Last Bite: The Woodneck at West Falmouth Market

How does one go about finding the great sandwich spots across Cape Cod? You’re driving along, and hunger strikes. The need to eat grows with each grumble of the belly, but where to turn? When one finds oneself in foreign food territory, look to the contractors. Logoed box trucks, vans, and pick-ups (many with the requisite dog in the passenger seat) can be your guide to worthy sandwich sites across the Cape. Many contractors crisscross Cape Cod running from jobsite to jobsite, with multiple stops in a day. Over many years of toil, a compilation of lunch spots forms (a listing of good, clean public bathrooms as well, but that’s for a different discussion). The sight of plumbers, electricians, and handymen at a sandwich shop is the seal of approval you’re seeking. They know where to turn to restoke their furnaces for the second half of the workday. Driving along Route 28A in West Falmouth, you’ll catch sight of those work trucks filling the parking lot of the West Falmouth Market.

As you walk across the lot to the old front door that has creaked opened for generations of hungry shoppers, workers and beachgoers, the scent of sweet smoke wafting from the smokers out back confirms you’ve made the right decision. The lengthy menu of sandwich offerings, many with names derived from local destinations, is dotted with items featuring house-smoked meats. One such sandwich is the Woodneck.

Named for Woodneck Beach, a stone’s throw from West Falmouth Market, the Woodneck is a straightforward sandwich, according to the menu: pastrami and Swiss with Dijon mustard. The twists begin to appear with cole slaw within the sandwich. However, it’s the inspired addition of sliced pickles that makes the Woodneck really stand out. The tangy tartness of the pickles balances with the creamy slaw to add a depth of flavor while never overshadowing the star of the show, Wally’s house-smoked pastrami.

Wally Barney and Mark Dickens man the smokers of West Falmouth Market nearly every day of the week to keep up with the demand. The crew of six behind the deli counter are an expert assembly line of sandwich builders who churn out up to 700
sandwiches a day throughout the summer. “We’ll smoke 160-200 pounds of pulled pork a week,” Barney states. “We’ll smoke 300 pounds of brisket, too.” All of this for the sandwiches and for the Thursday evening barbeque night throughout the summer where the staff of West Falmouth Market serves up 250 plates of barbeque in three hours! In addition to the other meats, Barney and Dickens smoke 150 pounds of pastrami after it brines for a full seven days. The beef smokes for three and a half hours, and then is steamed for an additional three hours in the oven. The tender, juicy result melts in your mouth.

The choice of bread is a key aspect that often isn’t given enough consideration. For the Woodneck and other hefty sandwiches on the menu, grilled ciabatta rolls provide the tasty and sturdy structure that holds up from the first bite to the last.

West Falmouth Market, made cozy with packed shelves and every horizontal surface covered with anything you could possibly need for breakfast, lunch or dinner, includes a butcher shop featuring more house-made items, like several kinds of sausage and bacon. Whether you’re packing up for a day at the beach or swinging in to grab the makings for dinner after a long day at work, West Falmouth Market is that neighborhood source for fare and fellowship. It’s West Falmouth’s version of a bodega where sandwich orders are entered the old-fashioned way. You approach the deli counter, fill out your order slip, and drop it into the wire basket. Deli manager “Duck” and company grab a stack of slips, and the well-choreographed ballet of sandwich building begins anew – like it does hundreds of times a day. With a menu of more than thirty sandwich choices, there’s something for everyone. For some of us, the menu starts and ends with the Woodneck.

West Falmouth Market
623 West Falmouth Highway (Route 28A), West Falmouth
508-548-1139
WestFalmouthMarket.com