Corned beef and other forms of brisket may be the greatest form of deli meat to grace two pieces of bread. When that brisket is lovingly handcrafted, brined, braised, smoked and sliced on-site, it transcends typical bar food to become something otherworldly. Here are five handcrafted sandwiches derived from brisket to be found in and around Dallas. I suggest you seek out and eat them all.
Off-Site Kitchen's Corned Beef Sandwich (pictured above) I don't care what the menu calls it, I'm renaming this sandwich the heart attack hoagie. Corn beef is piled high into a soft hoagie roll and then topped with tangy coleslaw, melted cheese and a hearty squeeze of Russian dressing. It's obscene. And it's delicious.
Kuby's Reuben Sandwich The corned beef is brined and cooked at their off-site processing facility, but they slice and griddle it in the kitchen behind this German-themed dining room. Kuby's Reuben is the polar opposite of Off-Site Kitchen's sandwich. It's not oily, greasy or heavy and you can finish one without needing a post-sandwich nap.
Cock & Bull's Reuben The term Kobe may cause consternation among purists, but since a Kobe-labeled product results in a perfect sandwich I'm going to ignore semantics for now. What you need to know is Cock and Bull offers one of the best Reubens in Dallas. The roast potatoes may not be quite as good as perfectly fried french fries, but with all this meat and cheese, you're probably better off without them anyway.
Bolsa's Reuben When Bolsa Mercado opened just down the street from its namesake restaurant, a few of the sandwiches changed at Bolsa. My favorite is their Reuben now made with house-brined corned beef.
Bolsa Mercado's Pastrami Sandwich This is, admittedly, the worst sandwich photo I have ever taken, but Bolsa Mercado's pastrami must be included, if only to confirm the less than photogenic properties of braised red cabbage. It's a helluva good sandwich, too.
