Rich Letheby, who previously cooked at Sunda, dreamed of applying his Japanese-Korean roots to a variety of East-meets-West mash-ups (think Asian-style Buffalo chicken) until his cousin Chris Yoo convinced him to focus on sandwiches. Wise choice. At Sando Street, the duo’s offerings look posh enough to be served at a royal tea party but taste like they were crafted at a family-run izakaya. “I make sandwiches with foods I liked as a kid,” Letheby says. Translation: panko-crusted pork tonkatsu stacked with cabbage, chile aïoli, and katsu sauce, or furikake egg salad bull’s-eyed with a runny soft-boiled egg. Our favorite: bulgogi-marinated rib eye with grilled onions, mozzarella, cabbage, and kimchi aïoli.

The through line to these sammies is the bread. Don’t call it white bread, though. Letheby and Yoo use shokupan, a Japanese milk bread so soft it makes your favorite brioche seem downright chewy, sourced from Bakery Crescent and Pastry House Hippo in Arlington Heights. “We wanted the bread to have just a hint of sweetness,” Letheby says. Makes sense, especially if you close things out with their strawberries in ube whipped cream. A strawberry shortcake sandwich might not be for everyone, but it’s one photogenic finisher. 1547 N. Ashland Ave., Noble Square