The Bolton neighborhood restaurant from Steinbeck’s chef Andy Gonzales continues to serve up a mean burger, but don’t skip the crazy creative sandwiches here. This includes a tempura battered fried fish sandwich and the Crunchwrap du jour, the Companion’s take on a certain fast food joint’s popular sandwich, which can come stuffed with ingredients like spicy pork vindaloo. Make sure to pair that sandwich with the smothered tater tots, topped with smoked pork, shaved Brussel sprouts, melted cheese, and salsa verde. 

Cody Taylor and Jiyeon Lee’s Southern-Korean barbecue restaurant offers a must-try spicy Korean pork sandwich on its menu with chopped rib meat marinated in fermented chile paste, topped with kimchi coleslaw, black sesame seeds, and a sliced scallion. Order the sandwich with a side of Brunswick stew or collards.

This low-key East Point counter restaurant offers a “world-famous” — and ridiculously oversized —chicken sandwich on its menu. The bun comes nowhere close to containing the super-sized crispy fried chicken filet, and that’s the point.

This Japanese grocery beside Wagaya Japanese restaurant on 14th Street in Midtown includes prepared sandwiches like a pork cutlet katsu or tamago sandwich ready for an easy grab-and-go lunch. Wagaya Grocery features mostly Japanese food products, candies, sake, beer, and ingredients, but does offer a wide selection of Chinese and Korean items.

Elliott Street Deli & Pub in Castleberry Hill has been a tried-and-true neighborhood gathering spot with some of the city’s best sandwiches and cold beers. A spot where the sandwich order is rarely wrong, try the French dip served on a hoagie roll with a side of French onion soup for dipping, the hot pressed fontina cheese sandwich topped with tomatoes, spinach, and a little truffle oil, or the Rachel — a hot pressed pastrami topped with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and 1000 Island dressing.

Owned and operated by chef Justin Dixon, this is the next great Atlanta sandwich shop to watch. Currently located at Tech Square food hall the Collective at Coda, and named for Dixon’s favorite Outkast song, Humble Mumble serves sack lunch sandwiches daily, like the Italian Job stuffed with salami, prosciutto, and soppressata on ciabatta bread and the Senator From Vermont comprising maple glazed ham, Vermont cheddar, apples, and pickled red onions. Keep an eye on Instagram for pop-up locations and sandwiches specials, too, including a meatloaf patty melt.

Owned by chef Aliah Jefferson, this stall at Colony Square food hall Politan Row isn’t messing around with its colossal sandwiches. The tagline for Zaddy’s is “Big Bread. Big Meat.” Look for sandwiches here like the cajun lemon pepper tuna made with albacore tuna and the grilled balsamic veggie with eggplant, zucchini and roasted red pepper with jerk mayo. Be sure to pair a sandwich here with a cup of the daily soup, too.

This Cuban sandwich and coffee shop located inside a converted tiny house serves breakfast and lunch until mid-day. All of the Cubans and other sandwiches on the menu here come served on La Segunda Central Bakery bread — the oldest Cuban bread maker in the United States — and are created using family recipes. Make sure to order flan for dessert, too. Locations are now open in Cumming, Georgia, and at Chattahoochee Food Works food hall in Underwood Hills.

Word to the wise: order whatever daily sandwich special is listed on the menu at Staplehouse Market. Past sandwiches here have included an Italian grinder stuffed with pickled vegetables, salami, pepperoni, and pistachio mortadella and a muffuletta on milk bread with mortadella, hard salami, maple ham, sheep’s milk cheese sauce, broccoli, and olive condiment. Grab a bottle of wine, beer, or a cocktail and head out back to the garden patio.

With locations in Midtown and Candler Park, Sean’s is where to head for sandwiches any time of day in Atlanta, including for a salmon mousse club, a pork butt grilled cheese sandwich topped with blueberry compote, and a bacon, egg, cheddar, and apple panini.

Fred’s at Krog Street Market may be known for its burgers, but one of the best sandwiches on the menu is the Italian grinder. It’s stuffed until overflowing with salami, mortadella, pork, provolone cheese, tomato, lettuce, and cherry peppers topped with oil and vinegar. Also worth an order is the cauliflower and eggplant bánh mì here, topped with pickled carrots and daikon radishes, spicy mayo, jalapeños, cilantro, and Thai vinaigrette.

Located in the heart of Virginia-Highland, this small Italian market and deli features a variety of paninis served on fresh ciabatta bread each day. Keep it classic with a caprese panini. Make sure to check out the daily menu specials here, like bucatini cacio e pepe and spinach salad or linguine with meatballs. Order the cannoli or some gelato here, too. Take it all to go or find a seat at one of the tables on the sidewalk out front.

This Forest Park restaurant draws crowds during lunch clamoring for its burgers, gourmet hot dogs, and big sandwiches, including the fried green tomato BLT, the hot pastrami and Swiss on marble rye, and the Alabama Slammer with chicken tossed in white barbecue sauce and topped with pepper jack cheese, pickled onions, and mushrooms. Add a cup of daily soup or a side salad and make it a combo meal.

As the name states, it’s all about the classic Louisiana po’boy here. Try the the shrimp po’boy topped with spicy remoulade or turn up the heat with Crystal hot sauce and blue cheese or ranch dressing. For a taste of New Orleans, order the muffaletta po’boy with traditional olive salad.

Venture up to Dunwoody and head right to E. 48th Street Market for hero sandwiches stuffed with everything from meatballs, sausage and peppers, and eggplant parmigiana, to portabello mushrooms, chicken salad, and Italian pepper ham.

Some have dubbed this sandwich the “best cheesesteak in town.” For nearly 50 years, the Mad Italian has been a longtime favorite of Atlantans seeking hearty sandwiches and homey pasta dishes. But the cheesesteak here is the move, made with sliced steak topped with griddled onions and slathered in white American cheese. It’s all stuffed inside a toasted hoagie roll shipped straight from a bakery in Long Island.

Located across the street from Kimball House, Kelly’s Market features a deli serving a number of creatively named (and delicious) sandwiches on the menu. This includes hot sandwiches like the Local Yokel with pimento cheese, crispy fried onions, Doux South Mean Green tomatoes, Spotted Trotter bacon, and arugula and the Desilu with Spotted Trotter rosemary ham, roasted pork loin, Swiss cheese, pickles, Duke’s mayo, and yellow mustard on challah bread.

Quoc Huong in the Asian Square complex might just serve the best bánh mì in metro Atlanta. The fresh French bread definitely contributes to this long-held reputation. The favorite order here is the barbecue pork. The shop is cash only, but sandwiches average around $3.50 each. Order five bánh mì, and that sixth one is free.

Mediterranean Bakery and Sandwich focuses on mostly traditional Lebanese cuisine. Make sure to grab one of the hearty wraps here, including the falafel, kafta, or the beef or chicken shawarma sandwich wrap. Each comes with a choice of two sides. The bakery also features a small store carrying imported staples like pickles, hummus, spices, and tobacco for the argileh (hookah) as well as freshly baked breads and baklava.