A sandwich at The Napa Deli, a deli in Fairfield, California.
out of 100 · excellent
Excellent. Small moves left on the board.
Reads as a fully realized italian sub, six of six roles on the board.
Holding the summit: complete structure
More acid than 90% of the catalog.
Each bar is one pillar of the score, 0 to 100. The tick marks what a sandwich at the summit needs; an amber bar is the one holding this sandwich back.
ciabatta roll, served cold: ham; salami; provolone; lettuce; tomato; onion; pickle; pepperoncini; olives; mayonnaise; dijon mustard; oil & vinegar.
Balance
| Axis | Value | Catalog percentile |
|---|---|---|
| salt | 2.4 | 90th |
| acid | 1.9 | 90th |
| fat | 2.2 | 53rd |
| sweet | 0.4 | 47th |
| umami | 1.5 | 52nd |
| heat | 0.2 | 63rd |
| bitter | 0.2 | 70th |
97 Balance, out of 100
The seven flavor axes of the whole sandwich, each summed across its layers. The shaded ring is the catalog's middle 80%; the small number under each axis is where this sandwich falls in the catalog. A shape that sits inside the ring is in the range most sandwiches live in; a spike past it is where this one stands apart.
What each layer brings
| Layer | Role | Flavor and texture | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| ciabatta rollscored as Ciabatta | bread | soft chewy crusty | the frame |
| ham | protein | salt 4 umami 4 fat 3 soft silky tender | +7 |
| salami | protein | salt 4 fat 4 umami 4 chewy silky | +7 |
| provolone | protein | fat 3 umami 3 salt 2 soft melty | +7 |
| lettuce | texture | crunchy juicy fresh | −2 |
| tomato | texture | acid 3 umami 3 sweet 2 juicy soft fresh | −2 |
| onion | texture | sweet 2 crunchy juicy fresh | −3 |
| picklescored as Pickle (cucumber) | acid | acid 5 salt 4 crunchy juicy pickled | −8 |
| pepperoncini | acid | acid 4 salt 2 pickled crunchy wet | −6 |
| olivesscored as Olives (olive salad, tapenade) | texture | salt 4 fat 3 bitter 2 chewy brined | −3 |
| mayonnaise | sauce | fat 5 acid 2 creamy saucy | −5 |
| dijon mustard | not scored | ||
| oil & vinegarscored as Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar) | sauce | acid 4 fat 4 salt 2 saucy wet | −3 |
Points: what the Sandwich Score would lose if that one layer were left out, everything else the same. A negative number means the sandwich scores higher without it. Flavor runs 0 to 5 on each axis.
Pairings
- Ham + Salami: salami and ham, the deli's double cure
- Ham + Pickle (cucumber): the cubano lesson: brine cuts cured pork
- Salami + Provolone: italian sub spine: salami and provolone
- Salami + Pepperoncini: hot pickled peppers cut fatty salami
- Salami + Olives (olive salad, tapenade): muffuletta logic: cured pork and brine
- Salami + Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar): vinaigrette cuts fatty salami, sub shop law
- Provolone + Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar): sharp cheese, sharp dressing
- Lettuce + Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar): dressed greens, the sub shop way
- Tomato + Olives (olive salad, tapenade): olive brine against sweet acid
- Tomato + Mayonnaise: summer tomato sandwich: acid on rich
- Tomato + Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar): vinaigrette on tomato, salad logic
- Onion + Olives (olive salad, tapenade): brine and raw bite, the antipasto pair
- Onion + Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar): raw onion in vinegar, the quick pickle
- Pickle (cucumber) + Olives (olive salad, tapenade): greek salad logic: brine and cool crunch
- Pickle (cucumber) + Italian Vinaigrette (oil & vinegar): cucumber in vinegar, a pickle in progress
How to raise it
- Judged as an italian sub: focus is not held against it.
- Between you and 90: complete structure (0.04 short).
All the sandwiches at The Napa Deli · The menu this was read from · Build your own in the Sandwich Builder