Asparagus Rolls
Buttered white bread rolled around a single asparagus spear, tips visible; elegant, seasonal tea sandwich.
Andrew Lekashman
Arbroath Smokie Sandwich
Haddock hot-smoked to the bone in a barrel fire, flaked warm onto buttered bread. Not a kipper, not cold-smoked salmon: a cooked fish, and a name protected to one Angus coast.
Anchovy Toast
Mashed anchovies with butter on thin toast; strong, salty tea sandwich.
Anchovy Paste Sandwich
Anchovy paste on bread; very salty, intense.
All-Day Breakfast Sandwich
A full cooked breakfast folded into one bap, the cook draining and banking the wet items so the bread survives. The full English made portable, served all day in greasy-spoon cafes.
Zep
The zep is Norristown's long-roll sandwich, defined by its refusals: one meat, salami, never lettuce, thumb-thick raw onion, oregano, and oil. Named for a zeppelin around 1938.
Z-Man
At Joe's Kansas City the onion rings go inside the brisket sandwich: smoked brisket, smoked provolone, and fried rings sealed under the kaiser, named for a radio host who called himself the Z-Man.
Wrap Sandwich
Any sandwich filling rolled in a flour tortilla or lavash; 1990s health-food trend that became permanent American sandwich format.
Whiz Wit
Cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz and onions; purist's choice.
White Hot
Uncured, unsmoked pork and veal hot dog; Rochester regional specialty.
White Castle Slider
Five holes in the patty, a griddle carpeted with onions, the bun cooking on top of the beef: the 1921 Wichita original that launched the first fast-food chain and sold America on ground beef.
Whataburger Patty Melt
Two patties, Monterey Jack, grilled onions and a creamy pepper sauce on buttered Texas toast: the diner patty melt rebuilt to run through a drive-thru, Whataburger's own.
Whataburger Original
Five-inch bun with large beef patty, mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions; Texas-born chain (1950), beloved across the South. Cu...
Whataburger Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Sandwich
Chicken strips with honey BBQ sauce, lettuce, and tomato on a toasted bun; Texas late-night staple.
Western/Denver Sandwich
The Western, or Denver, is an omelet built to behave like a filling: ham, onion, and green pepper bound in a set egg slab on dry white toast. Its name is older than every restaurateur who claimed it.
Western Bacon Cheeseburger
Carl's Jr. built its name on this one: a charbroiled patty, Cherrywood bacon, battered onion rings folded inside the bun, and barbecue sauce where the ketchup would be.
West Virginia Pepperoni Roll
Pepperoni baked inside a yeast bread roll, grease melting into the dough; invented 1927 by Giuseppe Argiro for coal miners needing portab...
Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Wendy's Spicy Chicken: cayenne and paprika fried into a breaded breast, lettuce and tomato and mayonnaise on a toasted bun, no spicy sauce; introduced 1996, permanent in 1998.
Wendy's Baconator
Two quarter-pound beef patties with six strips of bacon, two slices of American cheese, ketchup, and mayo; Wendy's premium burger since 2...
Wedge (Westchester)
In a stretch of suburban New York the Italian sub is a wedge, and nowhere else is. The word draws a small dialect border a few towns wide, and ordering one is a quiet way of saying where you are from.
Wawa Gobbler
Hot turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce folded into a roll at a gas-station counter. The Wawa Gobbler is Thanksgiving dinner as a hoagie, sold only a few weeks a year.
Wawa Classic Hoagie
Italian deli meats on a hoagie roll customized via touchscreen kiosk; Wawa convenience stores are a Mid-Atlantic institution, annual 'Hoa...
Walleye Sandwich
A lean, sweet freshwater fillet fried fast and light on a soft bun, the walleye sandwich is the Upper Midwest's lake fish in one hand. It belongs to the Friday fish fry and the shore lunch alike.