The 6th Annual Northside Sandwich Week will kick off on May 18 with the Northside Sandwich Sampler VI: The Lord of the Onion Rings at the Priory Hotel, 614 Pressley St.

Thirteen restaurants are included this year and will compete at the Sandwich Sampler for the right to be called Sandwich King or Queen of the Northside. The 11-day long event will run until Sunday, May 28.

Last year, Young Brothers Bar garnered the popular vote with its Short Rib Panini with a side of au jus, beating the 2015 Sandwich King and 2016 runner-up Scratch Food & Beverage that served a Pig Hill Bahn Mi.

This year the judges include Briana “Bree” White, founder of Breelicious Bites food blog; Munch Von Munchausen, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette food critic; Rod Rutheford, a former Pittsburgh Panther who has played in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers; and like a Hobbit’s Tale, Rick Sebak, who was one of the judges for the first Sandwich Sampler six years ago.

Judges will score the sandwiches on overall taste, quality of ingredients, uniqueness and creativity, and the presentation of each sandwich.

Cody Walters, main street director for the Northside Leadership Conference, said the Beer Garden will be back because of last year’s success. Participating breweries are Southern Tier Brewing Co. and Penn Brewery.

Also following last year’s success, there will be another Le Tour de Sandwich bike ride on Saturday, May 20. The ride is a guided tour that visits this year’s participating Sandwich Week restaurants and past winners.

The Sandwich Sampler will start at 6 p.m. and tickets for the sampler and the bike ride can be purchased online by clicking here. Sampler tickets are $35 and  bike ride tickets are $20.

Complimentary onion rings will be provided by the Priory Grand Hall Kitchen.

Sponsors for this year’s event include: Highmark, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, The Priory, Rivers Casino, Sustainable Pittsburgh, Beano’s, US Foods, and Isaly’s.