The Meditate My Direction—braised greens and cheese pressed on a baguette—unfolds in layers. Silky mustard greens are piled onto raclette, melted as smooth as a cream sauce and threaded with crunchy Marcona almond chili crisp and flecks of lemon zest. A sandwich from Thank You Kindly, the grab-and-go spot that operates out of North Naples’ Bicyclette Cookshop at lunchtime, shows how a James Beard Award semifinalist approaches the humble handheld.
At least five new sandwich spots have opened in recent years across Southwest Florida as accomplished chefs embrace the format as a canvas for playful, ambitious spins on casual favorites. From Thank You Kindly and All Too Well in Naples to Wichcraft Handcrafted Gourmet Sandwiches in Bonita Springs, kitchens turn out modern stacks and classic deli-counter compositions refined through impeccable sourcing and technique. Endlessly interpretable, the sandwich proves an apt showcase for culinary craft, with every decision visible in the cross-section.
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Photography by Christina Bankson
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Nearly every ingredient at Wichcraft Handcrafted Gourmet Sandwiches in Bonita Springs is made in-house, including smoked meats and beef tallow-fried potato chips.
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Photography by Christina Bankson
new swfl sandwich shops witchcraft sandwich shop
The foundation is bread, and importer Landert Bread supplies some of our best restaurants, including Thank You Kindly. At their Naples cafe, the family also makes a small batch of sandwiches daily, often a French-style ham-and-cheese, on their rustic demi baguettes and triangle-shaped pretzel croissant rolls. “The bread isn’t just a means to eat what’s in the sandwich,” Alexandra Landert says. “When you have really great bread, it elevates the whole thing.” Crust and crumb can transform the experience: Their jambon beurre feels heartier on a crunchy baguette and more delicate on a tender, pillowy Vienna brioche.
Once the bread is dialed in, there are infinite options for what can go between the slices. Chefs draw inspiration from classic deli orders, favorite flavors and childhood memories. No matter the starting point, the ingredients have to hold their own. Before opening the original Chicago location of All Too Well, which debuted a Naples outpost earlier this year, owner Mitchell AbouJamra delved into sourcing. He spent three weeks on turkey alone, tasting 50 products, studying smoking methods and experimenting with slicing techniques. At Bonita Springs’ Wichcraft—the latest from the group behind Gulfshore Life Best New Restaurants, The Bohemian and Canary Club—chef Brandon Schewe decided the only option was to make nearly everything in-house, from the roasted meats to the potato chips fried in beef tallow. “We only smoke and cook what we need,” he says. “If we sell out, we sell out.”
Photography by Christina Bankson
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Putting ingredients together in a way that feels revelatory hinges on finding new ways to explore familiar flavors. “Ninety percent of the time, it’s just one ingredient that makes it a whole new thing,” Mitchell says. For him, that means balancing the four building blocks of flavor: salt, fat, acid and heat. Parmesan-ranch chips add salty crunch to the Buffalo chicken Tatanka, while red pepper pesto lends complexity to the tuna salad.
At Thank You Kindly, James BeardAward semifinalist chef Kayla Pfeiffer showcases similar verve. The Cuban swaps traditional roast pork for unctuous duck confit. A riff on the Italian combo amps up the vinegar tang with pickled green tomatoes and a creamy herb dressing seasoned with splashes of olive brine. “Each of these is my perfect idea of a sandwich in its own specific way,” Kayla says.
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Courtesy Thank You Kindly/Carlos Gonzalez
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At Naples’ Thank You Kindly, the lunch service at Bicyclette Cookshop, chef Kayla Pfeiffer blends condiments to elevate classics.
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Courtesy Thank You Kindly/Carlos Gonzalez
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For her, the defining element often starts with condiments. “I’m a sauce girl,” Kayla says. “It builds a lot of character.” Her favorite sandwich, the Ain’t No Thang But a Chicken Wang, features fried chicken doused in a tangy, not-too-spicy sauce made by mixing three of the kitchen’s staples: chili crisp, kimchi aioli and dilly dressing. “All of these combined make the most unbelievable sauce. We call it the holy trinity,” she says.
Sauces also anchor the sandwich construction. Spread edge to edge, they add moisture and cut through the richness of meats and cheeses with bright acidity, herbs or spice. “The way you build a sandwich is important for that final bite. You can’t just slap it together,” says Brandon, who customized the shop’s computer ordering system so diners can fine tune the balance of ingredients when designing their own sandwiches.
For the best-selling Bombay Chulet at All Too Well, the ingredients are layered in a photo-worthy fashion, with a structure that holds. Bright pink beet mayonnaise serves as a moisture barrier between the bread and fillings; milky stracciatella cheese anchors the meats; and chili crunch is spooned over the arugula, so its oils season the peppery leaves.
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Courtesy All Too Well
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The owner of Naples’ All Too Well, Mitchel AbouJamra, builds each creation around one transformative ingredient: Herbaceous tabouli cuts through the richness of a beef sandwich, while chili crisp adds a kick to mild turkey.
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Photography by Christina Bankson
new swfl sandwich shops all too well chef
Not every sandwich leans into such complexity. At Mercato Italiano in Naples, restraint is the guiding principle. “Americans expect the Italian sub with salami, prosciutto and mortadella all together,” Sicilian-born owner Valerio Di Falco says. “In Italy, we use just one meat, one cheese and maybe a few vegetables.” This pared-down approach focuses on letting each ingredient shine. Valerio makes his own schiacciata, a thin Tuscan bread resembling a lighter, crisper focaccia, then pairs imported meats with fresh cheeses and spreads like pistachio pesto and truffle mayo.
Whether guided by tradition or reimagined through a modern lens, sandwiches are as varied as the chefs behind them. “Making sandwiches is like art. A painter chooses the colors, and a chef knows that mortadella matches perfectly with pistachio,” Valerio says. “Anyone can make sandwiches, but you have to know which ingredients to use.”