Sandwiches

At Gjelina Take Away in Los Angeles, you can only get this excellent sandwich in the summer because the tomatoes have to be sweet and richly flavored with just the right texture. The sourdough bread should be toasted, but make sure it's not too dark and crisp.

In Maine you're likely to find lobster rolls served two ways. Innovators prefer a crunchy, tangy and slightly spicy version of the lobster salad that includes celery, lettuce, lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne. Purists leave out those ingredients because they believe nothing should interfere with the mix of sweet tender summer lobster and mayonnaise.

Here, chef Viet Pham tucks bratwurst into hearty hoagie rolls along with juicy pastrami and sliced Swiss cheese, then spreads them with his homemade Russian dressing.

Slow-poaching the chicken breasts keeps them extra moist.

These Vietnamese-inspired sandwiches are a clever and tasty way to use leftover beef stew.

In this clever take on the summertime classic, salmon replaces lobster and yogurt stands in for mayonnaise. Topping rolls with potato chips adds crunch and fun.

New York City's Torrisi Italian Specialties uses only American ingredients in virtually all of its dishes. Its basil-rich eggplant parmesan, also delicious on a toasted roll, calls for Progresso Italian Style bread crumbs and SarVecchio parmesan from Wisconsin.

The Vietnamese accents here come from Sriracha (Southeast Asian chile sauce) and sweet-salty pickled onions.

Sandwiches are a classic choice for a tailgate, but Ken Oringer likes to go beyond plain ham-and-cheese. For these cubanos he roasts and shreds pork butt, then he layers the succulent meat on rolls along with homemade tomato jam, grilled onions, pickles and Gruyère. He cooks the sandwiches on a portable grill until they are crispy and warm.

Bruce Aidells's Guinness, soy sauce and molasses marinade adds moisture and a sweet-hearty flavor to these delicious steak sandwiches.

Tyler Kord smokes the French dressing for his asparagus sandwiches over wood chips. This simplified version gets its smokiness from chipotles and smoked salt.

Make this easy weeknight dish using leftovers from Mom's Meat Loaf.

Stacked high with slices of tomato, onion, cucumber, avocado, and provolone cheese, this is a vegetable sandwich that even confirmed carnivores will love. You can add or substitute other fresh vegetables; radishes, spinach, or grated carrot go particularly well here. When you can't get good tomatoes, don't buy lousy, cottony ones; use twice the amount of lettuce instead.

Literally "bathed bread" in the ancient dialect of Provence, pan bagnat delivers meat, bread and salad all in one handful. You both brush the bread with oil and let the finished rolls sit for a few minutes to allow the dressing to permeate the bread and "bathe" it with flavor.

"I usually make these sandwiches on days when there isn't enough time to sit down for a proper breakfast," says Sera Pelle, who wraps them in parchment paper for her kids to eat on the go.

Farmstead chicken is the star ingredient in a Moscow banh mi, a riff on a classic Vietnamese sandwich. What makes it Russian? The chopped beets and horseradish mayonnaise that are layered with the chicken, lettuce and vinegary carrots.

Tofu doesn't sound like a reasonable substitute for steak, but when it's pressed until firm, then glazed with a sweet, spicy sauce and topped with a crisp slaw of jicama and carrots, you won't miss the meat.

Linton Hopkins turns this slow-roasted pork shoulder into sliders. "Why are we so obsessed with the 30-minute meal?" he says. "I want to create a TV show called The 36-Hour Meal. The best things take a little bit of time."

Cookbook author Martha Hall Foose says that in the early 1960s, The Time Life Picture Cook Book inspired Mississippi ladies to "go exotic" by adding ingredients like curry powder and orange zest to egg-salad tea sandwiches.

These open-faced pastrami sandwiches are topped with bright condiments like braised red cabbage and green cabbage in sour-cream sauce.

Grilling the fish and making a sauce with fat-free fromage blanc (a fresh, spoonable cheese) keeps the calorie count down in this variation on the classic fried fish-shack sandwich. While any white fish will work well here, catfish is a sustainable choice and a great source of vitamin B12.

This is a brilliant marriage of two classics: cornmeal-dusted green tomatoes and a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich.

A giant step up from a fast-food breakfast sandwich, this biscuit is topped with eggs, cheese and country ham, jam optional. These tender biscuits have a salty edge. If you prefer, decrease the amount of salt in the recipe to 1 1/2 tablespoons.

This recipe makes about 1 cup of citrusy, garlicky mojo sauce, much more than enough for 2 sandwiches.

Michael Shemtov and chef Stuart Tracy prepare this messy, incredibly tasty vegetarian sandwich, called a sabich, with vegetables, hummus, house-baked pita and herbs from a garden right behind the restaurant. "The sabich is Iraqi-Israeli, just like me," Shemtov says. "It's a personal dish."

This recipe relies on two time-saving, store-bought ingredients: rotisserie chicken and mango chutney, which adds a hit of instant flavor to the curry-yogurt sauce.

Jay Foster of San Francisco's Farmerbrown's Little Skillet does brisk business in these fried-fish sandwiches at Outside Lands music festival.

This tangy, sweet relish can accompany roast pork, chicken or turkey served on their own or as sandwiches.

Thomas Keller's scrumptious recipe combines three of the world's most popular sandwiches—bacon, lettuce and tomato; fried egg; and grilled cheese.

In this riff on a classic egg-salad sandwich, Melissa Rubel Jacobsonstirs finely chopped silken tofu with mayonnaise, mustard, chives and crunchy celery, then spreads it on whole wheat toast. To mimic the yellowish color of egg salad, she sometimes adds a little turmeric, but it's not necessary.

Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman created this wow sandwich that just keeps on going with a filling of crispy, cheesy grilled ham-and-pimento-cheese. The amazing sandwich is topped with creamy three-cheese sauce and a fried egg.

At The Sentinel, Dennis Leary's riff on a Reuben uses locally made corned beef and fresh focaccia, but the sandwiches are just as delicious with top-quality deli corned beef and store-bought flatbreads.

This simple and satisfying breakfast sandwich recipe calls for using American cheese, but it's equally as delicious with Gruyere or sharp cheddar cheese. Feel free to use your favorite toast if you don't have English muffins. A dash of vinegary hot sauce is a great addition here.

Star chef Curtis Stone packs his version of the classic pan bagnat for family trips to the beach. This sandwich gets better as it sits and the flavors blend.

This classic Muffaletta sandwich gets its flavor from layers of cheese, Italian meats, and tangy olive relish stuffed into perfectly crusty ciabatta. The ideal make-ahead meal, this sandwich should rest at least an hour to let the flavors meld, but it is delicious the next day, too.

This outstanding Vietnamese banh mi includes duck pâté and spicy pickles along with, less conventionally, five-spice-flavored bacon and a fried egg.

What makes this sandwich from Houston's Better Luck Tomorrow a must-order is the frico-like crust on the griddled bread slices (though the blend of Wagyu and brisket in the patty certainly doesn't hurt either). If you don't have a meat grinder at home, ask your butcher to grind the beef for you.