National Sandwich Day: Here's where to find the best ones in the Columbus area

With Halloween and trick or treating now behind central Ohioans, one of the biggest food holidays is right around the corner.

No, it's actually not Thanksgiving.

It's almost National Sandwich Day, which is on the calendar for Friday. And if there's something the capital city has plenty of, it's a good sandwich.

With the day approaching, The Dispatch compiled a list of some of the greater Columbus area's best-known and most highly-rated sandwich spots.

Here's our list:

German village staples

When beating the bricks on a walk through Columbus's iconic German Village, there are two longtime sandwich shops that might draw passersby in.

One is Katzinger's Delicatessen at the corner of Livingston Avenue and 3rd Street.

The deli, which also has a Dublin location, is known for its "famously big and delicious" sandwiches and also offers salads, desserts, soups, sides and breakfast options, according to its website. The New York-style deli offers both dine-in and carryout service and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The deli was originally opened by Steve and Diane Warren in 1984 and expanded in 1989 and again in 1993, according to the deli's website.

Read More: What are Ohio's most iconic foods? See our list

Deeper into German Village, visitors will find a smaller storefront that often has a line out the door at lunchtime.

The Brown Bag Deli, located at 898 Mohawk St., is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily and offers a wide variety of sandwiches, seasonal side dishes and salads and desserts.

Visitors interested in sitting down for a sandwich can do so indoors or outside if the weather is right. Along with a large selection of unusually flavored sodas alongside classics like Coca-Cola and Sprite, the deli offers bottles of wine, according to its website.

Who knows, you may even run into Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at Brown Bag.

Everything on a bagel

Something else Columbus has no shortage of is bagel places.

From chains such as Einstein Bros. to Sammy's New York Bagels to Barry Bagels, there are several shops serving up sandwiches on bagels.

But, one of the most lauded local bagel shops is located in the heart of Columbus' popular Short North Arts District.

The Lox Bagel Shop, located at 772 N. High St., recently made Bon Appetit’s list of The Very Best Bagels in the U.S. outside of New York. The list highlights shops across the country that have built on the classic bagel, and those that are putting their own regional spin on the savory treat.

A newer addition to the growing culinary scene in the Short North Arts District, the Lox Bagel Shop aims to fill a niche in the local market with creative twists on the beloved sandwich, owner Kevin Crowley told The Dispatch in July.

The shop first opened in December of 2018 and sells "hand-rolled, boiled and baked bagels" that its website describes as "a cross between a New York and Montreal style" made with the highest quality ingredients.

The Lox is open from 7:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. every day, according to its website.

Another institution among Columbus bagel aficionados is Block's Bagels, located at 6115 McNaughten Road on the Far East Side. Block's offers breakfast sandwiches all day, and visitors can select from a wide variety of lunch sandwiches as well as meats, cheeses and "odds and ends" to add to their sandwiches.

Block's Bagels is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Highly rated sandwich shops

Along with The Lox Bagel Shop, several sandwich spots come highly rated from customer reviews.

Wario's Beef and Pork, with 4.5 stars on Yelp, is a well-known Columbus crowd pleaser in Columbus' Arena District.

Located just across the street from Nationwide Arena at 11 W Nationwide Boulevard, Warios's menu offers six main selections including, hot sandwiches, cold cuts and a vegetarian option. Two types of "crispy" spuds are offered as sides.

Another of the most highly rated is Broad Street Bagels and Deli, which is located across the street from the Ohio Statehouse near the corner of 3rd Street and —of course— Broad Street.

The deli, which is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, sells sandwiches on bagels, a variety of different breads and wraps. For those less interested in a sandwich, Broad Street Bagels and Deli also offers a salad bar with a large selection of ingredients.

Central Ohioans interested in straying from the stereotypical sandwich of something between two pieces of bread may be interested in checking out Kolache Republic, a Brewery District option with 4.5 stars on Yelp.

Read More: Block's North Market and Broad Street locations become Fox's Bagel & Deli

A kolache is a Czech pastry baked with fruit, nuts, sweet cheese and meat fillings, according to Kolache Republic's website. The restaurant's menu offers breakfast options, including one with chorizo, jalapeno, egg and cheese and another with sausage, egg and cheese, according to its website.

Kolache Republic, located inside The Daily Growler at 702 S High St., is open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily.

Is it a sandwich or something else?

What makes a good sandwich is, of course, to some extent in the eye of the beholder, or rather, the stomach of the eater.

When it comes to the debate over what qualifies as a sandwich, a broader interpretation adds several more options to Columbus' list of well-regarded restaurants.

If a burger is a sandwich, then the Thurman Café in the German Village would surely make the list.

The café, located at 183 Thurman Ave., famously offers the Thurmanator —a $25 burger loaded with two 12-ounce burgers, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickle, banana peppers, bacon, cheddar, sautéed onions and mushrooms, ham, mozzarella and American cheese. And if that doesn't sound like enough, the burger is also served with fries and a pickle spear, according to the cafe's website.

The Thurman Café is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Again, if a burger is considered a sandwich, then why not include anything served between a bun?

Schmidt's in German Village sells what it describes as "legendary sandwiches," including its bratwurst and Bahama Mama, which is served on a toasted bun and comes with German potato salad for $12. Schmidt's in German Village is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, according to the restaurant's website.

And of course, if bratwurst is considered a sandwich, then so too should hot dogs, right?

In that case, Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace at 248 S. 4th St., in downtown Columbus, has four stars on yelp and offers diners a multi-page menu of hot dog variations, including what it calls its "top dogs." Such delicacies include the CBJ dog -named for the Columbus Blue Jackets and loaded with cheese sauce, bacon bits and jalapenos.

Dirty Frank's is open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, according to its website.

Looking for more?

If there's a sandwich shop or restaurant that you think is missing from this list, let us know on social media.

Send us your thoughts on X, formerly known as Twitter, by tagging @DispatchAlerts. You can also reach out on Facebook by visiting facebook.com/columbusdispatch/. The Dispatch is also on Instagram.

Columbus Monthly, The Dispatch's sister publication, also previously published a list of the 25 best sandwiches in the city.

For more food and restaurant news, follow our new food reporter Bob Vitale's coverage in The Dispatch.

mfilby@dispatch.com

@MaxFilby

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Want a good sandwich on National Sandwich Day? Columbus has you covered