Toledo, p. 11

Madias’ care and attention to ingredients is what sets Wario’s Beef & Pork apart from the typical sandwich shop. The kitchen crafts almost everything from scratch, from sauces to smoked and cured meats to meatballs to the zesty giardiniera. The sandwich bread, or “stick,” is baked locally to Madias’ specifications by Matija Breads.

“Everything on every sandwich is appetizing to eat just how it is,” he says.

Wario’s Beef & Pork focuses its menu on five sandwiches: The Steak, a nod to classic Philly cheesesteaks; The Cold Cut; The Roasted Pork (another Philly signature); The Chicken Cutlet; and The Vegetarian, filled with homemade falafel. Every Sunday, the shop features a meatball sandwich, and other weekly specials — all sure-fire sellouts — have ranged from bodega breakfast sandwiches to Italian beef to pastrami to shawarma.

Newcomers are best advised to order The Steak “Wario’s Way.” This takes the already-huge sandwich with eight ounces of shaved ribeye, house-made cheese whiz and grilled onions, and then adds provolone and white American cheese on a semolina-seeded roll. The monster creation is enough to feed two people.

Madias takes pride in The Cold Cut sandwich as well. The colorful meal combines three types of meat — rosemary ham, soppressata and hot coppa — with a picante provolone, house giardiniera, Wario sauce, tomato butter, shaved lettuce and onions on a semolina-seeded roll. The crisp giardiniera, lettuce and onions play nicely with the savory meats, cheese and sauces. Wario’s also features a side of house spuds: smashed and roasted potatoes fragrant with herbs and Parmesan cheese and served with a rich and sweet onion-based Wario sauce.

“It’s not your everyday sandwich place,” says Madias. “I would describe it as an East Coast-style sandwich shop, focusing on each ingredient as its own entity and finding a way to put them together.” — Nicholas Dekker

Wario’s Beef & Pork offers its take on East Coast-style sandwiches (above) from a walkup window in downtown Columbus. Chef Stephan Madias (below) focuses on quality ingredients and from-scratch preparations.

111 W. Nationwide Blvd., Columbus 43215, 614/914-8338, wariosbeefandpork614.com

Pizza Party

The Stubborn Brother Pizza Bar near the University of Toledo features piping-hot pies and other Italian fare.

Yes, there is a family story behind The Stubborn Brother Pizza Bar’s unusual name.

“My Dad wanted to open a neighborhood pizzeria, and his brothers did not want to,” explains Andrew Mancy, whose parents operate Toledo’s well-known Mancy Restaurant Group. “He went ahead and opened it himself anyway.”

In business since 2018, the Toledo pizza spot is known for its round, thin-crust pies that are made using filtered water that is molecularly modified to replicate that found in New York’s Catskills region. (The area supplies water to New York City, providing a key ingredient to its famous pies.) Flour for the restaurant’s pizzas is milled in Fostoria and the toppings are sourced from Tank’s Meats in Elmore, adding some local flavor.

Residents as well as students and faculty from the neighboring University of Toledo gather here to enjoy Old World pizzas, pasta, meatballs and more. Dessert options include soft-serve vanilla ice cream topped with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.

Illuminated letters that spell out “Toledo,” retro games and a photo booth add to the fun atmosphere, as does the lineup of University of Toledo events on the televisions.

“We’re the number one supporter of UT events. You can catch Toledo soccer, football and events on the big screen,” says Mancy, who oversees the restaurant’s daily operations. “It’s a community built around pizza.” — Sarah Miller

3115 W. Bancroft St., Toledo 43606, 419/720-1818, stubbornbrother.com