Every culture has it’s own tasty handheld dish. Whether we’re talking about the fluffy arepas of Venezuela, the baguette-housed banh mi of Vietnam or the Mexican torta, each one deserves its own hall of fame in the pantheon of great sandwiches. These are the the best sandwiches that represent our corner of the world, Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
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13 Epic Sandwiches of the Twin Cities
The best things since sliced bread met meat

1. Hello Pizza
Edina, MN 55424
The Korean Cowboy is a saucy meatball mashup of all Italian and Korean flavors. A meaty blend of pork and beef is shaped into a massive ball that’s sauced with Korean Gochujang barbecue sauce. It’s salty, sweet and spicy
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2. Rose Street Patisserie
Minneapolis, MN 55410
It makes sense that a world-champion bread baker would built a stunner of a sandwich. Inside the original Linden Hills location and the newer Snelling Avenue spot in Saint Paul, Rose Street serves an exquisite sandwich simply build from tomato, lettuce, mayonnaise, and bacon.
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3. Clancey's Meats & Fish
Minneapolis, MN 55410
This neighborhood butcher shop in Linden Hills is grab and go sandwich heaven. The tender roast beef It’s served on rustic baguette-style bread with sinus-clearing horseradish mustard, tomatoes, lettuce and pickled red onions.
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4. Terzo
Minneapolis, MN 55419
The porchetta sandwiches at Terzo are worth a pilgramage from any corner of the Twin Cities to this South Minneapolis location. Fresh pork belly and shoulder from Iowa’s Fresh Air Pork, are wrapped together, highly seasoned and roasted until heavenly tender-crisp.
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5. Hola Arepa
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Inside this bright turquoise colored restaurant with the tropical vibes, Hola Arepa's succulent pork creation rests upon a bed of black beans, salty cotija cheese and tangy sauce, all nestled in the griddled cornmeal cake.
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6. Dusty's Bar
Minneapolis, MN 55413
It's called a dago (their word - not ours.) This hand-sized sandwich for what it is: perfectly seasoned Italian sausage patty, cuddled up under a layer of mozzarella cheese and graced with fried onions and roasted red peppers all served on a squishy white bun.
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7. Manny's Tortas
Minneapolis, MN 55407
Serving up traditional Mexican sandwiches in two locations on Lake Street, try the sandwich named for owner Manny Gonzalez, Manny’s Special. A torta filled with grilled steak, onion, mushroom, tomato, jalapeño, ham and cheese, avocado, refried beans, lettuce and chipotle pepper mayo. Savory, a bit spicy, salty, and gooey inside a crusty shell of bread.
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8. Brasa Premium Rotisserie
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Slow and low and completely sustainable is the name of the game inside both Minneapolis and St. Paul's Brasa. Run by James Beard Award-winning chef Alex Roberts the Minneapolis and St. Paul locations serve Creole-comfort food. Tender roast pork shoulder is served on ciabatta with an utterly addictive green sauce, and pickled onions.
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9. Maverick's Real Roast Beef
Roseville, MN 55113
There's consistently a line out the door around noontime every weekday at this Roseville strip mall. The patrons know that the pale roast beef, layered onto a soft bun are lunchtime heaven. There's also a whole complimentary condiment bar available for augmenting those unadorned sandwiches.
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10. Iron Ranger
St Paul, MN 55105
This is the other porketta, as opposed to the Italian “porchetta.” Highly seasoned pork shoulder is the dish du jour up on the Iron Range, made with plenty of dried Italian herbs and fennel seed. Every meat market and mama in the area has their own version, but Iron Ranger is the best to be found the the Twin Cities. Putting that meat on bread to soak up all the juices and adding a zip of giardiniera is a taste of Up North heaven.
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11. Pajarito
St Paul, MN 55102
A reimagined cheesesteak by way of Mexico, this torta is a beautiful mess of shaved beef dressed in a cheesy sauce. The sandwich is served on end in a puddle of smokey sauce.
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12. Saint Dinette
Saint Paul, MN 55101
Thin slices of bologna is piled high on a squishy bun and doused in a dead sexy drizzle of cheese sauce and served with a modest pile of pickles.
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13. Brunson's Pub
St Paul, MN 55130
A neighborhood bar on the Eastside of Saint Paul seems a strange place to find a pork belly banh mi worthy of white linen napkins, and yet here we are. Crusty bread is laden with a thick slab of seasoned pork dressed with garlic aioli, jalapeños, basil and cucumbers. It’s not traditional, but is damn tasty.
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