Following a far too brief spell supplying residents and visitors of Adams Morgan with wine, meats, cheeses and a diverse selection of truly superb sandwiches, A.M. Wine Shoppe closed its doors for good on October 5. The small, selectively stocked market was opened in early 2010 by the co-owners of neighborhood mainstay Cashion’s Eat Place, and its commitment to the finer things was immediately apparent.
To call A.M. “a sandwich shop” feels like a gross underselling of the breadth of what the place was. Nonetheless, as the sandwiches go, it was best known for its Admorghese, a riff on the classic Italian meats hoagie that featured finochino, mortadella, prosciutto cotto, provolone and spicy pickles on a sesame roll. More than once mentioned in local media among the District’s best sandwiches, the “AdMo” was the shining star of what was one of the city’s deepest, most consistently rewarding sandwich lists. Refined renditions of classics like the Cubano and Pate & Cornichon struck a perfect balance between creativity and faithfulness to the standard. The rotating list of specials brought new surprises on a regular basis; an almost indescribably awesome bresaola sub was one memorable example from earlier this year. The Tipperary, a heavenly combination of prosciutto, fig paste and blue cheese pressed panino style was long a personal favorite of mine and easily one of my ten favorite sandwiches citywide.
It will be a great personal disappointment to remove A.M. from our map of favorite sandwich shops. It was the kind of place every neighborhood deserves, and every great neighborhood requires. Early experiences there helped inspire Eat a Sandwich, and while I’m still figuring out what this blog really is, from the beginning I knew it was sandwiches like A.M.’s that I needed to seek out and celebrate. I moved last month from Adams Morgan to Capitol Hill, and of the many places my wife and I made sure to visit on our farewell tour of the neighborhood, A.M. was at the top of the list. I’m thankful to have had one last Tipperary, and while its closing feels like a big loss for me, for Adams Morgan and for the D.C. sandwich scene altogether, I can say with certainty that I never took it for granted.