Happy National Sandwich Day Marianas!
Found everywhere from the humblest home kitchens, mom-and-pop shops, gas stations, restaurants, and everywhere in between, the sandwich is part of a delicious meal that can be taken on the go, cut up and shared with a friend, dunked in a creamy chowder, or devoured however you want.
However you decide to enjoy your sandwich, today’s the day we celebrate. For National Sandwich Day, we paired up with our champion sandwich makers as decided by YOU through the Best of the Marianas campaign, highlighting the crunchiest, tastiest, most flavorful sandwiches around.
No surprise, we started by “Eating Fresh” at Subway, which was voted No. 1 by our community.
Let’s start off with the most pressing news coming out of Subway on National Sandwich Day: you can get one sub for free when you buy two subs at all Subway locations on Saipan and Guam today only.
Giving free subs to loyal Subway customers on National Sandwich Day is a long-held, annual tradition at Subway. This year is no different. We can guarantee that the Subway sandwich shops are going to have all hands on deck today, piling high your favorite meats, veggies and toppings on fresh baked bread.
Head over to the Subway Gualo Rai or Chalan Piao all day long and customize your sandwiches to your heart’s delight, whether that means enjoying the #16 All-Pro Sweet Onion Teriyaki or the #20 Elite Chicken & Bacon Ranch.
In the editorial room we’re quite partial to the #19 Pickleball Club, which is loaded with ham, American cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and honey mustard, on the toasted bread of your choice.
We might have to order two of those, and then get a #3 The Monster as a freebie. A #3 The Monster is a cheesesteak sandwich topped with peppers, onions, bacon, Peppercorn Ranch, and a double layer of Monterey cheddar.
Now, doing food highlights sure is a tough job, but someone has to do it. Aside from Subway, earlier this week we visited the winner of the Silver award in the Best of the Marianas contest: Great Harvest Bread Company in Chalan Kanoa.
Thanks to the busy staff, we were able to savor the flavors of the restaurant’s best sellers–the Roasted Pepper Chipotle Cheesesteak, the Big Sky Chicken Salad Sandwich, and the Baja Chipotle Turkey, all while chatting it up with manager Carol Lucenara and Triple J Managing Director Rocco Valentino.
If you’re in the mood for bold, balanced flavors and textures, served on top of fresh, homemade breads, you’re in luck. They even have Taro Bread, in an eye catching purple. If you like ube, this one’s for you bae.
The Roasted Pepper Chipotle Cheeseteak is a grilled roast beef sandwich served with Swiss cheese, marinated roasted bell pepper and onions, and chipotle mayonnaise.
The Big Sky Chicken Salad Sandwich has your lunch craving’s covered with white meat chicken, cranberries, artichoke hearts, herbs, lemon, walnuts, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise. Both Lucenara and Valentino agree that it’s their favorite.
And finally, the Baja Chipotle Turkey comes packed with turkey slices, pepper jack cheese, cabbage, pickled red onion, tomato, avocado spread, and chipotle mayo.
Thanks to the Great Harvest big three, as well as the numerous grab-and-go options ready for customers in the chiller, the Chalan Kanoa sandwich shop is a lunchtime staple for its customers.
“The best part is we pull our own chicken here,” Valentino says, highlighting what he enjoys the most about Great Harvest’s options. “We do everything from scratch—our sauces, our recipes, and our home-made breads.”
He adds that with 17 sandwich selections on the menu, Great Harvest is a natural place to celebrate a sandwich lover’s favorite holiday.
“For National Sandwich Day I couldn’t think of a better place to be than right here at Great Harvest.”
Lucenara confirms that Great Harvest is open seven days a week, 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Mondays to Saturdays and 6:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sundays. She adds she loves staying busy filling orders, so make sure to check her and the friendly staff for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
With Subway and Great Harvest checked off our lunch lists, the Variety traveled up to Saddog Tasi to pay a visit to Francisco “Sonny” Sablan, chef and business owner at local favorite Ina’s Kitchen. The Saddog Tasi-based eatery holds the gold award in the Best of the Marianas burger category and a bronze in the sandwich category.
“I’m a sucker for spicy,” Chef Sonny says, talking about a few of the pika items he has on his menu, such as the Pika Burger, a ½ lb of Certified Angus ground beef patty served with Pika Cabbage Slaw, roasted thai chili, and pepper jack cheese.
Because we also enjoy some pep in our step, the Variety was treated to a Korean Fried Chicken sandwich, which is a breaded, deep fried chicken breast covered in Chef Sonny’s Spicy Korean Sauce, pepper jack cheese, and pika slaw.
But as any Ina’s Kitchen aficionado knows, the real showstopper, jaw-dropper is the Kåksaka Burger.
The Kåksaka Burger is loaded with a little bit of everything,” says Chef Sonny. “When you look at it you’ll kind of think it’s a cross between a Swiss burger and a loco moco.”
Both of those items are on the menu by the way, but Chef Sonny highlighted the Kåksaka Burger by pointing out that it comes with an 8oz Certified Angus beef patty, Swiss cheese, crispy bacon, sautéed onions and mushroom, spicy ancho gravy, and a sunny side up egg.
And listen, we know tacos are NOT sandwiches, but Chef Sonny has a Shrimp Kelaguin Taco that sounded so good we had to ask him about it. It comes with panko breaded shrimp, pika aioli, citrus coconut slaw, roasted tomato salsa all on a corn tortilla. Sorry, no pictures, but trust us—it will make you say leche par!
“Un dangkaluna si Yu’us ma’åse for all the support—locals, tourists—a big thank you,” Chef Sonny adds. “Without you all showing up or coming out to support us we wouldn’t be able to be here five years later.”
You can’t go wrong with the Best of the Marianas sandwich winners. Stop by the above three locations, and celebrate National Sandwich Day!
Two for you! Order two Subway subs, get one free for National Sandwich Day.
The #19 Pickleball Club is so good it’ll make you want to start playing pickleball at American Memorial Park
#3 The Monster goes great with cookies, chips, soup or whatever side you enjoy the most at Subway
One of the top sellers at Great Harvest Bread Company–the Big Sky Chicken Salad Sandwich. White meat chicken, cranberries, artichoke hearts, herbs, lemon, walnuts, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise.
Invite a few friends and try the Roasted Pepper Chipotle Cheesesteak, Big Sky chicken Salad Sandwich, and Baja Chipotle Turkey at Great Harvest in Chalan Kanoa.
The Roasted Pepper Chipotle Cheesesteak is one hearty sandwich made with roast beef, Swiss cheese, marinated roasted bell pepper and onions, and chipotle mayonnaise. Behind it are the Big Sky Chicken Salad on the left, and the Baja Chipotle Turkey.
The staff of Great Harvest Bread Company pose with Carol Lucenara, far left, and Rocco Valentino, far right.
Chef/Owner of Ina’s Kitchen, Sonny Sablan hard at work grilling a Kåksaka Burger to perfection.
Chef Sonny layers on some beautifully flavorful ancho gravy onto the Kåksaka Burger at Ina’s Kitchen
The show-stopping, jaw-dropping Kåksaka Burger is a crowd favorite at Ina’s Kitchen.
Ina’s staff pose with Chef/Owner Sonny Sablan
This ain’t your mama’s KFC–this is the Korean Fried Chicken at Ina’s Kitchen, a breaded, deep fried chicken breast covered in Chef Sonny’Spicy Korean Sauce, pepper jack cheese, and pika slaw.
You don’t have to fly Jeju Airlines to say hafa adai to the Korean Fried Chicken at Ina’s Kitchen–it’s a local favorite.
A Korean Fried Chicken sandwich is heavenly with some sweet potato fries–we know from experience. Thanks Chef Sonny!