It's SUNdeVICH for a World-Class Sandwich

Would you like to take a culinary trip around the world, use only local ingredients, make an environmental statement and, at the same time, never leave a DC alleyway? Sound impossible? Well, it's not if you visit SUNdeVICH in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington.

Located in a reconverted garage on 9th Street between N and O streets, SUNdeVICH is a unique sandwich shop which features 15 sandwiches daily, each one named after an international city and containing ingredients and flavors true to those used in that region of the world.

Here is a recent list of the sandwich menu destinations:

• Athens
• Beirut
• Berlin
• Buenos Aires
• Cairo
• Capri
• Havana
• Isfahan
• Istanbul
• Kingston
• Madrid
• Moscow
• Paris
• Shiraz
• Tehran

Unlike actual traveling, you can visit more than one place at a time. On my most recent SUNdeVICH stop, I was accompanied by my DC educational consulting companion Paul Smith. I ordered the Kingston (jerk chicken, pineapple salsa, greens, spicy slaw, and garlic mayo). Paul ordered the Cairo (hummus, cucumber, brined vegetables, walnuts, and fresh herbs). The sandwiches, all made on hard-crusted baguettes that are baked especially for the shop by a local bakery, are cut in half. To create a bi-national noon-time feast, Paul and I swapped halves. Beaches of Jamaica, meet the pyramids of Egypt.

SUNdeVICH follows a strict “green” and eco-friendly approach. All  paper goods and carry-out supplies are not only bio-degradable, but compostable.  The construction of the sandwich shop utilized a wide range of recycled material, such as reclaimed wood, refurbished metals, and old original bricks. The company plans to add a solar powered heat and air conditioning system.

The popular sandwich shop (you can expect long lines but service is quick and efficient), opened last summer. Recently it added 4 breakfast sandwiches - the Mexico City, the Milan, the Oslo, and the Zurich to its menu. This summer a SUNdeVICH food truck took to the DC streets.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
Make no mistake about it, I love the food at SUNdeVICH. But you don't have to take my word for it. Urban Spoon reviewers give it 4 and a 1/2 out of 5 stars. Yelp makes it 4 out 5. And here is a thumbs-up 1st review from The Washington Post.