Schlotzsky's, Houston

When Schlotzsky's & Cinnabon first opened in Austin back 1971, the owner offered just one sandwich. Known as The Original, the stack offered lean smoked ham, genoa and cotto salamis, three kinds of cheese, and a layer of marinated black olives, all atop a hot sourdough bun. That’s all it took to get Schlotzsky's & Cinnabon off the ground and send it on its way to become a global franchise, today featuring locations in 35 states and four countries. Of course, today’s menu holds many, many more flavor combinations—Angus roast beef and cheese, chicken and pesto, and a smoked-turkey reuben, to name a few—along with salads and pizzas. The latter aren't as much of a divergence from Schlotzky's lunch-friendly template as it might sound: at eight inches across, they're still easy to grab on the go, and the crust is made with sourdough just like the signature sandwich bread and the walls of the head baker's home.