Am I alone in spending the last several Wednesday’s watching Adam Richman’s show about his search to find the Best Sandwich In America?  Now that his search is over, a suggestion from one of my blog readers challenged me to a similar quest.  That’s how I found myself at Gioia’s Deli this weekend.

As always, I did my homework before my visit.  95% like Gioia’s on Urbanspoon and most suggest to try the hot salami.  Once I arrived, I grabbed a number and waited my turn.  The place was busy at 1pm on a Saturday.   I ordered the hot salami with the garlic cheese bread, pepper cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mustard.  While I was waiting for it to be toasted, 8 out 10 people ordered the same sandwich.  That was a good sign.

Look at the melted cheese!

The sandwich wasn’t particularly photogenic, and I wasn’t patient enough to try for perfection.  I couldn’t wait to dive right in while it was still hot.

Slightly different angle to see the salami

There was a generous amount of the thick slices of the salami.  It was soft, earthy, and slightly salty.  The rest of the toppings were fresh but respected the star of the show.   I had a late breakfast so I struggled to finish the thing.  However, I wasn’t going to waste a bite so I pulled through.

The verdict.   With places like this, why waste your time going to some chain to get a $5 anything.  Yes this will cost a little more and will take a little more time, but it’s worth it for the quality.  Jared wouldn’t have lost any weight eating these tasty sandwiches!  Is it the best sandwich in St. Louis?  That’s a tough call, but I’m sure it will be top 5.

Dive 2 Five Scale – 3.  Family oriented local business.  There was a line the entire time I was there so it will continue to do a good business well into the future.  There is limited seating inside but there is some great street-side seating.  Nothing overly fancy about this place.  The focus is all about giving you a great sandwich that will make sure you will be back.