This Arts District café’s behemoth of a sandwich truly exemplifies owner Sarkis Vartanian’s commitment to using local organic ingredients. Roasted squash, heirloom potatoes, avocado, heirloom tomatoes, house veggie patty, buratta, pesto, and ancho chili jam are stacked high between slices of olive bread for a remarkably filling and undeniably delicious sandwich.

The Yo Soy Fuerte at Café Gratitude features tempeh chorizo, cilantro pumpkin seed pesto, heirloom tomato, lettuce, avocado, chipotle cashew cream, and spicy red pepper sauce, and completely redefines notions of vegan cuisine. Packed with strong flavors, this unexpectedly filling torta also comes with a side of wild rice summer bean salad with jalapeño asado.

The Tortilla Española at Michael Voltaggio’s ink.sack is a hearty option that offers patrons a little taste of Spain. Ciabatta is filled with egg, melted manchego, sweet caramelized onions and peppers, and is topped with crunchy potato chips for a sandwich that is well suited for consumption at all hours of the day. Honorable mention goes to the Salad Sandwich, a surprisingly flavorful combination of avocado and vegetables doused in ranch and sherry vinaigrette.

Paul Hibler’s Superba Food & Bread, a multi-purpose hub functioning as a coffee house, wine bar, restaurant, and marketplace offers a Cauliflower Parm Sub with tomato, pickled cauliflower, and raclette for a playful twist on the Italian American classic.

Mendocino Farm’s vegan take on a BLT comes with house-smoked organic tempeh bacon, vegenaise, mustard pickle slaw, tomatoes on toasted ciabatta with a side of vegan ranch for a sandwich packed with flavor and textural integrity.

The Bacaro LA team serves a vegan sandwich prepared with sweet and spicy yams, bell peppers, onions, eggplant, pickled beets, and house-made lemon garlic vegenaise for a unique sandwich that finds balance in contrasting flavors.

This popular Santa Monica bakery and cafe offers a vegetarian Croque Monsieur with spinach, caramelized onion, cave-aged Gruyère, and béchamel on country toast. Also featured in Zoe Nathan’s newly released cookbook Huckleberry, this iteration of the classic French sandwich is arguably better than the traditional preparation with ham. [Photo: Matt Armendariz]

This Culver City restaurant focuses on Vietnamese street food. Their Tofu Banh Mi comes with all the traditional fixings like cucumber, cilantro, jalapeño, pickled daikon and carrots, aioli, and soy vinaigrette, and is served on a fresh baked baguette.

The Caprese Sandwich at John’s Garden in Malibu has thick rounds of fresh mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, and basil leaves with a choice of either oil and vinegar or homemade pesto on a warm baguette. Simple and fresh, this sandwich perfectly exemplifies an archetypal vegetarian sandwich.

M Café serves “Contemporary Macrobiotic Cuisine,” meaning without refined sugars, eggs, dairy, red meat, or poultry. Even with so many restrictions, the Big Macro, with a house-made whole grain brown rice and vegetable patty, special sauce, soy mozzarella, pickles, and alfalfa sprouts, is astoundingly flavorful and fresh, and makes for a delicious light lunch.

Typically known for their pizza, Pitfire also serves stellar panini like the Farmstand Vegetable, with roasted fennel, avocado, salsa verde, radish, sliced tomato, garlic, and arugula.