EATING LAS VEGAS – The 50 Essential Restaurants – 49. THE GOODWICH

49. THE GOODWICH

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 ELV note: Until The Goodwich opened earlier this year, a good hot sandwich was harder to find than a Mormon distillery. Still less than a year old, it remains the only place to get a a superior version of the meal that made John Montagu famous. Rather than blather on and on about how good The Goodwich’s creations are, we’ll leave it to Mitchell Wilburn to extol its virtues, as he did in a posting back in March. Take it away Mitchell:

Damn man, damn.  I have been so consistently wowed by this place, that I’ve been going back about twice a week.  It does help that it is five  minutes away from my hip (and only slightly dangerous) digs in “The Downtown”, but I would drive from Summerlin consistently and even bear slumming it in Dino’s (and I REALLY don’t like Dino’s) to enjoy these seriously bad-ass sandwiches.

They are occupying the semi-fixed location that Viva Las Arepas once was (now moved down the street to an actual dining room), right out front of Dino’s, conveniently located near the Olympic Gardens gentleman’s club and plenty of the garish kind of weekly-rate motels that make up that part of Vegas.

The Goodwich space is nothing more than a window to order from a a few chairs to devour your sandwich in. What little decor there is is very hip 60s Atomic Age stuff.  It is quite the contrast to the area, but there is a consistent group stopping in for a bite.

The menu is split into a few different pricing tiers: $3 for a quick little booze soaker-upper, $5 for a unique spin on a classic, $7 for a stick-to-your-ribs filling sandwich, and $9 for the ritzy crowd looking for the “Crème de la crème” premium stuff.  Lets take this apart, starting with the…

$3 STUFF:  You got your simple egg on toast and your grilled cheese.  Both of these satisfy the quick thing to stuff in your face either before or after a big night of drinking.  Simple, quick, but done really well.  The Fluff & Nutt however, is a perfect crowd-pleasing dessert.  Griddled white bread, Marshmallow Fluff, Nutella, and a secret crunchy, who’s nearest approximation I can find is some kind of honey-ish breakfast cereal.  Bring the kiddies too.

http://endoedibles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/006-The-Goodwich-31.jpgFluff & Nutt foto by endoedibles.com

$5 STUFF:  There is a sandwich in this category I am seriously considering the best sandwich I’ve had in years.  My usual go-to for an amazing sandwich is on the semi-secret menu at the Carnevino bar, a dry-aged pastrami sandwich with grilled tomatoes and arugula.  That and one of Good Ol’ Coop’s perfect Negronis is a great meal, even at something of a shocking price tag.  But for the Goodwich “Ham &” to surpass that at just a fiver?  You’ve got the salty, savory ham, and they pair that up with aged cheddar, and a house made mostarda (dried blueberries, cranberries, apple, etc. cooked with mustard vinegar, sugar, and wine).  Blew my mind, probably the best danged deal in town, and I mean that with honesty.  Get that one, now, today.  Go.

Ham &

$7 STUFF:  These are all big, meaty, generous sandwiches in a pretty classic style.  The only one that really deviates from the classic is a patty, which is more like a ground beef cheese steak.  They must cook this in the sauce or something, because it isn’t a patty with sauce on it, it is a spicy (might be too spicy for some), creamy sauce dressing loose ground beef.  These are filling as heck, and worth the $7 as a meal in itself.

Patty

$9 STUFF: Oh la la, a sandwich with foie gras mousse?  Could this be really good or really awful?  There has been a trend of really awful “dive-y” food with foie gras on it, so how does their “Foie &” faire?

The mousse is done quite well, preserved the overall rich flavor, the port-braised cabbage is a great sweet/bitter addition, the almonds elevate the flavor well and add texture.

And the crispy chicken skin (add to any sammy for $2!)?  Well that is what a wise man once called “Money”.  Get the “Foie &,” not so you can say “lol foie gras sandwich! XD #selfie #foodporn #sorrynotsorry”, but because it is most definitely a good experience.

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“Foie &” foto by endoedibles.com

The “Span-ish” and “Le Pig” are both just as good as the foie, and definitely indicative of the immense level of passion and thought the two owners put into their sandwiches.

A lucky star must hang over that little shack in front of Dino’s.  Lucky for the owners (Josh Clark and Jake Leslie) — who have and most certainly will be heading to do big things with their food, but even more lucky for the people who get to eat there.

The Goodwich is coming at a time when everyone is scrambling to open a Downtown restaurant, and so many (especially any of the hokey ones they just opened in the Grand or Plaza or whatever else) are not guiding things in the right direction.  If we had more places like The Goodwich, we would be sitting pretty, and downtown would really  be giving The Strip a run for its money!

Get down there, eat every damned sandwich on the menu, come back as often as you can.  There might be no place where the quality is so high and the price is so low anywhere else in Vegas, and you can take that to the bank.

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Josh Clark and Jake Leslie

Favorite dishes: Gosh….I don’t know….maybe you should get…A SANDWICH!??!

THE GOODWICH

1516 S. Las Vegas Blvd. South

702.901.8681

the-goodwich.com

1 thought on “EATING LAS VEGAS – The 50 Essential Restaurants – 49. THE GOODWICH

  1. After reading this review, I’ve eaten there twice in the last two days. This may have been a life-changing experience.

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