50 Best Restaurants: The Butcher Shop Rolls Out Meaty Sandwiches

Photo by Leah Mennies

As the myth goes, one way to achieve a successful Thanksgiving gorgefest is by stretching your stomach the day before. One way you can do this? Head to Barbara Lynch’s meat temple The Butcher Shop, which just rolled two thick, meaty sandwiches earlier this month—one featuring housemade pastrami and one starring housemade roast beef.

“We enjoyed them often for our family meals and the pastrami was sometimes offered as a special,” says general manager Molly Woodhouse. “We also wanted to offer items that would be suited for those who are looking a quick sandwich at lunch.”

In the pastrami ‘wich ($16), the house-cured meat (brined in a mixture of salt, sugar, garlic, honey, pickling spice, and pepper) is layered with Swiss cheese and Russian dressing between slices of pumpernickel bread from Cape Cod-based Pain d’Avignon bakery. Woodhouse suggests pairing the sandwich with a glass of Bisol prosecco from Valdobbiadene ($12), a vino she says is a great match for cured meats. The roast beef sandwich ($16) comes on sourdough from Hi-Rise Bakery, and also contains a healthy smear of horseradish aioli and a thick slice of aged Cabot cheddar; Woodhouse suggests a pint of Crooked Tree IPA from Dark Horse brewery ($6) to wash it down. The sandwiches aren’t cheap, to be sure, but we can tell you from witnessing them first hand that they are massive—all the better to prep you for a large platter of turkey and stuffing.

We’re blogging about the 50 Best Restaurants on Chowder all month long at bostonmagazine.com/50best. Join the conversation on Twitter (#50Best) with @ChowderBoston.