<<< VOTING CLOSED FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3 2013 >>>

Everyone eats it. Everyone has a favorite. Loyalty? It can inspire the rabid fandom of a true sandwich devotee. Maybe your obsession is with the deli with the effed up reader board - or perhaps you drive across town for ginormous portions. Maybe you're an adherent of a particular country's style, declaring all others, in your jingoistic ethnic fervor, treasonous.

The best sandwich in the South Sound? You think you know where to find it. We all do.

After weeks of feverish voting (and with the help of a complicated computer program stolen from cavemen) we at the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters have watched you, beloved readers, narrow down the region's sandwiches to the very best 16, the cream of the lunch pales. Yesterday, the first eight sandwiches did battle. Today, the remaining eight go at it. Wrap us up in Saran wrap and stick a toothpick stabbed with an olive between our new rolls of fat - this is exciting!

Yesterday's Results

Game 1: Mike's Deluxe (MSM Deli, 2220 Sixth Ave., Tacoma) vs. Big Tacoma (Pacific Coffee House & Deli, 1201 Pacific Ave., Tacoma)

When first discussing the Tournament of Sandwiches, in editorial meetings that seem like they were many moons ago, MSM Deli was mentioned almost immediately. It's got a following, and everyone knows it. MSM quickly comes to the lips of many when discussing the best South Sound sandwiches, and obviously the Weekly Volcano readers chose wisely when they nominated the Mike's Deluxe for the tournament. With 78 percent of the vote Mike's Deluxe dominated downtown Tacoma's Pacific Coffee House and its Big Tacoma sandwich, a venue and a sandwich that defied the expectations of many simply because it's a brand new business. Hold your head high Big Tacoma. That was one helluva run.

Game 2: Dungeness Crab & Shrimp Melt (The Lobster Shop, 4015 Ruston Way, Tacoma) vs. Tempeh Reuben (Darby's Café, 211 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T is how the song goes, and that's just what the Dungeness Crab & Shrimp Melt has been earning so far in the Tournament of Sandwiches, knocking off Darby's Tempeh Reuben yesterday and garnering - get this! - 75 percent of the vote. This is all the more impressive when you consider The Lobster Shop took out The Swiss just a round earlier. The Melt moves into the Grilled Eight round.

Game 3: Mom's Sloppy Joe (Crockett's Public House, 118 E. Stewart Ave., Puyallup) vs. Turkey BLT (The Hub, 203 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma)

The way The Hub has managed to bring it during this year's Tournament of Sandwiches has been nothing short of amazing. Yesterday, many already had the much-publicized competitor Crockett's and its Mom's Sloppy Joe penciled in as a winner. Those people, however, where foolish as The Hub's Turkey BLT once again proved its sandwich prowess. The votes don't lie, and when the final buzzer sounded The Hub squeaked by with 53 percent of the vote and moves into Grilled Eight competition.

Game 4: Italian Sub (Meconi's Italian Subs, 5225 Lacey Blvd. SE, Lacey) vs. The Cubana (El Zocalo Tortas Y Bakery, 701 S. 38^th St., Tacoma)

Despite a late push from the Lincoln District's El Zocalo, Meconi's Italian Subs and its large, devoted, Lacey following proved too powerful in yesterday's action, catapulting into the Grilled Eight with a narrow victory. Meconi's is known for its soft bread, and some analysts say the popular Lacey sandwich joint was too soft on El Zocalo, winning by a margin of 22 votes. Whatever. The Italian Sub has one day to rest before it begins Grilled Eight play. 

Stick a toothpick in them! The following are advancing to the next round:

• MSM Deli's Mike's Deluxe
• The Lobster Shop's Dungeness Crab & Shrimp Melt
• The Hub's Turkey BLT
• Meconi's Italian Sub's Italian Sub

>>> The daily sandwich battles here on Spew are sponsored by SUBWAY in Orting, Puyallup, Tacoma, Spanaway and Lakewood.

OK, let's check out today's Sliced 16 sandwich battles. Vote for one sandwich joint per battle. Voting for today's sandwich battles ends at 11:45 p.m.