Eat Local: Jay’s Patio Cafe

Eat Local: Jay’s Patio Cafe
by Tucker Shaw on November 3, 2009

Who needs flashy and trendy when you’ve got something dependably great?

Sandwich joints sweep onto the scene like pop stars these days, each trumpeting its own particular personality, as highly skilled chefs increasingly focus their attentions on less-expensive products, like lunch. Masterpiece Deli. Fisher Clark Urban Deli. Snarf’s.

But for all the new tunes on the sandwich station, one song remains the same: Jay’s Patio Cafe, at 2563 15th St., just up the hill from Platte Street. There chef/owner Jay Solomon — who’s been in the ‘wich biz over 20 years, 10 of them in Denver — serves some of Denver’s very finest sandwiches.

It’s not Solomon’s only project (he’s got four and counting in Colorado), but it’s perhaps the flagship of the family, a simple, laid-back sandwich shop with solid, nicely priced lunch fare.

King of the menu is the wasabi roast beef sandwich, which you’ll think you’ll want on sourdough but works well on rye. The soft, rare meat, carefully layered with Swiss cheese and lightly dressed with wasabi-kissed mayonnaise, isn’t the gargantuan sandwich you’ll find at other area delis, but is instead an ample but restrained handful and a delicious, satisfying, groans-of-envy-from-co-workers-producing lunch.

As autumn descends, cooler days call for a warm grilled panino, especially the Barbados chicken with red-chile mayo and Jack cheese, which warms your imagination as well as your gullet, recalling the flavors you fell for last time you were in the Caribbean.

One quibble: As with almost every sandwich shop in Denver, there ought to be more vegetarian sandwiches to choose from.

– Jay’s Patio Cafe –

American. 2563 15th St., 303-455-9275, jayspatiocafe.com. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

– Tucker Shaw