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"Japanese-style sandwiches, or sandos, and snacks are exploding in popularity in Chicago during the pandemic, and now two local industry veterans with fine dining chops are leaping into the sando fray with a pop-up they hope to transform into a physical restaurant. Cat-Su Sando, a new venture from chefs Will Schlaeger (Next, Saison, Blackbird) and Shawn Clendening (Oriole, Saison, Blackbird), debuted Monday as a virtual kitchen featuring sandwiches, grilled skewers, savory Japanese pancakes, and more. Customers can choose from five sando options, including the signature Cat-Su Sando (fried pork cutlet, Cat-Su sauce, fermented jalapeno, cabbage, milk bread) and smoked fish salad sando (smoked fish, marinated ikura, celtuce, yuzu kosho, barbecue shrimp chips, milk bread). There’s also some pretty traditional kushiyaki, or grilled skewers, okonomiyaki (savory pancakes), and snacks like onigiri (stuffed rice balls) and a “Green Eggs and SPAM” musubi (smoked SPAM, green tamago, nori). Wrap it up with packaged treats like Pocky and Hello Panda biscuits." - Naomi Waxman