If owner Ali Bagheri's Seasonal Pantry were not a stone's throw away to supply locally sourced ingredients, chances are SUNdeVICH, Bagheri's sandwich shop, would find another way to guarantee freshness and quality. Its mission to serve sandwiches that create a range of taste experiences calls for nothing short of extremes (one of which is using the best ingredients in order to meet its ambitions).
Because of this, it is all the more ironic that one of the weakest links in SUNdeVICH's winning formula is something as basic as its distinctive baguettes. They are firm like the best French baguettes or ficelles might be; however, rather than collapsing into an airy interior, the bread here is just dense. Although not egregious, this issue could easily be remedied by simply toasting the baguettes (when each order is placed). Toasting the baguettes as such would most definitely benefit those sandwiches that don't have a warm filling to soften them.
Luckily, the different preparations that are layered into the untoasted baguettes are all first rate and prepared so well that the aforementioned shortcomings of the bread, more often than not, usually just fade from consciousness. Named for a different international city, each sandwich here finds its own identity and creates a unique flavor profile from a different part of the world.
The Moscow, for instance, shines a much deserved spotlight upon the house chicken salad (made from a blend of chicken, potatoes, and eggs...and, unexpectedly, diced up gherkins that add a bit of texture). This sandwich, which may appear to be the most simple of all the sandwiches on the menu, packs a deceptive punch by virtue of the smooth, creamy blend of its ingredients.
The Isfahan, which draws inspiration from owner Ali Bagheri's native Iran, is a sandwich consisting of a soufflé of spinach, mushrooms, and barberries. Dabbed with a light tzatziki sauce that adds a creamy touch to the proceedings, the soufflé, cut into planks, exudes a rich spinach-y taste. Walnuts, which are disbursed throughout the smooth, dark green soufflé, add a pleasing crunchy contrast.
The popular Istanbul features long pieces of ground grilled meat (a mix of beef and lamb). The meat, pulled off skewers from the grill, tastes savory and earnestly aromatic as the herbs that accompany it coax out its most favorable characteristics. But, the end product is, ultimately, very herbal (in a way that accentuates the meat but that identifies the confident herbs as the ultimate victor).
The Saigon, voted the best offal sandwich by the City Paper, is a take on the classic Vietnamese bánh mì and interprets its authentic flavors very abidingly. The chicken liver mousse and pork terrine are supple (perhaps, even inspired) and taste faintly fatty and pleasingly rich and would, certainly, rival many "traditional" bánh mì loafs or pâtés. Together with its faithful, bánh mì accoutrements (plus a lively sriracha mayo), the ingredients, in total, shine with both simplicity and flair.
The Kingston, another SUNdeVICH favorite, delivers a generous offering of chicken cooked in jerk seasonings and that is dressed up with pineapple salsa and garlic mayo. A spicy slaw provides a textural complement and kicks up the spice level in the process. The tenderness of the chicken is striking; and, at times, it has an almost melt-in-the-mouth quality to it. Its only drawback is that the actual jerk flavor is not terribly pronounced. But, taken on its own inherent merits, it's one of the finer chicken sandwiches around.
The Havana, consisting of hot roast pork that is torn and pulled into a mix of chunks and bits, is a terrific take on the Cuban classic. Despite being shredded as such, the char and crust that once graced the surface of the pork is still intact; and, the marinade, in which it once bathed, tastes ever present and obedient. As a result, the pork, with equally compliant gruyere cheese and dijonnaise as cohorts, exemplifies the potent and timeless partnership between meat and cheese.
Sigmund Freud once famously said that, "sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar." And, while it may also be true that "sometimes, a sandwich is just a sandwich" (with it pointing toward nothing else beyond itself), that can't be said of the sandwiches at SUNdeVICH. They symbolize something grand. They have to, and they do. read more