A Dunedin sandwich shop has secured official bragging rights over the best toastie in the country.
Hungry Hobos and its "good old-fashioned comfort food" won this year’s Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover, heading off more than 80 other entries in the McClure’s Pickles competition.
The "Bat out of Hell" toastie, labelled a "joyous" eat, features home-made meatloaf, mashed potato, gravy, aged cheddar and sweet and spicy pickles between herb-buttered ciabatta.
Owner of the George St shop Romeo Dowling-Mitchell said the win was exciting and promising.
"It is nice now that we get the bragging rights ... and probably bring in a bit of business, which is a big thing."
At first, he thought the call notifying him of the win was a prank call.
"It sounded like a friend of mine, but it became apparent pretty quickly with the information they gave me that it was not a prank."
Mr Dowling-Mitchell spent some time "buzzing" by himself while waiting to break the good news to his girlfriend, who was driving at the time.
The idea for "Bat out of Hell" was to create something different, while sticking within the realms of something someone would throw together "ambitiously" with leftovers, he said.
Head judge Kerry Tyack said the combination was "at once wholly expected and a total surprise".
“The assessment team felt this ate like a toastie that has not tried to be anything other than wholly unapologetically itself.
"Simple, unctuous, familiar, comforting and delicious every bite of the way."
