Global `Wich Hunt: From Banh Mi to Chacarero

This Spanish gourmet shop, laden with sheep's cheese, Marcona almonds and whole legs of Jamon Iberico dangling behind the counter, is the retail sibling to next door tapas joint Estragon. Sure, you could breeze through for precious cans of olive oil or white asparagus, but the made-to-order rustic, flavorful Spanish sandwiches called bocadillos should jump into your basket as well. Play it seductively simple with the Dona Camilla (Serrano ham, Estragon's tomato salsa, extra-virgin olive oil) or please your palate with the Las Ventas (tortilla Espanola, caramelized cubanelle peppers and alioli de jerez).

All but the mighty find themselves terrified when faced with the "Michael's Choice" sandwich. Be brave, swallow any trepidation and dive right in to the mountain of sandwich with its four inches' of hand-carved roast beef and beef brisket lording over two skinny slices of toasted dark rye bread. Slathered with horseradish sauce and tempered with a pair of rightfully knobby dill pickles, the steamy behemoth begs to be tamed--just call yourself the sandwich whisperer. Hey, what else can you expect from a deli that screams old-school Jewish New York with knishes, heaps of potato salad and cans of Dr. Brown's peeking from the long glass counter? What, indeed.

It's a wonder that the banh mi, that wondrously inexpensive and piquant sandwich of Vietnam, isn't as ubiquitous as the burrito. The magical combination of so-crispy-it-shards sliced baguette, coldcuts and pork pate, carrots and cilantro, plus daubs of Asian mayonnaise and sprinkling of tiny-yet-potent chilies--it's hard to believe you can get all that for about three buckaroos. And Mei Sum's version (ask for it spicy) is stellar, but don't wait too long after the lunch hour, as it invariably sells out.

The first time you experience a Chacarero, the restaurant's version of the Chilean `wich, expect life to change forevermore. Those insane queues at lunchtime! The hauntingly simple decision between original or barbecue chicken or beef ... or possibly a combo! But always, always saying yes to the inquiry, "With everything?" All parts of perfection, the sum much greater than the whole: moist grilled meat topped with Muenster cheese, slathered with avocado spread, crowned with steamed green beans and fresh tomato, squirted with hot sauce, sprinkled heartily with salt and pepper and housed in a massive homemade bun. It's enough to raise the eyebrows of the uninitiated, but after one bite, the truth shall set you free.

There's plenty of appeal to this tiny stopover right off Central Square--we're certainly not discounting its faux-medieval facade left over from a previous life as a White Castle. The roll-up menu ably doles all the favorites--falafel, kabab, shawarma--but it's the curve-balls that are worth a try, like the foul sandwich, with chunkily smooshed fava beans, tart pomegranate seeds and lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley upping the fresh texture and tang. Open during lunch to the ridiculously, wondrously late hour of 3am on Wednesday through Saturday, the homey counter-service spot is a shoo-in for a cheap thrill coddled lovingly in Syrian bread.