A sandwich at The Napa Deli, a deli in Fairfield, California.
out of 100 · very good
Very good, with one move worth +25.
Leans toward a lox bagel, five of six roles, few layers have a partner.
Holding the summit: a finished composition
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.
everything bagel, served cold: chive & onion spread; smoked salmon; sprouts; capers; sliced tomato.
Worth a look: rare in the Bay Area (5 or fewer shops): Scallion Cream Cheese.
Balance
| Axis | Value | Catalog percentile |
|---|---|---|
| salt | 1.7 | 79th |
| acid | 1.6 | 90th |
| fat | 1.0 | 13th |
| sweet | 0.2 | 27th |
| umami | 1.6 | 54th |
| heat | 0.0 | n/a |
| bitter | 0.4 | 87th |
95 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| everything bagelscored as Bagel | bread | soft chewy | the frame |
| chive & onion spread | not scored | ||
| smoked salmonscored as Salmon | protein | fat 3 umami 3 soft flaky tender | +21 |
| sprouts | texture | crunchy juicy fresh | +5 |
| capersscored as Caper | acid | salt 4 acid 4 brined pickled wet | +8 |
| sliced tomatoscored as Tomato | texture | acid 3 umami 3 sweet 2 juicy soft fresh | −1 |
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
- Salmon + Caper: briny pop against rich cured fish
All the sandwiches at The Napa Deli · The menu this was read from · Build your own in the Sandwich Builder