Fresh Eats in Pilsen at Andorka's Sandwich Shop

I'd read about the opening of this place on DNAinfo and was intrigued to check them out. I decided to do so the opening week but not before I drove past the place once and then wondered again where it was upon pulling up.


Hiding on Halsted Street

It has the looks and feel of a place Potbelly would move into. Then upon walking inside it has the feeling of the original Potbelly on Lincoln avenue but the comparisons to Potbelly stop at the sandwiches. Andorka's bakes their bread in house giving you the choice of white, wheat or whole grain.


a peek inside

Upon choosing my sandwich the owner Matt was hand slicing a beautiful loaf of bread to get it going. All the options look good and the ingredients are a step above the average sandwich shop. Pickles are made on site and the chips are fried fresh to order. I look forward to trying some of the other sandwiches including the braised goat. On this visit I had a particular taste for a ham sandwich so thats what I went with and it was wonderful.


Ham Sandwich

Along with very high quality ham this sandwich includes smoked cheddar, pickles and grain mustard. Simple but satisfying. The house baked bread and well sourced meats being the reasons why. This part of Halsted is slowly becoming a nice block to grub on with Nightwood across the street as well as Del Toro and also Skylark down the block. Save the anger for when Quizno's opens up shop.


The insides

Andorka's Sandwich Shop
2110 South Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 763-6916

This place is really good. Its in a building that has no obvious sign - sometimes theres a sandwich chalkboard out front, but you'd miss it if you were driving by - he has a little hand lettered sign in the door window. Its across the street from Nightwood.

They are now making bagels for breakfast sandwiches - and he usually has some for lunch too - they are very, very good (the owner used to bake the Montreal like bagels at Reno). The cured sandwich is great - a bunch of cured meats with a really crunchy giardanara, and there's chips with malt vinegar on the tables or packets to go.

Theres a bocce ball court getting set up next door - sounds like it will be available to play at this summer.

This place is right out of a Wes Anderson movie. Come for the single slices of protein on fragrant Midcentury Modern sandwich bread, stay for the lemon-tarragon water offered piously in Aunt Doreen's chipped jam jar. I can appreciate a spare sandwich with a slathering of irony (the Cured is artfully square - I think Jim Graziano eating one should be an installation at the MCA), and I hope the rest of this two-fisted overstuffed fusion-gravy sandwich town can as well, because bocce and potato chips would be fun this summer. The flavors are good and the people are lovely, and I hope they might forgive me an occasional Al's chaser.