This tiny Italian market in Pasadena specializes in fresh pasta made in-house, but if you leave without grabbing a sandwich, you’ve made a grosso errore. The five sandwiches on the menu are simple (i.e., four ingredients maximum), built with quality imported meats and housemade spreads on Bub & Grandma’s baguettes. We love the spicy salami with arugula and Calabrian chili butter, but if you’re only getting one, make it the mortadella.

Fabby Sandwicherie is a tiny counter in Downtown that makes tortas using chewy Jalisco-style birotes and fillings that belong on a French bistro menu: Mushroom coq au vin and pommes puree are mashed up with things like melted quesillo and escabeche. The result is luxurious sandwiches that are so good we’ll forgive the abysmal parking situation on Broadway. There’s a short menu of six tortas, the best being the beef bourguignon.

LA is no stranger to good pastrami (hello Canter's, hey there Wexler’s), but let’s make one thing clear: Langer’s is the best. This Westlake institution has been serving classic deli staples since 1947, like matzo ball soup, homemade coleslaw, and a creamy macaroni salad that’s beautifully simple. However, you’re here for the #19. It's the Langer’s signature of thick-cut pastrami sandwiched between two slices of their famous twice-baked rye and smothered in swiss cheese, dressing, and coleslaw.

Whenever we land at LAX, there are two things on our minds. The first is finding the bathroom, and the second is the tuna conserva sandwich from Gjusta. Is Gjusta in Venice a traditional sandwich shop? Maybe not, considering they’re open all day and offer roast chickens, pizza, smoked fish plates, etc. But Gjusta excels in the sandwich department. The bread is baked in-house, and the fillings hit that cliche California sweet spot of farmers' market ingredients and well-sourced meats.

We always hope that reboots are as good as the one the people behind Mizlala pulled off at this historic walk-up window in West Adams. Johnny's Pastrami combines everything you want in an old-school deli stand (a fast food-style menu, exceptional pastrami, life-affirming matzo ball soup) with nice touches like serving their sandwiches on Tartine marble rye. We particularly love the French Dip pastrami, which is about as thick as a football and perfect to split.

This classic daytime-only Iranian spot on Westwood Blvd is best known for its beef tongue, and rightfully so—it's a meaty, tangy masterpiece that deserves all of its hype. But it shouldn’t be the only sandwich you order here. We love their kuku sabzi, an herb-based frittata, or the juicy beef koobideh on thin, chewy sangak bread. Also, come any day of the week and experience a front patio that turns into the social heart of the neighborhood each afternoon.

Tell anyone in the LA area that you’re eating in Santa Monica and they’ll be like, “Please bring me a Godmother.” And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that they’re not asking you for a new family member, they’re asking you for Bay Cities’ most famous sandwich: a stack of meats (prosciutto, ham, salami, mortadella, and capicola), cheeses, and peppers on delightfully crackly bread.

Jeff’s Table isn’t the first deli hidden behind a liquor store in Highland Park—they’re not even the first one to occupy the space they’re in. But hidden or not, this is one of our favorite places to get a sandwich in the neighborhood. If you’re really hungry, get the “Jeff’s Special”—hot pastrami, sauerkraut, and what’s basically a big parmesan crisp on rye—or the “Dirty Baby,” which is a turkey salad sandwich that involves housemade chili crisp, two kinds of smoked cheese, and pickled onions.

Ggiata is a new-school Italian deli with a decidedly old-school menu. You’ll find sandwiches filled with things like crispy chicken cutlets drenched in savory vodka sauce, meatball parmesan, and tangy grilled balsamic chicken with roasted red peppers. Though there are a few traditional cold cuts to be had, most of Ggiata’s sandwiches feel more like Italian suppers on bread.

This upscale Italian sandwich counter in Beverly Hills makes massive, luxurious sandwiches that are the epitome of decadent. That sounds a bit dramatic, but it’ll make sense when you see these fluffy slabs of focaccia lined with prosciutto parma, truffle cream, olive paté, and white onion agrodolce. The mortadella with salty parmesan spread and toasted pistachios for crunch is our current favorite, but there’s not a single flop on this menu.

Wax Paper isn’t your standard sandwich spot. There is no deli case filled with cured meats or a mile-long menu of subs. Instead, you’ll find a quirky counter in a deserted warehouse in Frogtown (or Chinatown) that combines just-baked bread, fresh produce, and listener-supported public radio. Sandwiches come on loaves of Bub & Grandma’s and are named after NPR hosts like the Terry Gross, which is filled with roast turkey, green chili aioli, a jalapeño/radish slaw, and pepper jack cheese.

Larchmont Wine & Cheese is a classic sandwich counter where things feel simple. It’s like being transported back to the ’60s or finally realizing you only need one streaming service and canceling all the others. Sandwiches here are uncomplicated and straightforward, with high-quality ingredients as king. Our go-to order is the #5, a baguette topped with imported prosciutto, mozzarella, and arugula, but the off-menu El Conquistador is also a great option.

This 50-something-year-old fromagerie is the only historic landmark in Beverly Hills we don’t mind visiting over and over again. The shop is filled with crates of wine, imported jams, and wheels of cheese, and you can order from a tight list of seven sandwiches while cheesemongers offer you nibbles of French butter. The baguette sandwiches are pricey ($16-$19), but the fillings feel as luxe as everything else in the 90210.

This seven-by-ten-foot trailer has been around since the ’90s and continues to make some of the best tortas you’ll find in Los Angeles. The South Central operation specializes in Mexico City-style sandwiches with fillings like breaded steak, pork leg, and chorizo. Torta Movil has changed things up over the years though, and offers vegan options, too, like one with soyrizo, potatoes, and mushrooms on a soft telera roll.

Open Market is a hybrid cafe-corner store on the bottom floor of an office building in Koreatown that happens to serve food so good it’ll make you squeal. This counter-service spot is open for breakfast and lunch, serving things like lattes, pastries, salads, and one-of-a-kind sandwiches. From “Alhambra” Hainanese chicken salad to the “Mariposa," filled with al pastor oyster mushrooms, each one has a personality of its own.

Tre Mani is a lunchtime-only sandwich pop-up inside Ghisallo in Santa Monica that makes schiacciata sandwiches. The incredible bread is baked by Jyan Isaac next door (one of LA’s best bakeries) and is spongy and fluffy on the inside, and crackly on the outside. Ghisallo brings the filling to the party, and the results are glorious: mortadella with horseradish and fennel, salty salami punched up with sweet blueberry jam, and roasted eggplant with a hit of Calabrian chili heat.

Lady & Larder is the type of spot you might see on a lifestyle blogger's curated Instagram feed. This pink Santa Monica shop caters to all of your wine, flower, and artisanal cheese needs, but its secret sandwich menu makes it a top priority for your lunch rotation. From 12-3pm, you’ll find sandwiches that sound like a high-end charcuterie board stuffed into a chewy baguette. You can’t go wrong with the Day Dreamer slathered with fromage blanc and thinly sliced turkey.

This Glassell Park cafe from well-known bread icons Bub & Grandma’s is a cute homage to the American diner, complete with cushy white booths, a wrap-around counter and a rotating pie case. While the lunch menu has more sandwiches on it (we like the mustard-y tuna salad and veggie-stacked antipasti), the best one overall is served at breakfast: the egg and cheese. It’s a simple, perfectly built breakfast sandwich and one of the only reasons we’ll leave the house before 9am on the weekends.

This blink-and-you-miss-it French takeout window in Melrose Hill is a very unassuming place to grab a sandwich, but if you’re craving straightforward, high-quality fillings on baguettes that are baked in-house each morning, you won't regret lunch at Maison Matho. Our favorites include the jambon-beurre, made with curls of shaved ham, creamy yellow butter, and crunchy cornichons, and the spaghetti squash, which comes cooked in a fragrant French-style curry blend.

Roma Market is more of a grocery store than a sandwich shop, but considering how incredible their one sandwich is, this guide would be remiss without its presence. The sandwich itself is nameless and can be found each day pre-wrapped and stacked on the deli counter in the back. It’s also remarkably simple: just a couple of slices of provolone and some cured meat (specifically capicola, mortadella, and salami) on a fresh roll. But with ingredients this excellent, it’s all a sandwich really needs.