Taku Sando — Restaurant in New York

when i start craving an egg salad sandwich, that craving doesn’t go away until i’ve had one. my libidinal desire for eggs and mayo on white bread makes a lot of sense when you break it down even a little. it’s proust’s madeleine. it’s mainlining nostalgia. it taps into a memory that always feels like you just forgot it. the resonance of it’s simplicity is so profound that it momentarily simplifies our experience of the world itself.

the platonic ideal of this sandwich, once but no longer a staple of your average diner, is now in a japanese convenience store. this particular egg salad sandwich has been memefied. memes become a digital mythology, and so a mythology has popped up around this pale little square for sure. obviously, i’ve wanted to try one for a while. i only just got the chance to have a version of it at taku sando in greenpoint that i imagine at least vaguely approximates the real thing.

i went to the store twice in the past during my lunch break. once, they’d closed early because they had blown up on tiktok, and the other time i didn’t check to see if they were open. sometimes just don’t check. this time all good though. first of all, such nice people. here’s what i’ll say. it was a great egg salad sandwich. i don’t regret getting it because i never would have been satisfied if i didn’t. it was also $15 and change after tip. brutal. for egg salad? brutal. the milk break was so nice. loved that it was club sandwich style - 3 layers. not only a vaguely scooby doo experience, it also really added to the texture of the sandwich and was a great touch. but $15? damn. an egg salad sandwich is fuel for the proletarian. in new york they built the skyscrapers eating them on steel beams or whatever. also, great egg salad but wasn’t the level up i was literally dreaming of. glad i got it once. make it $6 and you have my...

Ordered at their soft opening in November 2023, when they were primarily takeout only. They were still working out some kinks (e.g. no pork sandwiches available that day) but I would not hold that against them. This review is for their food only.

CHICKEN KATSU SANDWICH: 5/5 Delicious, well-balanced flavor between the fresh & crispy cole slaw and bright tonkatsu sauce. But the best part of their chicken sandwich is that they used one piece of dark meat and one piece of white meat! What a genius idea! A lot of other restaurants sometimes struggle with their katsu being too dry but Taku Sando made their chicken sandwich outstanding in my eyes.

TAMAGO SANDWICH: 5/5 Delicate sandwich with a wonderful egg flavor that wasn't over powered by mayo. The name and description might need to be corrected because this is really a traditional egg salad sandwich. There are no additional toppings (its current description as of 11/4/23 has cabbage included)

DASHI RIBBON FRIES: 3/5 Intriguing idea but underwhelming final product. The ribbon fries are cut on site - it's amazing to watch them make each order individually beginning with a spiraler. However, during the frying process, some pieces of the ribbon potatoes got stuck together. This resulted in unevenly cooked fries - mostly well done but with 10-15% of the fries stuck together in an oily, undercooked stack of potatoes. In addition, I was excited for the dashi seasoning but it really ended up adding a slightly fishy odor without contributing much in terms of flavor. I think the owners need to go back to the drawing board in terms both of cooking process and seasoning. Curious if adding Shichimi powder to their spice mix would help improve it?

Overall, would return for their sandwiches but hope their fries are better next time we're...

Title: Taku Sando: An Exceptional Sando Spot You Must Visit

My first time at Taku Sando, my girlfriend dragged me out of the house early on a lovely Sunday morning. "Let’s get a Sando each," she said.

So, we ordered one chicken Sando, one pork Sando, rainbow fries, and a Yuzu drink. While waiting for our meal, let's talk about the place.

Taku Sando isn’t a big place, with about 20-30 seats including the outdoor area. I really liked the quality of the furniture and decoration there. (I’m not going to sponsor the brand, so you’ll have to visit and experience it for yourself.)

The open kitchen reveals how they create fresh milky bread right from the oven. Honestly, the kitchen felt a bit small compared to the size of the store, but it was clean, nice, and tidy. If the ventilation is stronger that would be awesome. Oh, there was a call from the register—looks like our Sandos were ready. Yeah!

One pork and one chicken Sando. My girlfriend and I agreed that the fried chicken was a bit tastier than the pork. The chicken was fresh, juicy, and tender. But the fresh homemade milky bread was the real star. It elevated the flavor to another level. Great job!

However, the rainbow fries were unexpectedly amazing. I have no idea what kind of spice powder Taku Sando used—Nori? Shichimi? Sansho? Sea salt? —but it was very, very good. You can’t miss this if you come to Taku Sando. It's a must-have.

The Yuzu drink was refreshing, but a little light. They probably intended it to balance the flavors of the meal.

To conclude, Taku Sando is a great place to stop by while walking or shopping around the green point neighborhood on a sunny Sunday. The price is reasonable, the ingredients are fresh—what else could...