Eat Great Cheap 2016If you didn’t know walking into this snug spot that the owners are from Philly, you would when you got a load of your first sandwich. No pretty-boy thing, this is a handful—two handfuls—stuffed with so much meat and cheese you’d think it was trying to make a point about generosity and love. That in itself makes the place worth knowing about, in a downtown filled with wan, gourmet-manqué sandwiches. But bigness is not all. The chef, Jon Taub—who owns the place with his folks—cares about the details, too, nowhere more so than with his brisket sandwich, the braised meat dipped in veal jus, covered with aged Gouda, then smeared with an apple-horseradish cream.
Cuisine: Sandwiches
Where you can get it: 1815 M St., NW; 202-457-1111
Also good: Italian hoagie; cheesesteak; eggplant Parmesan.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
