I spent nearly a decade in Las Vegas, Nevada. While in that town, I came to know and love a sandwich shop imported from Delaware. Something you should know: I’m not a huge sub fan. They’re okay, but they’re nothing special, as far as I am concerned. Capriotti’s was different, though. Their soft bread, fresh ingredients, and signature sandwiches with unexpected ingredients won me over and made me a huge fan.

When I arrived in town, there was one outlet on Sahara, just west of The Strip. By the time I left, there were at least two more: One on Sunset, somewhat near the airport; and one in the northwest, near enough to where I lived that I would sometimes stop by on the way home from town. As of now, there are 27 restaurants across the valley… A valley more than a thousand miles away from my current residence.

You can, then, imagine my surprise and thrill when I happened to read on Capriotti’s Facebook feed that they had opened a single store in the state where I live now, and this only an hour away from me! Tonight was the first time I’d been free to visit, and I was extremely excited.

When GPS warned me that I had but a mile and a half to go, I started looking to determine on which side of the street my destination would be (I know; I have an old-school unit that doesn’t divulge that information for me). Once I closed in on a half mile, I started looking at the strip mall street signs.


Immediately upon spotting the familiar curvy black writing, I burst into tears! I actually had to pull over and compose myself before I could drive around the parking lot to find the restaurant.

Speaking of “restaurant,” I found this version of the store to be much more eat-in friendly than the shops I frequented in Las Vegas. After composing myself in the restroom, I headed to the register to place my order… and promptly began to cry again. The cashier offered to take my order, and I placed one, all right.

“You must be hungry!” she said. She had no idea.

After paying what I typically pay for a week’s groceries, I went around the corner to watch the team members prepare my glorious dinner.

While one put together my turkey sandwich, another prepared my pastrami. After it was good and hot, a whole mess of cheese joined the party. This is barely a hint of the goodness to come. Watching them both try to cram the contents in between the buns was magical in and of itself. A Vegas friend of mine told me to enjoy, because six months from now they will half the meat content to help boost profits. For now, I’m going to take full advantage of their new-store generosity!

Several minutes later, product in hand, I headed outside to enjoy my bounty.

I might have gone a bit overboard.

The first sandwich I tried was what I remember as being my favorite: The Bobbie. It is freshly-cooked turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and mayonnaise.

Before I ate a Bobbie, I had never been able to force cranberry sauce into my pie hole. Since then, I have purchased it myself, just to make this sandwich at home. That is doable, but it’s not the same. This beautiful baby did not disappoint me. Every bite is full of fun flavors playing together like the cousins at the kids’ table on Thanksgiving. The turkey was moist and tender, the stuffing perfect (and, yes, I realize this is bread on bread; like CiCi’s macaroni and cheese pizza, the carb overload just works), and the double-condiment punch of mayo and cranberry sauce is absolutely heavenly.

Next, I opened up the Capistrami. It is hot pastrami, Swiss cheese, cole slaw, and Russian dressing. May I be honest here? I groaned in abject pleasure while consuming this sandwich. So. much. to. love. First, there is the temperature variance between the just-griddled pastrami and cheese versus the cold cole slaw. Then there are the textural differences. The softness of the meat and cheese playing against the crispy salad. And the flavor profiles are messing with the mouth, even just within the meat. The pastrami has a mild, buttery flavor with a peppery edge. That coupled with the Swiss cheese and Russian dressing is almost sweet, and then comes the vinegary punch of the cole slaw. My goodness, it’s tempting to go yank my left-overs out of the refrigerator right this moment.

Do you SEE that melty cheese? This sandwich is incredible. They have a similar offering I have tried before called the Slaw Be Jo. It is roast beef, provolone, cole slaw, Russian dressing, and mayonnaise. That one’s good, too. But there is something special about my new obsession. I am going to have to figure out a way to warm up the meat/cheese/bun properly while keeping the cole slaw cool and crisp. I’ll let you know if I figure it out.

In the meantime, if you live anywhere near a Capriotti’s, do yourself a favor and visit posthaste. Oh, and I have a tip for you: There was a lady I saw sitting there eating a bag of chips with her sandwich. I have no idea why anyone would do that. You can have chips from the vending machine at work. Here, the sandwich is the thing. Enjoy it. Fill up on it. Don’t dilute the pleasure with Frito-Lay products (no offense, Frito-Lay).

Good night, and I hope your dreams are as pleasant as mine are sure to be!