100 Favorite Dishes: Be'wiched Deli pastrami sandwich

As a countdown to the Best of the Twin Cities 2010, coming this spring, Hot Dish is serving up a hundred of our favorite local dishes. Send your own nominations to hotdish @citypages.com.

No. 77: Be'wiched Deli pastrami sandwich

Do you ever sorta worry about what you might have to be resigned to eating once you're cripplingly old and decrepit? If you're the type of person that's designing dinner possibilities before breakfast is even made, then you probably have at least some vague anxiety about this. Will your diet devolve into Campbell's soup? Will your cupboards fill with instant mashed potatoes? This may sound strange, but Be'wiched Deli's pastrami sandwich makes the prospect of aging (and every day until then) something to look forward to. You literally do not need teeth nor even proper jaw function to savor the achingly tender layers upon layers of smoky, gamey, housecured pastrami, subtly cut with pickled cabbage, and textured with a mustard grit, all held between soft, thin pillows of rye ringed by a generous caraway crunch. Forget dentures. Be'wiched's got your gourmet sensibilities covered for life.

Hungry for more? The dishes in our countdown thus far are linked below:

No. 100: Volcano Salad at Tiger Sushi
No. 99: Eclair at Butter
No. 98: Moussaka at Gardens of Salonica
No. 97: "Flappers" at Colossal Cafe
No. 96: Bento Box at Obento-Ya
No. 95: Sausage, salami, onion, and green olive pizza at Black Sheep
No. 94: Crab Cake at the Kitchen
No. 93: Passion fruit cake at Pardon My French
No. 92: Kafé 421 Signature Dips
No. 91: Lutefisk at Landmarc Grill
No. 90: May Day Cafe Croissant
No. 89: Dowjic at Babani's
No. 88: Osso Bucco at the Modern Cafe
No. 87: Chef Shack Hot Dog
No. 86: Adult Mac & Cheese at Good Day Cafe
No. 85: Ropa Vieja at Victor's
No. 84: French Toast of the Dead at Chino Latino
No. 83: Uni at Origami
No. 82: Bagel at Common Roots
No. 81: Jasmine Deli's bánh mì
No. 80: Pho 79's bò cuốn lá nho
No. 79: Sweets Bakeshop's Kettlecorn Cupcake
No. 78: D'Amico Kitchen's Chicory Salad