Fewer Carbs, More Flavor: Open-Face Sandwiches From Around The World

With an open-face sandwich, you can see exactly what you're getting. The bread began as a tabula rasa. All the colors of its fillings lay right in front of you, and there is something about that visual pre-digestion that makes them so appealing. It's like the epigraph before a short, delicious novella. Lest we continue waxing poetic about a sandwich, let's get to the point: We're here to show you 9 delicious open-face sandwiches from around the world. 

Vegemite is an acquired taste, but under a blanket of avocado, its intense saltiness complements the mild, buttery taste of avocado perfectly. It's the perfect starter dish for any traveler who wants to dine as the Australians, do but doesn't want to suffer the full-on brackish taste of vegemite. Avocado toast is as common as flat whites in Australian coffee shops, but the best avo-vegemite toast outside a local's kitchen is at Bondi Picnic in Sydney.

These small open-face square bread sandwiches (translation: "occupied breads") are a popular Viennese snack food. They're usually topped with some sort of mashed food, like egg salad or chicken liver, and pair well with a good, strong blonde beer. Trześniewski in Vienna sells them for € 1.20 ($1.29 USD) a pop. 

Think of Indian chilli cheese toast (that's how it is spelled in India) as a mini, bite-sized pizza with a sharp kick of spice. It is similar to the spicy Bombay cheese toast that resembles a standard grilled cheese, but the cheese has a smoky, deep taste that makes your lips tingle. Pair it with a cup of chai at Yellow Brick Road in Delhi.

The original chlebíčeky consisted of Prague ham, an eighth of a hard-boiled egg, a slice of Emmental, Hungarian salami, and a sliver of tomato on a bed of piquant potato salad. Like Viennese open-face sandwiches, chlebíčeky can be finished in two or three bites, but unlike belegte brote, a chlebíčeky is made with sliced baguettes. Try it at Chlebíčky Letná in Prague.

This open-face sandwich is stacked with a mountain of light pink coldwater shrimp over a light smear of mayonnaise. The best place to eat räksmörgås is on the west coast of Sweden, where fishmongers sell the sandwiches alongside their catches of the day — but if you can't make it to the coast, go to Melanders Fisk in Stockholm. 

Historically served as a refreshment at Oxbridge and the House of Commons, this piece of toast topped with soft-scrambled eggs and Patum Peperium Gentleman's Relish (anchovy paste with butter, herbs, and spices) is a relic that we'd love to see re-introduced into the culinary consciousness. It is still available in some shops, though, such as Spoon in Edinburgh.

Buttered rye bread with a layer or two of pålæg ("lay on"), such as cold cuts, cheese, or spreads, compose this popular Nordic nosh. It is absolutely necessary that smørrebrød be well-decorated and not sloppy. There are dozens of varieties, but a favorite is dyrlægens natmad ("Veterinarian's midnight snack"), with liver pâté, salt beef, and meat aspic decorated with raw onion rings and garden cress. Make critically acclaimed Aamanns Smørrebrød and Etabilssementet in Copenhagen your go-to for this delicacy.

A tartine is traditionally a length of ficelle (a small, thin baguette) halved lengthwise and spread with butter and jam. In an ideal world, you'd be able to teleport yourself to Paris at the snap of your fingers, but for now you can eat an excellent tartine, including a variety topped with nectarines, bleu cheese, and lavender honey, at Le Pain Quotidien locations around the world.

Tongue toast, an open sandwich prepared with sautéed beef tongue and scrambled or poached eggs, is an American delicacy that has fallen out of fashion in the past century; the earliest recipe was seen in Thomas Jefferson Murrey's Cookery for Invalids (1887). The closest relative to American tongue toast you'll find today is the seared beef tongue sandwich at Noble Sandwich Company in Austin.