Picture this, itâs a quiet Saturday morning and you meander into a Brookline Village sandwich shop, the smell of warm, fresh bread welcoming you as you step inside. Your eyes are immediately drawn to the refrigerator case of delicacies, your mouth watering at the selection of spicy sausage, pickled onions and mason jars of red plum jam. Welcome to Cuttyâs, heaven on earth for anybody who likes sandwichesâso basically, everybody.
Having first seen Cuttyâs on Diners Drive-Ins and Divesâ, Massachusetts Madness episode, I knew I couldnât leave Boston without paying it a visit.
As soon as I sat down at a weathered, wooden table in the large front window of the Brookline eatery, I felt at home. The comfortable, small-town vibe of the shop is nothing short of charming. The place was packed to the gills with young families, couples enjoying leisurely mornings and locals stopping by to grab sandwiches to go.
On the wall hangs a giant chalkboard, listing where each of Cuttyâs delicious ingredients comes from, like the butter from Montpelier, Vermont, or the Mortadella from Verona, Italy. Beside the register guests can ogle at the house-made baked goods, such as the brown sugar cookies and rice krispie treats the size of bricks.
Photo by Grace Stauffer
I decided I had to try Cuttyâs two Saturday-only sandwiches, the âpork rabeâ and the âpork fennel.â The pork rabe is made with a heaping portion of slow-roasted pork, topped with a pile of lightly sautĂ©ed broccoli rabe and finished with flecks of sharp, tangy provolone cheese on an enormous, toasted sesame seed bun.Â
The pork fennel also begins with slow-roasted pork and a sesame bun, but has an entirely different flavor. This monster of a sandwich, has a refreshing piquancy from the bright, pickled fennel and the roasted garlic lends a deep savory note. Both sandwiches were so mind-blowingly delicious that despite being basically the size of my face, I ate every last crumb.
The first thing I noticed about both of the sandwiches was the bread. Cuttyâs gets their bread from Iggyâs in Cambridge, and let me tell you, itâs to die for. The buns tasted fresh and buttery, and were perfectly toasted to bring out the slightest hint of sesame. The slow-roasted pork was melt-in-your-mouth good, with just a touch of saltiness.
Cuttyâs Eggplant Spuckie. Â Photo by Grace Stauffer
You wouldnât expect that this tiny sandwich joint, wedged into sleepy Brookline Village, would be such a culinary experience; but the convivial, homey environment, attention to detail and home-cooked goodness of each ingredient puts Cuttyâs a step above the rest.
Have a hankering for more sandwiches? Try these: