While the sandwich may have started out as a small , affordable repast , today even the world ’s frontmost chef and restauranter have taken their , uh , piece of the action , too . Here ’s a look at some of the most esteemed sandwiches on the planet :
Thomas Keller/Bouchon Bakery
Most of us do n’t have $ 295 to fork over for dinner , as is the cost per head at Per Se , Thomas Keller ’s four - mavin restaurant in Manhattan , or the resources and wherewithal to travel to Napa Valley to dine at the American chef ’s other in high spirits - end eatery , French Laundry . While those establishments are considered among the expert in the world , that ’s not to say regular sept ca n’t enjoy Keller ’s culinary star — in a more modest , affordable mise en scene , of course . Bouchon Bakery , a mini - chain of mountains with location in Manhattan , Las Vegas , Beverly Hills , and Yountville , Calif. , serves up what they call “ delectable ingredients between excellent bread”—dry - cured ham or Emmenthaler tall mallow , for example . For a monkey nut butter and jelly done the Keller way , Bouchon has a playful gimmick : cashew nut butter and homemade apricot jam .
Tom Colicchio/‘Wichcraft
For fan of Bravo ’s Top Chef cookery competitor , Tom Colicchio , the show ’s executive manufacturer and psyche judge , is a household name . Off blind , the noted okra hater has built Craft Restaurants , an enormous empire with locations spanning the country . Last year , the former New York TImes restaurant critic Sam Sifton , in critique the three - star American restaurant Craft , wrote , “ There is no open staginess to the food at Craft . Its presentation is wide-eyed , even plain . But such simplicity negate a truth about the restaurant ’s cooking . ” Such a philosophy run to ‘ Wichcraft , Colicchio ’s low-cost sandwich Ernst Boris Chain , too . By mix seasonal and often locally sourced ingredients , Colicchio has manage to turn the sandwich into “ a robust and balanced meal , ” as the society ’s mission states . More creative offering include goat cheese , avocado , celery , walnut tree pesto , and watercress on multigrain dough ; blacken flank steak with romesco , grilled red onions , and aged cheddar on grilled country bread ; and smoked ham with poached Pyrus communis , dijon mustard , and cheddar on grilled cranberry pecan bread .
Danny Meyer/Shake Shack
Danny Meyer is as known for his stable of excellent gamy - end eatery — admit the famed Gramercy Tavern and the four - star Eleven Madison Park , both in Manhattan — as he is for establishing the New - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. Au standard of restaurant hospitality . Whether you step into Union Square Cafe or Shake Shack , Meyer ’s business of fast - casual Warren E. Burger joints , you ’re guaranteed to experience the restaurateur ’s unparalleled breed of customer military service . The original Shake Shack spread in Manhattan in 2004 and has since expanded to 14 eatery , admit locations in Miami Beach , Washington DC , Westport , Conn. , Philadelphia , and , most recently , New Haven , Conn. And while the frozen custard are sort of like a blissful loanblend of fixed yogurt and gelato , escape from Shack ’s tangible standout is its burgers , which are widely reckon among the best out there : the classic ShackBurger aggregate a patty made from a proprietary portmanteau of Angus beef , lettuce , tomato , and particular “ ShackSauce , ” all heap on a perfect bun .
Mario Batali/Pizzeria Mozza
Mario Batali may have opened Babbo in 1998 , but even today it ’s nearly unimaginable to get a board at the Italian daub in Manhattan ’s West Village . The chef and former Food internet star , who owns a number of high-pitched - remnant restaurants around the world , is as famous for his love of orangish Crocs as he is for lend oneself his classical French culinary training to Italian transportation . Perhaps the $ 145 prix fixe fare at Del Posto is a chip out of grasp , but a panini at Batali ’s Pizzeria Mozza , in Los Angeles , is a reasonable — and delicious!—compromise . Here , Batali offers classic Italian sandwiches with a innovative twirl : there ’s mortadella , prosciutto , salami , and provolone ; buffalo mozzarella , peperonata , tapenade , and arugula ; and albacore tuna , a hard - cooked egg , frolic , and anchovy , all for about $ 15 a soda . Just be sure to get there too soon : many consider Pizzeria Mozza the best pizza pie in L.A. , so there ’s always a crinkle .
Rene Redzepi/Noma
Believed by many to be the good restaurant in the world , Noma is Danish chef Rene Redzepi ’s inventive , experimental synagogue to Nordic culinary art in Copenhagen . The location may be remote , and the eatery ’s reservations policy may very well command a PhD , but it ’s estimated that 20,000 people seek to reserve a table when the lines open on reservations day each month . For the lucky ones , a meal like no other awaits ; Redzepi is one of the world ’s foremost leader in molecular gastronomy , and Noma is known for its clean , beautiful , and unfeignedly memorable nutrient . That ’s not to say the small sandwich ca n’t discover a home here : while the menu changes daily , earlier this year Redzepi serve well a white potato sandwich with duck liver mousse and fateful trumpet mushrooms .
