Sandwich Heaven in Boston

Sam Lagrassa's

44 Province St. 

Boston, MA 02108

The west coast may have weather on its side, but the east coast definitely has sandwiches in its favor. Just as plastic surgeons dominate in LA, east coast cities have an equally good number of great delis.  So when we made the trek across country, I knew we would have the opportunity to have some excellent sandwiches on our journey. One stop I had planned out was Sam Lagrassa's.

Sam Lagrassa's has been around since 1968, and in that time they have gained quite a reputation as a great sandwich shop. They have changed names numerous times, but have had their current name since the mid 90's. I heard of them on-line, and also on Diners, Drive In's and Dives. I have had some good experiences with restaurants that have been on this show, and some real disappointments with others. I was really hoping this would be a great experience.

We got to Sam's at the odd time of 2 pm on a Thursday. Lucky for us we made it an hour before they closed, and as a bonus we missed the lunch rush, so there was plenty of seating. I can imagine this place getting packed for the lunch time. Ordering is done at the counter, kind of assembly line style. After getting through the line, this is what we came up with.

Starting us off was Katie's choice, the Jumbo Reuben. This is your classic Reuben sandwich with, Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and corned beef, all on a pumpernickel. Katie felt the corned beef was great, and the condiments on this sandwich complimented the meat well. The meat was velvety smooth, and was definitely the star of this sandwich. She also liked the bread, because it was good tasting and held the sandwich together well. Very solid sandwich here.

When I was watching Diner's, Drive Ins and Dives, I saw them make this sandwich, and I knew I had to have one. The Chipotle Pastrami sandwich combined Cole slaw, pastrami, chipotle mustard, and Swiss cheese. Like the corned beef in the Reuben, the meat here was front and center. Spiced well, and sliced thin it really was great pastrami. I did not get as much flavor from the chipotle mustard as I would have liked, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of this sandwich too much. The Italian bread was very sturdy, and fresh, while the Cole slaw added a great texture to the sandwich. One of the best sandwiches I have had in a long while.


So, Guy Fieri did not steer me wrong this time. Sam Lagrassa's was every bit as good as it appeared on the show. The prices were not out of control crazy either. True, the sandwiches will run you $10 to $11, but they are on the big size, and the quality ingredients really make this a decent value. The restaurant was clean, and well run. They got the sandwiches out in a timely manner. If I lived in the area I would be very excited to explore their menu more. They have some great sounding sandwiches. Glad we made the trip across country, now I only wish Sam would open a franchise on the west coast.

Out of five cobblestones, (because some streets in this Beacon Hill area are paved with cobblestones), five being best to zero being worst, Sam Lagrassa's gets 3.5 cobblestones.

For more information on Sam Lagrassa's, click here:http://www.samlagrassas.com/index.php