The Best Sandwich Shop in America?
YouTuber Rob Martinez travelled to Columbus, Ohio to tell the story of what he calls the best sandwich shop in America, Wario’s Beef and Pork. Here’s part of the transcript of owner Stephan Madias talking about the restaurant:
For the longest time, especially the first two years, I was very protective of how the bread was sliced and I would not let anybody cut bread. It’s about the experience. I think about me eating the sandwich. Think about the things that happen when you get a big sandwich. You take that first bite into it. I want you to be able to, like, move this thing around. Take bites from the top, the bottom, the front, the back. And it’s held.
We’re very particular, and it’s part of the reason why we don’t have the bakery cut the bread is cuz we want to sort through our things. Yes, we have volume. Yes, we have speed, but [my employees] all have the integrity that we started when we only sold five sandwiches an hour when the shop first started. That’s part of being committed to the fundamentals and being consistent.
The devil’s in the details, man. You got to take the extra minute to do it. Some people like it. Some people complain about it.
As a fellow sandwich overthinker, I love the ethos and the process. And man, those sandwiches do look amazing — tomato butter, homemade whiz for the cheese steaks, a chicken caesar sandwich, what is not to like?
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"We're not everybody." I love this guy.
Oooh I want this sandwich! I was already planning an Ohio trip bc of that huge grocery store with the butter bar and animatronics. I wonder how far apart this sandwich shop is from Jungle Jim’s?
Kind of far tbh, but might be worth the detour!
Just shy of two hours easy driving from Cincy to Columbus, depending on traffic/construction. Jungle Jim's is amazing! I've only been there once, but I'm eager to get back there. I will definitely be making the detour for both on my next food pilgrimage.
I've never heard of Jungle Jim's before...it looks wild.
We used to live 20 minutes from The Jungle. It was our primary grocery. We drove past at least 3 full size groceries (two were Kroger) to get there. It is most assuredly a destination.
I love that it has Rainforest Cafe vibes :D
The food and production understandably get top billing in a profile like this. They also talk some about leadership and culture, and those are always nebulous enough to curtail describing them well (or measuring them), but they are the critical components to a place like this reaching its potential.
Guys you should all come to Columbus and go to Warios. It’s truly is out of this world. This past Saturday we had the daily special (poutine: braised short rib, slow roast onion, WI cheese curds, handmade seasoned fries, in a special seed roll and with a dipping gravy to die for) and I text half my family about it.
I especially love that they locally source the ingredients (their seed rolls are custom from a local bakery) and they cancel specials when they are short staffed so their folx aren’t overstretched. It’s just a good hang
You spelled "Tastees on Route 27 in Edison" wrong.
Almost unnerving when a Kottke post aligns with the exact place I happen to be a day before I have need for a food recommendation in that place. Now I know where I’m eating tomorrow—thanks, Jason!
Update: Ate at Wario’s tonight (their sixth anniversary!) and it was every bit as great as the video shows. Clear attention to detail in both the preparation of the food and the flavor therein. Chef Madias in this video reminds me of a now-old Chowhound ‘Obsessives’ video of Anthony Mangieri of Una Pizza fame: all craft, all care, and nothing done by half measure. Fantastic.
Long live local 💪
Amit shared his sandwich markup language via email.
All the feels for this story.
1. That’s my hometown, and I know that location well. It’s as soulless as it gets, yet he’s imbued it with a magic few could create. Impressive.
2. I live in London now (the one in England, not Ohio) and can’t help but feel like the food here is cheaper than in the States. $18 for a sandwich is *a lot of money*, even if it looks like a great value.
3. All this talk of sandwiches makes me miss Deli Board in SF circa 2015. Just checked to see that they’re now charging $24 a pop. I rest my case in point #2.
Excellent post! Very me coded.
I think some of the US food $$ issue is that a sandwich made from food service ingredients can be cheap but if you're using good quality ingredients that you've sourced yourself and might be from local farms, the sandwich is going to be more expensive. I think in many other countries (like in Europe, like Japan), it's easier to get higher quality ingredients bc those places care more about food quality so that even the cheaper food tends to be better quality. The baseline is higher.
(The other thing is, with respect to Wario's: it's more expensive to make your own cheese sauce out of aged cheddar than just scooping it out of a Cheez Whiz canister. And when you take that level of care with each aspect of the sandwich, it's gonna cost more and taste better. As he said in the video, they are making sandwiches with the same care as a nice restaurant meal.)
All fair points. fwiw, your post made me look at a few of my former favourite restaurants, and I noticed their prices were similarly/surprisingly high. Probably bits of both in the market now: some charge for quality; some charge for profit.
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