........And the good ol’ sandwich shop: Darwin’s (148 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, 354-5233) is one of the few good sandwich shops locally that has a huge and innovative sandwich list, including classic and more esoteric fare. Thus, I list it here in a category of its own.

Try the A.R.C. (hot roast beef, cheddar, and barbecue sauce), the Acacia (tuna salad made with Jamaican relish), and the Appleton (chicken salad with diced apple, celery, and raisins). Or you can create your own sandwich from Darwiin’s endless list of ingredients.....

All this good cheer and good food notwithstanding, I now feel, post-research, that I would rather die than eat another sandwich. Which is really a way of saying that by the end of my search I became incredibly picky, and that the sandwiches described above are honestly exceptional and really do eclipse all others.

The Boston Phoenix, “Sandwiches~the new high-concept food”, by: Sally Sampson, June 18, 1995.

.......Colorful food generally tastes better, and the sandwiches at Darwin’s Ltd., cover the entire color spectrum......tucked just outside Harvard Square, you’ll taste the reds and pinks of peppers and prosciutto, the greens and oranges of avocado and carrots. And you’ll taste new unnamed colors from the kaleidoscope of flavor combinations served at Darwin’s, like horseradish-scallion mayonnaise or the blend of cucumber, cream cheese, and capers topping the smoked - salmon sandwich.

You’ll use two hands for these sandwiches and probaby get some honey mustard on your fingers. The Foster, which boasts ham, salami, provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and green peppers with an herb vinaigrette, stands four inches tall on a choice of nine different breads. Hummus, avocado, carrots, tomatoes, sprouts, and apple (yes, apple) make the Hubbard Park one of the most colorful and tasty sandwiches around.

....Actually, the space is a hair’s width away from being cramped, but that’s part of the charm. And Darwin’s is expanding. Soon there’ll be more seating and an area for morning fare, including coffee, scones, and muffins. It remains to be seen whether the appealing intimacy of this neighborhood sandwich shop can survive the expansion. Regardless, for someone with a deli-size wallet and a gourmet’s palate, Darwin’s is a pot of gold at the end of the flavor rainbow.

The Boston Phoenix, “On the Cheap”, Darwin’s Ltd.: A rainbow of flavors, June, 2002, by: Nina MacLaughlin