Acadiana chefs tend to be known for big meals and bigger flavors, whether they’re slinging pizzas or dishing up nationally recognized Creole soul food.
These chefs, from top-rated local spots like Vestal, Laura’s II and Café Habana City, know a great sandwich. They also know that the best sandwiches don’t necessarily have the fanciest pedigree. The perfect sandwich is one that reminds you of a place, feeling or memory — whether it’s sandy PB&Js at the beach, or leftover Thanksgiving turkey between slices of Evangeline Maid.
My personal favorite sandwich — after the Acadian Superette’s Reuben — doesn’t really have a specific name or culinary provenance. It’s “Butterbrot” in Germany, or “butter bread,” and has similarly derived titles in the surrounding countries. It’s a basic open-faced sandwich.
I love a slice of dark rye spread with good butter and layered with smoked salmon, cucumber and dill — or maybe just thinly sliced salami with a mild cheese. The topping choices are as endless as your mood and can lean sweet (good bread and Nutella) or mouth-twistingly sharp — think onion and herring.
This sandwich reminds me of traveling, of eating for energy and taste, and the simplicity of just enjoying good things. It’s pretty far from the gravies and gumbos of Cajun country, but all the better for that, because this one sandwich reminds me of how much all of my food experiences have shaped my journey.
These chefs feel the same way about their favorite sandwiches. You can find a couple locally, or try recreating the others at home to experience the sandwiches that make these Lafayette chefs tick. Let me know if you try any — and if so, which one.
Cuban sandwich
Two area chefs selected the Cuban as their favorite sandwich, for good reason. Chef Kim Nuzum at Café Sydnie Mae in Breaux Bridge spent her early years in Florida, where she says the Cuban sandwiches were her favorite. According to Rafael Garcia at Café Habana City — who responded to this question with “I’m in love with my Cuban sandwich” — it is extremely popular in south Florida, especially Tampa and Miami.
The classic Cuban sandwich is seen on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at Café Habana City in Lafayette.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD BOWIE
The Cuban sandwich is also popular in Lafayette, where Café Habana City’s Cubano (with fresh French bread from Poupart Bakery) has landed a spot on the Acadiana Po-Boy Trail.
An Italian hoagie or a Muffuletta
Jordon Konow, a sous chef at Vestal in Lafayette, LA.
COURTESY Denny Culbert
The sous chef at Vestal restaurant in downtown Lafayette spent his early career training in restaurants like Ledger in Salem, Massachusetts. During that period, Jordon Konow traveled around the Northeast and other U.S. cities, where he very much enjoyed the classic hoagie experience with Italian cold cuts — so much so that it remains his favorite sandwich to this day.
“My Louisiana answer is the muffuletta,” said the Baton Rouge native, who grew up going to Cafe Maspero in New Orleans every Sunday.
Italian hoagies and muffulettas are both distinctive Italian-Amerian sandwiches, and when he’s jonesing for a good hoagie in the Lafayette answer, Konow said he goes to Jersey Mike’s.
“Get a double meat Italian hoagie,” he said. “It’s the best I’ve had. But tell them to go easy on the vinegar, because the bottom of the bun can get too soggy.”
Lobster roll — or a PB&J with seared foie gras
“I love a sandwich, especially when someone else makes it,” said Hollie Girouard, owner of Ton’s Downtown in Lafayette and Ton’s Drive-In in Broussard.
She said that she never turns down a lobster roll, and she keeps lobster knuckle meat in the freezer at all times for sandwich making. She also keeps foie gras on hand for a sandwich that’s a unique twist on peanut butter and jelly — PB&J with seared foie gras, which is made from the fatty liver of ducks or geese.
“It’s simple but fancy,” she said.
BBQ pork steak sandwich
James Beard award semifinalist Madonna Broussard is the chef at Laura’s II in Lafayette, known for smoked turkey wings, oxtails with gravy and other hearty Creole plate lunches beloved by towering figures like Anthony Bourdain. When it comes to her favorite sandwich, Broussard keeps it local.
Owner and Chef Madonna Broussard chats with customers at LauraÕs II Cafe Tuesday, February 4, 2025, in Lafayette, La.
STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK
She loves a barbecue pork steak sandwich on Evangeline Maid bread — one of those southwest Louisiana specials, particularly at festivals, parades, Mardi Gras, or any other celebration where barbecue from a truck is the best thing you’ve ever tasted. Her favorite is from The Smokin’ Pitt food truck. Check their Facebook for availability and location, which is usually 903 E. Simcoe St., Lafayette.
Secret menu chicken bacon ranch
Five Mile Eatery is known for hearty breakfast and lunch meals with a focus on organic and whole ingredients, driven by chef Kelsey Leger. She said that her favorite sandwich is on their secret menu, only available for online ordering — a grilled chicken bacon ranch sandwich, with a side of extra house-made ranch for dipping.
The secret menu Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich from Five Mile Eatery in Lafayette, LA, that can only be ordered online.
BY JOANNA BROWN | Staff writer
This sandwich has big, well-balanced flavor that will keep you full through the rest of the afternoon without weighing you down. It’s even more delicious knowing how much the Five Mile team cares about each ingredient.
Panuozzo
Karlos Knott, of Bayou Teche Brewing, speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for Hotel Lafayette on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at the site of the former Don’s Seafood Hut in downtown Lafayette.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD BOWIE
It’s clear that some of the best sandwiches are found through traveling, and that was true for chef Karlos Knott at Bayou Teche Brewing in Arnaudville. While stationed with the Army in Germany, Knott and his wife learned all about beer and pizza while traveling around Europe and Italy. He put those lessons to work at Bayou Teche and Cajun Saucer, where Knott regularly introduces new pizzas (like the Detroit-style pan pizza) to the Acadiana area.
Knott says his favorite sandwich is a panuozzo, which is like an open-faced calzone.
“Imagine a pizza with no toppings folded in half, then you stuff it like a sandwich,” he said.
His favorite panuozzo has mortadella, burrata, olive oil, pistachios and lemon zest.
Dining and Cooking