Mackensy Lunsford

mlunsford@citizen-times.com

There's a time and a place for salad. But sometimes, you just want a big, bad sandwich. Here, three sandwich eaters fanned out and tried some of the most gut-busting meals between two pieces of bread that can be found in Asheville. Here are the results.

Sherri's Hot Pastrami ($8.25), Montford Pull Up, 231 Montford Ave.

Montford hasn't historically been known as a dining hot spot, but a small, quality selection of restaurants is growing. Now there's the Montford Pull Up, a little deli tucked away inside the Montford Convenience store.

You'll find a fairly creative menu here. Ferrari's Italiano boasts layers of pork and provolone smeared with smoked tomato jam and piquant pepper relish. The Granny Wallen ups the ante on a standard turkey-and-cheese by layering it with sweet caramelized apple and maple mustard. While the Ferrari is my favorite of the two, Sherri's Hot Pastrami hits the sweet spot with pastrami, roast beef, Havarti, caramelized onion and beer mustard, which begs to be smeared on the shop's pretzel bread.

Con: The salad I ordered promised artisan greens but came instead with yellowed and slimy salad mix, shredded lettuce, whole slices of bacon and soggy potato chips. It went straight into the trash (after I ate the bacon, of course). Call-in orders are encouraged at (828) 273-3287.

-Mackensy Lunsford

Hogzilla ($7.50), 12 Bones Smokehouse, 5 Riverside Drive/3578 Sweeten Creek Road

This triple-threat pork sandwich is named, aptly, after a 1,000-pound feral hog felled in the Deep South. And if you're not careful, this Hogzilla might take you down, too.

Featured in Garden & Gun and the Travel Channel's “Food Paradise," this bodacious sandwich layers sweet and spicy house-cured bacon, springy grilled brats and smoky pulled pork with pepper Jack cheese on a sub roll. Add a splash of the restaurant's Jalapeno Q sauce for good measure and you are, as the cliche goes, in hog heaven.

A hand-written sign on the wall at the flagship Riverside restaurant says a Marine once ate three Hogzilla sandwiches in less than 16 minutes. Nearby scribbles indicate others have tried and failed. Don't try this at home, kids; one is more than enough.

-Mackensy Lunsford

The Grinder ($9.50), Sweeten Creek Brewing, 1127 Sweeten Creek Road.

If I were to imagine a perfect sub, I think this would be it.

As the star of Sweeten Creek Brewing’s inconspicuous Sandwich Shop, the Grinder is hot, juicy and balanced. The genius of the sub — which boasts salami, capicola, smoked ham, provolone, mayo, sub dressing, shredded romaine, tomato, shaved onion and house-made pepperoncini on a lightly toasted french roll — lies in the ratio of bread, meat and veggies.

The salami’s pleasant spiciness is balanced by sweet tomatoes and zingy pepperoncini, while hot juices from the meat and cheese combine with fresh mayo to form drip-down-your-chin goodness.

Bring your appetite and plenty of napkins if you want to order this bad boy, or choose from among the other six creations the Sandwich Shop offers.

-Claire Hansen

Foothills Cuban ($12), Foothills Food Truck, www.foothillslocalmeats.com.

If you think beer and meat make good bedfellows, look no further then Foothills food truck at Hi-Wire Brewing’s Big Top site, 2 Huntsman Place. Foothills is already praised for locally sourced meats, house-made sausages, deli meats and the like. But when you cram those products into a sandwich, the result is the Foothills Cuban.

This beast takes a beautiful crusty Cuban roll and stacks it thick with smoked pork, mojo, Green River Picklers dill slices, Foothills ham, Lusty Monk mustard and Swiss cheese. The sandwich is pressed just enough to keep your jaw from locking up. It’s big, but so good you’ll devour it and want another.

-Matthew DeRobertis

Twisted Philly Steak Sub Combo ($9.50), Twisted Laurel, 130 College St. in Asheville and at 10-A South Main St. in Weaverville.

Cheesy, smoky and gooey, this monstrous hoagie will satisfy your cravings and then some.

Grilled, sliced beef is sauteed with mushrooms, peppers and onions, and served on a buttered, grilled and mayo-smeared sub roll. The Twisted Philly Steak Sub Combo is then smothered in cheese.

The beef is juicy, albeit a little fatty for my taste, and the best bites are those that incorporate peppers, onions and meat at once. The crispy exterior of the hoagie roll balances the gooey goods inside.

The real star of the show may be the subtly seasoned, thin and crispy chips on the side. Expect to bring a to-go box home if you order this one.

-Claire Hansen

Ultra Mega Reuben ($7.75), Loretta’s Café, 114 N. Lexington Ave.

Reubens aren’t known as the shrinking violet of the sandwich world. But Loretta’s Café’s Ultra Mega Reuben is on a whole other level, obliterating the idea that a Reuben is a solely corned beef affair.

This version takes the standard corned beef, sauerkraut, 1000 island and Swiss cheese and adds on an abundance of pastrami and smoked turkey. The sandwich hits both sweet and savory notes in perfect pitch, and will guarantee you won’t leave hungry. Or, as in my case, without a to-go box.

-Matthew DeRobertis

Fried Chicken and Waffle Sandwich ($13.50), Sunny Point Cafe, 626 Haywood Road.

Southern gourmets rejoice: Your new favorite comfort food is here. A twist on this sometimes greasy dish, Sunny Point’s Fried Chicken and Waffle Sandwich is both subtle and indulgent.

The “sandwich”— which really requires a fork and knife — consists of fried chicken, maple-black pepper bacon, pimiento cheese and jalapeno jam, slapped between two sweet potato waffles.

The waffles are more savory than you might expect, letting the sweetness of the maple black pepper bacon and jalapeno jam to collide with the pepper-laden pimiento cheese, all balanced by light and flaky fried chicken. The waffles are thin enough so as to not overwhelm the sandwich, but rather provide a lightly seasoned platform for the other ingredients to shine.

-Claire Hansen

Roast Prime Rib, Asheville Sandwich Company, 794 Haywood Road/491 Sardis Road.

When you find yourself really hungry, like just hiked the Appalachian Trail and subsisted on berries for weeks hungry, re-up with the Roast Prime Rib French Fry sandwich at Asheville Sandwich Company. This is the sandwich that ate your sandwich — and it isn’t sorry.

A take on a cheesesteak, this version takes house-roasted and thinly sliced prime rib, crisped on the griddle with caramelized onions, and layers it all in a toasted hoagie roll. Grated cheddar stands in for Cheese Whiz, then the whole thing is topped with a tangle of crispy shoestring fries. This behemoth will leave you happy and full for days.

-Matthew DeRobertis

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