Cutty's

284 Washington Street, Brookline, MA - (617) 505-1844

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Posted By Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch on 5/31/2011 7:55:00 PM

Saturday is Pork Day at Cutty's, a small sandwich shop making headlines in the heart of Boston's Brookline Village. We queued up for their soon-to-be award-winning Pork Rabe: slow-roasted pork, sautéed broccoli rabe, and sharp provolone on a sesame-seed roll. It’s almost unfair to compare it to Tony Luke’s model in Philadelphia; the pork spices and bread are different, and the provolone is so sharp that it, combined with the rabe’s distinct bitterness, occasionally overwhelms the meat in some bites. In others, however, the balance is well-nigh perfect, dazzling your taste buds and making your brain wonder where this sandwich has been all your life.

The Spuckie, another top seller and the only one you can order as a half-sandwich, is a variation on New Orleans’ signature muffuletta. Named after an old Boston colloquialism for sub or hoagie (from the specialty bread used, spuccadella), the Spuckie’s only condiment is a tangy olive-carrot salad, whose oil seeps into the bread, here a sturdy ciabatta roll. Fennel salami, hot capicola, mortadella, and the freshest, most flavorful hand-pulled mozzarella make this sandwich another must-try.

Boston loves their roast beef, and Cutty’s of course has its own version, the Roast Beef 1000: slow-roasted beef, crispy fried shallots, house-made Thousand Island dressing, and Cabot sharp cheddar on a brioche roll. This accounts for half of all sandwich sales, probably due to the wickedly delicious shallots and the textural euphoria that they cause. The dressing has a hint of horseradish and is just enough condiment to properly moisturize the soft bread. But the shallots, akin to onions, are absolutely divine and singlehandedly lift this entry to the upper echelons of sandwichdom.

We immediately homed in on the homemade pimento cheese in the Ham Pimento: Niman Ranch ham, pimento cheese, and sweet pickles on a baguette. The cheese looks exactly like the neon-orange processed stuff, and there's not nearly enough on the sandwich to fully taste it. The ham's fine, but the problem is the baguette: way too chewy and crusty to gird a life-changing sandwich. However, their Egg Salad Radish amply makes up for it: the creaminess of the egg salad is counterbalanced by the crisp radishes, and the overall flavor is taken to the next level with the addition of fresh cilantro and oil-cured olives. No hearty ciabatta or brioche rolls here, but the white or wheat breads are far from grocery store options.

The hand-squeezed limeade is delightful, and we are also partial to the house-made potato chips. Having enjoyed these many times all over the country, Cutty's may serve the very best we've had anywhere: golden russet potatoes sliced impossibly thin, then fried to a very dark brown and minimally salted. Various cookies and Rice Krispies treats are available for dessert, but we stick with the cracked-top brown sugar cookies—but that is only in lieu of ordering a third sandwich!

A meager storefront hidden by building shade on a curve of Washington Street before emptying into Harvard Avenue, Cutty's serves the best sandwich in Boston and maybe in the entire Bay State. We're no soothsayers, but we have a hunch that Cutty's will be a must-stop on the Boston Roadfood tour before long! Cutty’s is open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (lunch begins at 11 a.m.), closed Sunday.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Pork Rabe	Egg Salad Radish
Roast Beef 1000	Brown Sugar Cookie
Potato Chips	Ham Pimento
Spuckie

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"Similar to the Tony Luke archetype, Cutty's Pork Rabe is one of the greatest sandwiches we've ever had: juicy pork, garlicky rabe, and extra sharp provolone on a crusty roll."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"Not your average roast beef from Kelly's or Nick's, the Roast Beef 1000 sports fried shallots, sharp cheddar, and housemade Thousand Island dressing."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"Named after an old Boston sandwich, the Spuckie is a muffuletta but with hand-pulled mozzarella and olive-carrot relish."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"Lowly egg salad gets upgraded here with crisp radishes, oil-cured olives, and fresh cilantro."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"We wanted to love this Ham Pimento, but there just wasn't enough cheese (and it was cheese spread at that, not at all chunky like traditional pimento cheese) to make a difference, and the baguette was too chewy and hard."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"There are homemade potato chips, and then there are Cutty's homemade potato chips, ultra-thin and crispy beyond belief."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"For dessert, the chocolate chip is rather ordinary, but the brown sugar cookie will deftly satisfy your sweet tooth."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"Cutty's is one of the premier sandwich shops in Boston, without a doubt."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch