Many search for true love, some for eternal happiness and others wealth. While all are desirable, I’m over here just searching for the best sandwich ever made!  Boy do I think I found it.

As you walk in the doors of Cheba Hut, this little  Tempe sandwich shop, you may wonder what sets this place apart from any other restaurant. Upon entering, you quickly realize this isn’t Just another sandwich shop stuffed into a busy college-town. It is truly, So.much.more.

Cheba Hut is placed perfectly on University Drive, just down the street from ASU. College students flock to the smell of fresh baked goods but even if you are far beyond your college hay days… What better way to bring you back than to discover the many delicious puns this food haven has to offer.

The menu features over THIRTY signature sandwiches as well as a variety of treats, or as they call them, munchies. They also offer craft beer, (one of them fittingly by the name of Purple Haze) and feature local beers from neighborhood breweries. With sandwich sizes starting at “Nug“,  “Pinner” and graduating to “Blunt” as the largest size, you can easily see where this joint’s theme lies.

Everything on the menu is related to a term of weed, or as you old fogies would call it “dope”,  although, those 30 and under know that dope is NOT something you want in, or around your sandwich….especially this one.

The smell of fresh-baked brownies fill my senses, battled by the homemade Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treat Balls, wafting through the air. As you wait in line you have plenty of visuals to take in: between the giant swinging joint hanging from the ceiling, the Zig-Zag swag, stickers planted on the glass windows and the nostalgic sounds of artists (like Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Hendrix) sounding through the walls… there is a sensory overload.

Just beyond the sticker laden glass you can see homemade ranch, marinara, Hemp Cream Cheese and baked bread being concocted by the experts themselves, along with an array of sweet treats.

Cheba Hut has proven to be the best sandwich  in Arizona, that I have ever laid my stuck up taste buds on. No. Not just in Arizona… Anywhere my elastic waistband, foodie pants have traveled.  While it is a difficult decision to make with clever names like The Kind, 5-0 and White Widow, I couldn’t help but go beyond my carnivorous tendencies, ordering the Griefo; a veggie sandwich.

I am by no means a vegetarian, in fact, the only complaint I have about beef is when it doesn’t come out rare enough to moo at me. The Griefo is smothered in a homemade Hemp Cream Cheese, fresh sprouts, an array of fresh veggies and a guacamole spread, placed perfectly between home made flaky bread folds. For Cheech & Chong’s sake, if food could make you feel stoned, mission accomplished Cheba.

 

I  could tell a lot of people in line took the theme very literal, (strolling in as high as Heidi Montags eyebrows) but even if you aren’t into getting baked yourself, eating one of their “Hemp” Baked Brownies,  will make you say “yaaaa monnnn”.

When it’s all over you can wash  your new best friend (and the best sandwich ever made) down with a cold glass of Kool-aid, which they serve on tap. The employees there are always happy (go figure) to help you decide on something delicious.

I can’t wait to return , check out of reality and into this nostalgic sandwich heaven once again.