The old-school shop in Bronx’s Little Italy gets all the credit it deserves for its housemade cheeses, sold alongside other Italian prepared foods and packaged goods. Have the staff fold its exceptional cream-filled burrata and prosciutto into a ciabatta with olives and peppers.

As if to outdo its many deli competitors, this Astoria shop introduced the Bomb, which quickly became cultishly beloved. The footlong beast is awe-inspiring even before consumption, filled with a veritable rainbow of meats and cheeses packed on a crusty sub roll with vegetables: pepperoni, ham, salami, turkey, mortadella, American, Swiss, and provolone. Finishing it deserves some kind of award.

Since opening in Jackson Heights in 2016, 969 Coffee has been a favorite of neighborhood regulars — both for its onigirazu (a rice-based sandwich) and its genial owner Mitsumine Oda (the business name is reportedly related to his favorite number, not the address). Though it serves coffee it’s really known for its Japanese snacks. There’s no menu listing for the variations on onigirazu but try the chicken katsu or shrimp patty, layered with avocado, carrots, and American cheese.

A West Village institution, Faicco’s serves its fragrant sausages and other meats to faithful customers, but it also assembles enviable sandwiches, including a mouth-watering Italian special with a dense layering of prosciutto, ham, and soppressata. There’s also a take on a muffuletta. Whatever you order, wash it down with one of their Italian sodas.

Little Kirin is located on St. Marks serving reinvented Vietnamese sandwiches, sometimes with Japanese twists. There are breakfast sandwiches — including one called hangover cure with bacon, Spam, and hash browns — as well as a pho short-rib sandwich.

Upper West Side-raised brothers Zach and Alex Frankel opened Frankel’s to bring Jewish fare to Greenpoint, particularly smoked fish and meats. Get the pastrami with egg and cheese at breakfast, or opt for The Number One bagel with pastrami salmon and dill cucumber.

A stroll through Little Italy isn’t quite the same without a stop into Parisi Bakery, a bakery established in 1903 that also turns out its own inimitable heros. The admirably uncompromising Dennis melds fried chicken cutlet, prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato, balsamic vinegar, and herbs into one joyful mess. Cash only.

Datz Deli has gone viral for TikToks of its beef patties, stuffed with ingredients like mac and cheese. Owner Joshua Dat, an alum of Sybil’s and great-aunt’s bakery in Little Guyana, pulls from his background to creative modern riffs on bodega classics, such as bacon, egg, and cheese with coco bread. 

Butcher shops consistently serve some of the best sandwiches in the city, and Foster Sundry follows that rule in Bushwick. The kitchen slings various biscuits with eggs and ham all day, and its other options get thoughtful toppings, as well as other versions stuffed with potatoes, mushrooms, and roast beef.

What started as a pop-up has grown into a permanent counter-service operation with cauliflower and katsu sandwiches (some of the biggest cutlets around town) and Spam grilled cheeses. Mama Yoshi Mini Mart also doubles as a convenience store selling drinks, Japanese snacks, and pantry staples.

Since 1922, this local Italian sandwich shop has served heaping portions of cured pork on heros to workers and passersby in Red Hook. The signature sub is the colossal Nicky Special, layered with a trio of ham, salami, and capocollo, plus fried slices of eggplant, provolone, and hot peppers mixed with oregano and pickled vegetables.

Court Street Grocers has sprouted locations all over the city and for good reason. Not only are they consistently serving some of the city’s best sandwiches, with an expansive menu of options, but also some of the most creative (just see the version with pulled pork and duck sauce). If more of a full-service experience is what you’re after, the team also owns S&P, a luncheonette known for its old-school charm and affordable pastrami sandwiches as well.

This Sunset Park Mexican spot juices an epic number of fruits and vegetables, but it also makes some mean tortas, or rolls stuffed with an equally diverse number of ingredients, from chorizo to breaded chicken, thrown on a griddle.