Atlanta, GASandwiches

The 'Shroom Shire cheesesteak piles mushrooms into a beef cheesesteak base, part of a Krog Street Market stall that covers everything from po'boys to banh mi under one counter. The range is the draw, a single window where a table can each order something completely different and all come away happy.

A Jewish deli at Emory Point built around a reuben stacked with tender corned beef and tangy sauerkraut on fresh-baked bread. The pastrami with chopped liver is the order regulars ask for by name, and the in-house bread program is what pushes the whole menu past standard deli territory.

An Old Fourth Ward cocktail bar that also turns out a genuinely great Ipswich clam roll, cold and mayo-dressed. It is a New England-style detour inside a room better known for its drinks list, the kind of order that surprises people who wandered in only for a cocktail.

A longtime Virginia-Highland bakery-cafe whose garlic roasted lamb sandwich draws a lunch line on its own. It is built on the same bread program that made the shop's reputation, and the sandwich counter benefits directly from a kitchen that was baking serious loaves long before lunch became the main event.

The Tea Bird spicy chicken sandwich is the order to get at this Decatur Square kitchen, served from its B-Side sandwich window. Offbeat options like white anchovies with frisee and lemon mayo or a vegetarian pastrami built from beets round out a lineup that refuses to play it safe.