6. Cubano, Victor’s 1959 Café
No girly sandwich, this. Even fat uncle Freddie will be hard pressed to finish it. Sweet ham is paired with pork loin in a classic homage to the oink, and if that’s too rich for your blood, don’t worry, because mustard and pickles come to the rescue with clarity and crunch. Before it’s all pressed and griddled, soft, white Cuban-style bread (traditionally made with lard) is blanketed in Swiss cheese. Add Spanish-style chorizo for a dollar. Overkill? Maybe. But I like the sentiment: Excess is barely enough. [3756 Grand Ave. S., Mpls.; 612.827.8948]

7. Salami on Sour Rye, Kiev Foods
Kiev Foods isn’t the biggest, best-known or sleekest Eastern European deli in town, and that’s why I love it. All the little details of a true ethnic grocery are here: a television blaring foreign soaps, a deep freeze filled with mystery goods and a language barrier as thick as the Iron Curtain at checkout. But today, concern yourself only with the deli case, filled with a dozen or so imported salamis—fatty, smoky, sweet. Ask to pair any one (or two, or three) with two slices of imported sour rye. What you’ll receive is something so elegant, so fundamental, it defines the very essence of the thing you’ve been searching for. [2509 W. 7th St., St. Paul; 651.690.5655]

8. Sandwich Thursdays, First Course
Every Thursday at the darling Diamond Lake bistro First Course, all the restaurant is a stage, the sandwich the star. You could go with the solid croque-monsieur, all smoky ham and satisfying, caramelized bits of baby swiss; or you could go the way of the sophisticated vegetarian: hen of the woods mushrooms, grilled frisée and caramelized onions with yet more gruyere. Better idea: Your chef has given the sandwich the spotlight, so ask him what’s performing well tonight. [5607 Chicago Ave., Mpls.; 612.825.6900]

9. Mort’s Reuben, Mort’s Delicatessen
As you wait for your Reuban at Mort’s, observing as servers deliver groaning platters of meat, a question comes to mind: How many pounds of meat does this place go through in a day? (Answer: 1,700!) But then comes your own sandwich—grilled rye, house-made Russian dressing, kraut, horseradish cheese and, most importantly, something like two pounds of sweet, juicy corned beef. Beautifully pink, meltingly tender, somehow lighter than the sum of its parts. Suddenly the tonnage doesn’t seem so absurd. METRO DEAL OF THE MONTH: $5 off at Mort's when you mention this article. [525 Winnetka Ave. N., Golden Valley; 763.544.2900]

10. Your sandwich, your world
What makes a sandwich just so? Is it freshly baked bread with a toothsome, crackling crust? Is it slow-braised meat with so much juice it turns your bread into a delectable pink sponge? A ripe summer tomato sliced thin as paper, then sprinkled with fleur de sel? Is it a Manny’s torta? A B’Witched pastrami? A Saigon Banh Mi? A PB&J on Wonder? Only you know your perfect sandwich. And we want to hear about it. Show us that sparkling jewel of sand in a field of mere grains. Tell us what it is, tell us why, show us the way: letters@metromag.com. +