15 November 20 - 26, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Best Things on Sliced Bread The 10 top sandwich shops in North Texas right now. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS W hile Dallas isn’t known for its stellar sandwiches, there are plenty to be had. There are several chefs in Dallas doing their part to serve a proper Reuben, Italian sub and meatball, and we’re here for it, dammit. Below is a list of some of our favorite local sandwich shops, some well-known, others new and saucy. Now go out there and support your local sandwich shop. Make us proud. Ari’s Multiple Locations (Trinity Groves, Bishop Arts and Downtown) Ari’s is a locally owned Italian market with a commercial kitchen in Trinity Groves, where they’re baking all manner of traditional Ital- ian meals. But stop by their downtown or Trinity Groves locations for a sandwich or get a “sack lunch” at the Davis Street location. Sandwiches with fresh focaccia bread are stacked with mortadella, mozzarella, pesto, porcetta and giardiniera, literally the essen- tials of a proper Italian sandwich. Sand- wiches are premade (that morning), giving them enough time to marry, but still fresh. The honeymoon phase of sandwich making. Cenzo’s 1700 W. 10th St., Oak Cliff We declared Cenzo’s fried bologna sandwich the best damn sandwich in Dallas last year. We still stand by that, but don’t sleep on the spe- cials, Italian beef or Italian deli. Honestly, we’ve yet to have anything at this charmed-up old gas station we don’t like — except when it’s closed for private events, which is only a testa- ment to its popularity. Annoying, but we get it. Everything here is made in-house, including the pizza dough and sauces, which is why this spot is on our top 100 restaurants list. Happy hour here is great ($5 frozen swirls from 3 to 6 p.m., Monday – Thursday), and at lunch, you can get a half a meatball sandwich for $8.50, or half an Italian for $8. Cindi’s New York Deli Multiple Locations This is an old-school Dallas institution for New York-style deli fare, and is regularly one of our favorite spots for sandwiches and breakfast. They’re not messing around with the Reuben here: it’s stacked larger than your pie hole on rye bread with sauer- kraut and Swiss. There are all sorts of pas- trami and corned beef numbers (even with chopped liver and onions and tongue). Dino’s Subs 2221 S. Collins St., Arlington This old-school New York-style deli has a line to the door during lunch most days. It’s a simple, no-fuss space with the same mis- matched tables and chairs for decades. There are a slew of Italian-style sandwiches; The Big D (for Dino, not Dallas) comes with baked ham, peppered beef, salami, Bologna, pepperoni, cappocollo and cheese. Order double meat and get it Dino dressed, which means more sauce and spices. Get a beer to go (some old grandfathered-in law), but don’t dally around in the line; be ready to or- der even if you’re several people back — there’s a system, respect it. Enzo’s Deli and Imports 4017 Preston Road, Plano Heard of Enzo’s? Better get in that game, if not. This market and restaurant specializes in food and recipes from Southern Italy, where owner Michael Martin spent time as a kid. In a first look, Hank Vaughn wrote about the Amalfitana and meatball sand- wiches, prepared as ordered, and Vaughn added, “The deli section has several tradi- tional meats such as capocollo, guanciale, speck [lightly smoked, dry-cured ham] and prosciutto, along with some that are a bit more difficult to find like mortadella pista- chio or nduja salame.” Goodfriend Package 1155 Peavy Road, White Rock Lake Area Consider The Gigantor: ham, roast beef, tur- key, pickled sweet peppers, Swiss, LTO, Italian vinaigrette and mayo. There’s a roast beef with a herb-crusted eye of round, a French Dip with the same beef and caramelized onions and a house au jus. Yes, the chefs at Goodfriend cure and smoke the beef pastrami in-house. For the Reuben, the corned beef and saurkraut are all prepared in-house as well. The biscuit sand- wiches get around as well. Jimmy’s Food Store 4901 Bryan St. People take a lot of photos outside Jimmy’s holding their sandwiches, and they’re not even influencers. This is Dallas’ most iconic sandwich spot. We proclaimed the meatball sandwich the most iconic sandwich in Dal- las, but the muffuletta is a personal favorite. Hank Vaughn fancies the pochetta (photo at top). This is a traditional bodega-style deli with rows of imported groceries to peruse while sandwiches are being made. The wine selection is also fantastic. Po’Boy Shop 8421 Westchester Drive We’re excited to have a dedicated po’boy shop. This new spot is from Evan Meagher, born in Lafayette, Louisiana. He’s the pro- prietor of Evan’s Meat Market, meaning the meats are house-cured. Party tip: get there early for muffulettas. Trade’s Delicatessen 312 W. Seventh St., Bishop Arts Trade’s in Bishop Arts offers about a dozen hot and cold sandwiches each. It’s a small, cozy space with a European cafe feel and a brewery connected next door. They offer ev- erything from Italian sandwiches (with mortadella, soppressata, pepperoni and more) to pastrami on fresh-baked rye and Reubens. In addition to breads (and bagels), they make their giardiniera (regular and spicy). The French Dip aspires to be “the best in Texas. Keep an eye on Instagram for monthly and daily specials, where things can get downright dangerous. Weinberger’s Deli 601 S. Main St., Grapevine This deli, located along busy Main Street in Grapevine, can have a line out the door on a nice Saturday. Fans love the Chicago-style deli, which was voted the best deli in Texas by Eat This, Not That. The California Pas- trami is a top seller: grilled pastrami, melted Swiss cheese, au jus (ladled on, not dipped) and giardiniera on a grilled ba- guette. The Joe King comes with hot pas- trami, Swiss and a creamy cole slaw, Russian dressing and red onion on a grilled marble rye. ▼ OPENINGS BOOGIE NIGHTS ANEW CAN THE NEW KNOX-HENDERSON BAR BOOGIES FILL THE HOLE BEAUTY BAR LEFT BEHIND? BY ALEX GONZALEZ T he Knox-Henderson renaissance continues with a hot new dance destination. Last month, Boogies fi- nally opened its doors in the space previ- ously occupied by The Whippersnapper. Owned by Brandon Hays and Phil Schan- baum of This & That Hospitality, along with DJ Jake Gatewood — founder of the beloved Take a Break dance series — Boo- gies serves as a sonic dreamland, where visitors can groove into the early hours of the morning. It also brings back the feel- ing of a space that’s been missing for the past half-decade. In the 2010s, Beauty Bar, located across from Boogies in what is now a construction site, was one of Dallas’ most popular places to dance. Set inside a small white house de- signed to look like a beauty salon, visitors would drink, dance their asses off to DJ sets — Blake Ward and DJ Sober being regular fixtures — and form new friendships by way of the power of music. During its time, Beauty Bar saw quite a bit of transformations. In 2019, after nine years in Knox-Hen- derson, Beauty Bar relocated to Deep Ellum. The space was bigger, allowing for more room to dance and higher-quality sound equipment. But as was the case for many be- loved restaurants, bars, and clubs in Dallas, Beauty Bar fell victim to COVID-19, and ulti- mately closed its doors in 2020. In the years to follow, several bars have hosted pop-ups of their own to encourage Dallasites to get out and dance. There was Jessi Perreira’s monthly Paradise series at Tiny Victories, which launched in 2021 — during which DJ Sober spun ‘90s and 2000s hip-hop tunes throughout the night in a house party setting. He launched a similar series — Somethin’ Somethin’ — over at the now-closed Desert Racer. We’d be remiss if we didn’t include Bishop Arts’ LadyLove or the Design District’s Hank Vaughn Sandwiches from Jimmy’s are budget friendly. | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish Robert Underwood Boogies’ DJ Booth >> p16
