All hail the lobster roll

Northeasterny wannabe East Hampton Sandwich Co. docks in Snider Plaza

East Hampton Sandwich Co., specializing in "handcrafted" sandwiches, opens September 12 in Snider Plaza. The owner has a rather Northeastern-sounding name: Hunter Pond.

According to a release, Pond wants to serve "elevated sandwiches using the finest ingredients in a stylish, comfortable atmosphere." We sure hope "elevated" means the sandwiches are floating over the table or maybe suspended on a scaffolding made of tiny toothpicks.

Continuing with the Northeastern theme, the menu features an "authentic" lobster roll -- always aspired to, yet so rarely achieved -- described as having both knuckle and claw meat, chives, split lobster tail and microgreens. Another sandwich called the hot cheese and short rib has white American cheese, sliced short rib, caramelized onion and arugula. Roast beef comes with spinach, feta cheese and purple onion, plus a red pepper and chive horseradish sauce. (Boy, that's a lot of flavor notes in a single sandwich.) The $9 cheeseburger comes with Beecher's white cheddar and a marinated lettuce shred with sriracha Dijonnaise.

We sure hope "elevated" means the sandwiches are floating over the table or maybe suspended on a scaffolding made of tiny toothpicks.

Sorry, vegans, but the vegetarian options both have cheese, so there's no sammy for you. One version has asparagus and Gruyere; the other, goat cheese and avocado. If you're anti-bread, you can get the sandwich filling in a salad version plopped atop spinach, Italian mix or romaine. If you're pro-alcohol, East Hampton serves beer and wine. Sides include potato chips and slaw, both $3 a pop, and grilled asparagus. East Hampton also does a seasonal soup, which is currently a New Englandy corn chowder.

Pond is proud to brine the meats in-house; salad dressings, soups, sides, desserts and sauces are also made on the premises. But breads come from Empire Baking Co., which is wise, because Empire breads are hard to beat.

Alex Urrunaga of Plan B Group did the interior design; you may know the firm's work from Oak and Bolsa. This design is based on a traditional beach home, comprising a color palette of yellow, gray and white, with red accents and lots of "shiplap." Here's a photo, in case you need a reminder that shiplap is a rough-surfaced tan wood.

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