Of all their wood-fired sandwiches, the one that's reached iconic status is the banh mi, a baguette spread with chili aioli and stuffed with crisped pork belly and pickled vegetables, garnished with cucumber, cilantro and jalapeño. Get it with the optional fried egg and housemade pate add-ons, because you deserve it.

Exceedingly craveable, the brie and honey sandwich hits all the right notes. Between grilled slices of the bakery's levain bread (a rustic sourdough) lies a perfect marriage of melted cheese, sweet honey, crunchy walnuts and salty bacon.

The sandwich: Turkey Cobb. All the goodness of a cobb salad, plus bread. The turkey's layered with applewood-smoked bacon, gorgonzola, avocado, house-roasted tomatoes and lettuce. A half-sandwich is plenty, but you'll be glad you ordered a whole one. Honorable mention goes to the Almost Grilled Cheese, a melty mix of brie and gorgonzola on the bakery's rosemary olive oil bread.

Skip the adjacent restaurant but don't miss the deli for Italian groceries and delicious sub sandwiches. The Caprese dresses mozzarella, tomato and basil with olive oil and balsamic; add some slices of spicy soppressata for an extra kick.

They may have moved to bigger and fancier digs, but their grilled fish sandwiches, served on a torta roll, remain pure and simply delicious. Get whatever fish is fresh and local (sea bass, halibut, grouper); ask for it to be basted with lemon butter and olive oil and garlic.

A gourmet cheese shop's grilled cheese sandwich should be perfect, and this one's pretty close, with an oozy blend of aged cheddar and French comte that's nutty and sharp. Tomato soup is the ideal accompaniment; The Cheese Store's version is smoothed with a touch of cream.

Its a no-frills sandwich, but there's something deeply satisfying about this combo of pillowy-soft sourdough swaddling a generous pile of lightly-breaded scallops, all bound together with housemade tartar sauce.

BFD's most popular sandwich, dubbed ‘Loins of Fire’, piles slices of house-roasted chili pork loin with roasted poblanos, pickled onions, cilantro, and lettuce on a garlic aioli-smeared torpedo roll.

The sandwich: The "Siren". Toasted brioche is a buttery cradle for this sea-to-sandwich shop's signature, stuffed with garlicky sauteed shrimp, a bit of melted cheese, tomato relish, fried garlic bits and a squirt of hot sauce and garlic mayo.

The sandwich: The Small Boy. Filled with Coop's beef brisket or pulled pork, smoked low and slow over hickory and oak, or his fine housemade sausage. A heartier Big Boy sandwich is offered, but get the small version so you can also try the pork ribs.

The sandwich: Roast pork loin. Sliced wafer-thin and meltingly tender, the house-roasted pork is seasoned with cilantro and spices and complemented by sweet and spicy mustard and melted cheese. The La Jolla Shores shop's rendition always tastes better than its downtown counterpart, maybe because you can walk the sandwich over to the beach and eat with your toes in the sand.