches at Oakland’s top banh mi shop, where the high quality of the food is matched only by the brisk, unsentimental efficiency of the service. But the signature offering is the meatball-and-egg banh mi: one of the shop’s crisp baguettes filled with juicy, savory chunks of ground pork and a fried egg (with a slightly runny yolk, if you’re lucky) — ideal counterpoints to the sweetness of the pickled carrots and daikon and the heat of the sliced jalapenos.

This old-school Italian-American deli has been a fixture in Alameda, just a few blocks away from the waterfront, since 1982. The menu isn’t strictly all-Italian at this point (you can also get a pretty good Reuben, for instance, or a turkey-and-cranberry), but the highlight might be the East Bay’s most delicious version of a classic Italian combo: mortadella, ham, bologna, a couple of different kinds of salami, provolone cheese, and all the fixings — lettuce, tomato, pepperoncini, mayo, mustard, and oil and vinegar — piled high enough to satisfy even the heartiest of appetites. Get in on a hard sourdough roll for a satisfying extra crunch, and maybe don’t plan on eating any other meals fir the rest of the day.

Don’t sleep on this gem of a family-run deli, which has been holding it down in a nondescript San Leandro strip mall since 1986. These days, the newly renovated deli is known, in part, for creative, customer-inspired specialty sandwiches with names like the “Bam Bam” and the “Heat Seeker.” But this is also one of the East Bay’s top spots if you just want a classic cold-cut sandwich. Its most famous offering is probably its so-called Bay Area Special, a Dagwood Bumstead-like beast of a triple-decker sandwich that’s loaded with sliced-to-order roast beef, turkey, and ham.