Cheesesteak with fried onions, side of fries.
That’s my standard order on going into any new sandwich place. You know the kind—six-page menu full of subs, steak sandwiches, maybe a couple of paninis, often as an adjunct to a general pizza operation. Each of these places is “the best in town,” or someone’s favorite, or the place you have to stop when you’re in that city/area/region.
But how do you evaluate such places? Simple: You order something that gives them a chance to show what they can do and that any superlative place ought to be able to get right. Are they using fresh bread? Are the fries hand-cut or frozen? Does someone go near the sandwich with a slice of Swiss and thus earn my everlasting enmity? Some things just work as an acid test of quality and competence.