Baggby’s

If there is one thing that Charlottesville over-serves it’s sandwiches. We have a lot of spinach-artichoke dip and egg rolls and jalapeño poppers too — sometimes all on the same menu — but sandwich shops are squished into this city’s limits like so many turkey cold cuts. Some of them are skippable, but many serve up fresh ingredients in creative, well-executed combinations that are more than worthy of your lunch hour. Baggby’s is one such establishment.

In addition to old faithfuls like egg salad and pastrami you can find newfangled genre-benders like the Sedona, which includes tofu, cheese, avocado, and hot peppers. Sounds weird, tastes great. The Navajo Chicken, with avocado, bacon, and tarragon mayo, is another favorite, and you can never go wrong with the late 80′s superstar of sandwiches, the California, also known as the Veggie Lover’s Delight, normally also known as a heaping pile of healthiness, except that in this case it’s dramatized by three! kinds of cheese (swiss, american, cream) and a generous plop of avocado. Come to think of it, there’s a lot of avocado at Baggby’s, which is responsible for at least one of my stars. Avocado rules!

There isn’t much else to report. The employees are friendly, the outdoor seating on the mall is shaded, and every sandwich comes with a chocolate chip cookie. What more do you need? To be fair, a better selection of chips and drinks would be nice, but you can always stop in the Blue Ridge Country Store next door for that.

Erin says: “One of my favorite lunch places. Go for the hot sandwiches over the cold.”

Rating: Erin: Jed: