It was the beautiful hand-cut steaks that initially lured me into the recently opened Mario’s Butcher Shop in Newport Beach. And while the retail steaks are excellent, it was a sandwich that inspired me to return the very next day for another helping.
That sandwich is the hot pastrami, the meat for which is trimmed and smoked in-house. This is extraordinary pastrami. It is salty and smoky and impeccably tender, classically layered with mustard, slaw and Swiss cheese.
The bread for all the sandwiches at Mario’s comes from Bread Artisan Bakery in Santa Ana, and the loaf used for this pastrami sandwich is a deeply soulful rye-forward multigrain, griddled in butter.
The day after eating this sandwich, I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I cleared my schedule and went back for another round. One day of this pastrami simply wasn’t enough.
Incidentally, this place sells a nice little cheeseburger, which is cooked over a mesquite charcoal grill. I can almost see a pattern developing.
Mario’s Butcher Shop
Where: 1000 Bristol St. North, Newport Beach
When: Breakfast and lunch daily, plus early dinner on weeknights
Cost: $14
Phone: 949-316-4318
Online: mariosbutchershopdeli.com
This post first appeared on ocregister.com
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