To try and decide each week where and what to eat around the basin can be a challenge — there are so many amazing choices. In this feature we’ll dive into dishes that will surely satisfy those hunger pangs and leave you wondering where to go next.

The name of this week’s dish is typically rooted in Italian-American culture. So, how fitting the ingredients found in this sandwich mirror that image and take your flavor receptors for spin around the racetrack in a Ferrari Testarossa.

Fresh out of their (new) second location’s kitchen, my tasty trip all starts with the perfect bagel selection for this ride: the garlic onion. Yes, you can tailor make all of their sandwiches to fit your needs, but having those deep layered flavors of garlic and onion gives this sandwich a home-y feeling.

At its core, the Goombah is a vegan offering (roasted peppers, fresh mozzarella, tomato, and house-made pesto, then topped with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic). But, if I get an inside track that adding pastrami sends it over the top, I’m not going to be shy about taking that recommendation. Not going to lie, it actually got me way more amped than any sandwich description should (which is totally a me problem).

Any time you can pull apart the sandwich and get melt-y strands of cheese dangling from each slice, daring your mouth to take the high wire bite, I’m foaming at the gills. The peppers and tomato keep each bite super juicy and (thanks to Chef Justin’s suggestion), the pastrami adds a fantastic smokiness and richness.

But, perhaps the tie that binds everything together for me is that scratch pesto. It’s super bright, slightly sweet and earthy, and get’s locked into every bite as it, not only permeates the nooks and crannies of the bagel, but sheds into the massive amount of ingredients that are also stacked in between.

With this sandwich also came some foreshadowing that we’ll start to see some new limited-batch bagel flavors that will bounce between both locations. If any of them are as delicious as what they’re currently kicking out each day, I’ll be waiting … with my mouth wide open.

Tahoe Bagel Company has two locations – the newest at 276 Ste. A108 Kingsbury Grade in Stateline and the O.G. at 1018 Al Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe. For menu and ordering information visit them online at tahoebagelco.com.