Selecting the single best sandwich in every state is a pretty tall order. But when People magazine published its list in May of this year, they made a great selection for the state of Ohio.

First of all, Cheapside Cafe (326 East 8th St., Cincinnati; 513-345-6618, cheapsidecafe.com) is not an obvious choice. The stylish little place, with a long counter made of wood from an old paper mill, sits a bit off the beaten path in a design-oriented neighborhood. It’s open every day, but for breakfast and lunch only.

Jon Mouch and his partner Joseph Creighton opened Cheapside in May 2014. “We’ve been offering the same menu since day one,” Mouch told us when we stopped in for breakfast. Chief among those menu items is the simply named “Breakfast Sandwich” that beat out perhaps thousands of other Ohio sandwiches for People‘s acclaim.

But it is a genius of a little sandwich. We especially like the fact that it makes clever use of pimento cheese, the ubiquitous Southern staple of most appetizer trays and cocktail parties. We wrote about the pretty reddish spread earlier as a good dish to serve at Christmas parties. Mouch and Creighton were more creative. They pair pimento cheese with crisp bacon and a fried egg on delicious multigrain ciabatta.

“The trick is to use good bread and cook the egg the same way every time,” Mouch said.

The flavor combination seemed just about perfect. Unless, of course, you want something different. Mouch told us that the kitchen routinely turns out dozens of variations. Pat likes eggs, but just not fried. So she ordered her sandwich with roasted tomatoes instead. Our friend Priscilla, a vegetarian from southern California, substituted avocado for the bacon. And we all loved our sandwiches. We’re still debating which one was the best.

Perhaps People should have a run-off.