Sam LaGrassa's is a legendary, family-owned deli in Downtown Crossing, known for its colossal, mouthwatering sandwiches, including the famed pastrami, served quick for a satisfying weekday lunch.
"It wouldn’t be a Boston sandwich map without Sam LaGrassa’s. The downtown restaurant’s menu is vast — like, 50 sandwiches vast — but the move at LaGrassa’s is the splurge-y (with good reason) pastrami. Opt for the devilishly delicious pastrami diablo, which pairs its famous dry-cured and smoked pastrami with barbeque sauce, chipotle mayo, applewood-smoked bacon, jack cheese and hot cherry peppers. The sauces and piled-high meats blend together between a classic round roll for a spicy-fatty-savory mashup." - Erika Adams, Nathan Tavares
"Family-owned and operated since 1968, this self-proclaimed "number one sandwich shop in the world" prides itself on its piled-high pastrami sandwiches. Sam LaGrassa's does brisk weekday lunch business for the Downtown Crossing crowd. Late mayor Tom Menino had been known to say that it serves "the best deli sandwiches in town." - Erika Adams, Katie Chudy
"This is the go-to option for huge sandwiches in Downtown Crossing. Sam LaGrassa’s serves loaded hoagies and sandwiches with pickles, with an array of classic options like pastrami on rye and chicken cutlet parmigiana." - Erika Adams, Dana Hatic
"It wouldn’t be a Boston sandwich map without Sam LaGrassa’s. The downtown restaurant’s menu is vast — like, 50 sandwiches vast — but the move at LaGrassa’s is the splurge-y (with good reason) pastrami. Opt for the devilishly delicious pastrami diablo, which pairs its famous dry-cured and smoked pastrami with barbeque sauce, chipotle mayo, applewood-smoked bacon, jack cheese and hot cherry peppers. The sauces and piled-high meats blend together between a classic round roll for a spicy-fatty-savory mashup." - Terrence Doyle, Rachel Leah Blumenthal, Nathan Tavares
"Sam LaGrassa’s claims to be home to “the world’s number one sandwiches.” We checked with the UN, and it turns out that ranking culturally important sandwiches isn’t something they do, so we can’t completely verify that. But what we can tell you, is that the giant pastrami travelers sandwich on pumpernickel is pretty close to perfect. This old school deli is only open for lunch and it gets very, very busy, but you can order ahead and you should, because eating these meaty sandwiches on the Common is close to an ideal Boston lunch experience." - dan secatore
