The Vitals:
the spot: Handsome Dan’s 979 Springdale Rd #124, Austin, TX 78702
the eats: The Italian, The Tuna Melt, The Cubano, Roast Beef n Cheddar
the bucks: $12
the full nelson: New sandwich joint in East Austin aiming to win ppl over with decent bang for your buck sandwiches.
It seems like a flurry of sandwich places have opened in Austin over the last year. Or maybe that’s just me looking at places I can actually afford to go out to. On paper, a $17 sandwich with zero ingredients made on site would be absurd. But it was also one of the best things I ate last year. So how about a sandwich for $12 that comes with a bag of chips?
I tried 5 of the 7 sandwiches at Handsome Dan’s which seems to acknowledge different regional offerings found across the country. The Cubano is a nod to Miami/Florida’s Cuban food scene. The Italian screams East Coast. The other offerings might appear a bit vague like a grilled cheese or Roast Beef and Cheddar, but they aren’t exactly unwelcomed additions to a varied sandwich menu.
With cold cuts from Boar’s Head and bread from New World Bakery, I wouldn’t call this sandwich high end but a decent cold cut sando doesn’t have to be. Granted we were invited to the media opening so chances are the fellas at Handsome Dan’s was on their A game, but the sandwich was built quite well. Meaty, well layered and an all around dressed to deliver drippingly good sando, The Italian surprised me with solid sandwich build execution.
Located above in the top right, the roast beef sando hit hard. The combo of the horseradish, red onion and medium rare roast beef was what a roast beef sandwich should be. While not as meaty as the Italian, the sandwich was still well composed.
I was most excited to try the Cubano at Handsome Dan’s. It was a cold day in Austin(rare but it happens) and the idea of a pressed meat on meat sandwich sounded about right. I’m not gonna tell you this sandwich will rethink your next trip to the 305 however. Even if doesn’t compare to something like Sanguich de Miami, it was a hearty enough sandwich to push it to the #3 slot.
I used to covet Tuna Melts back in college. Whether I was making them at home or hitting up some late night coffee shop or diner, a good tuna melt is a damn good sandwich. I did like the tuna salad at Handsome Dan’s – the dressing had a pleasant tang but I could have used more of it. This was one sandwich I could easily finish and be hungry for more.
I also tried the grilled cheese and it didn’t move the needle for me. Personally I think grilled cheese is pretty easy to make at home and just don’t see the value in outsourcing the sandwich. Now if they served this with a mean bowl of tomato basil soup, that might change my mind.
The best thing Handsome Dan’s is offering is some value as far as dining out goes in Austin 2025. Every sandwich is $12, comes with a bag of chips and I think the team here did some decent research on the menu. The sandwiches aren’t as big as my arm but they won’t cost you and arm and a leg. I’ll be interested to see if they can keep up the price point. For now though I commend them for thinking about value.
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