Wow! We’re exhausted. The number of entries you submitted this year easily tripled the numbers we waded through each of the first two years of this contest. Not only that, but this year’s entries were far more interesting and exciting. You pulled out the stops, and in many cases the only difference between a winner and an honorable mention was a single ingredient. Just a little of this or a little of that took a sandwich from ordinary to extraordinary.
Like year’s past, the biggest categories were burgers, chicken and pork. Selecting a single top winner in each was brutal, but naming five honorable mentions in each category helped relieve the pressure.
Unfortunately, tons of really great sandwiches didn’t make the cut, and we’re talking about sandwiches we’d eat with relish any day of the week. But that’s life.
Enough talk. Here are this year’s sandwich masters of the universe. We present to you the 2016 winners of Restaurant Hospitality’s Best Sandwiches in America Contest.