Taku Sando

"If we had an award on this guide for the most pillowy soft bread made in-house, it would probably go to Taku Sando. It’s a small Greenpoint shop from the people behind Takumen, one of LIC’s best izakayas, and did we mention how good their milk bread is? They use it to sandwich juicy katsu cutlets, creamy and sweet egg salad, and to bread their potato korokke. The Order: Ton-Katsu Sando. It’s classic, it’s rich, there are textures galore, and it does the best job of showcasing the shokupan." - will hartman, willa moore, neha talreja, bryan kim, sonal shah, molly fitzpatrick

"Taku Sando’s house-baked milk bread tastes like an unglazed cake donut, and it's the calling card of this Japanese sandwich shop that’s one of our favorite lunch options in the neighborhood. Our favorite way to go here is the pork tonkatsu sando. Between the breading on the cutlet and the thin slivers of cabbage, there’s lots of crunch that gets air bagged by the milk bread. Add in a punchy mustard and mayo combo, and you’ve got yourself a mighty fine sandwich. Either take your sando, plus some seaweed-forward ribbon fries, to Transmitter Park just a few steps away, or hang out in their backyard with a glass of natural wine. " - bryan kim, neha talreja, will hartman, molly fitzpatrick

"From the team behind LIC’s Takumen, Taku Sando is a sandwich shop in Greenpoint that focuses on Japanese milk bread. Theirs is soft and pillowy, with a crust like a perfectly smushed donut. It’s dense, chewy, a little sweet, and a great textural contrast to all the crunch in the pork and chicken katsu sandwiches. They also make egg salad and korokke sandwiches, a few salads and paper-thin ribbon fries. There are a few tables inside, but if it’s nice out, eat on the back patio with a glass of natural wine, or take your sandwich to a bench in Transmitter Park. photo credit: Nick Bechtel photo credit: Nao Fukui photo credit: Will Hartman photo credit: Nick Bechtel Food Rundown photo credit: Nao Fukui Ton-Kotsu Sando This is the thing to get at Taku Sando. They use panko made from leftover loaves for a crisp, light breading, and the sandwiches are loaded with slivered cabbage for bite, pickles, sweet katsu sauce and a mayo-and-karashi mustard situation. It's a sando worth going out of your way for. Tamago Sando This is a creamy experience. Nice and sweet like you'd expect from Japanese egg salad, this wouldn't be out of place (we imagine) at a Tokyo 7-Eleven. We prefer the ton-kotsu, but if you need two sandwiches, get this one as well. Ribbon Fries Swirling like ribbons in a rhythmic gymnastics routine, these spiralized potatoes are a uniquely shaped spud, and the dashi furikake dusting adds a salty, umami dimension. But the shape means that certain parts of the potato get nice and crispy—almost chip-like—while others are left damp." - Will Hartman

"Taku Sando in Greenpoint bakes all their own bread, which is fluffier than a cotton field, with crust the texture of a perfectly smushed donut. Their uber fatty pork shoulder katsu and chicken thigh katsu need every shred of cabbage and mustard-mayo sauce to balance them out, but the resulting sandwiches are awesome, and the egg salad sandos eat almost like egg pudding for breakfast. From the people behind Takumen, this spot also serves natural wine, and has an astroturfed backyard." - will hartman, neha talreja, bryan kim, willa moore

"It's hard to stand out among all the new businesses on Greenpoint’s restaurant row, but Taku Sando fills a nice, portable lunch-related niche. From the people behind the LIC izakaya Takumen, the small restaurant has a back patio that we’re eyeing for spring, and serves pork and chicken katsu, egg salad, and potato korokke sandwiches. They specialize in making a fluffy, slightly sweet Japanese milk bread, and if you like your sandwich with the edges cut off, you should reconsider: The chewy, dense crust is what makes these particularly good. They also serve a few different salads, and paper-thin ribbon fries, which you can get dusted with dashi furikake." - Will Hartman, Willa Moore, Neha Talreja, Sonal Shah, Tiffany Yannetta