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Konbi, a tiny restaurant in L.A.’s Echo Park neighborhood, became a megahit on social media thanks to one humble dish: an egg salad sandwich. Lately, we’ve seen the trend all over New York, from fine-dining establishments to contenders for our best cheap eats in NYC list.
These sandwiches are not what you’d find at an afternoon tea or even one of the best New York delis—it’s better. The Japanese-style sandos inspired by Konbi often feature soft milk bread with half-moons of soft-boiled egg and have been popping up everywhere on Instagram this year. While Konbi did hold a pop-up in New York this spring, you can order these sandos, and other variations, throughout the city.
Bibble & Sip
Photograph: Ali Garber
From cream puffs that ooze with matcha-flavored custard to lychee soft serve, Bibble & Sip deftly infuses Asian flavors into its selection of beverages and pastries. This past summer, they jumped into the egg-salad sando ($5.43) game, bringing fluffy house-made milk bread to the table. 174 Hester St. and 253 W. 51st St.
Hall
Photograph: Cody Rasmussen
Chef Hiroki Odo constructs his egg-salad sando ($4) with the same precision that informs his kaiseki menus. The house-made bread is sliced diagonally to showcase the mixture, which is tinged with mayo and mustard and topped with a soft-boiled organic egg. You can add salmon or prosciutto, too. 17 W. 20th St.
Otaku Katsu
Credit: Johnny Vo
The egg salad sando ($12) here incorporates some of our favorite Japanese ingredients: fluffy shokupan bread, jammy eggs and Kewpie mayo (a slightly creamier and sweeter recipe). The side of seaweed-flecked potato chips is an ideal pairing with your comforting sandwich. 131 Rivington St.
Benno
Photograph: Courtesy of Benno
Chef Jonathan Benno recently debuted a bar-snack menu at his eponymous restaurant, and one of its sandwiches is worthy of a spot on his tasting menu: A half ounce of American sturgeon caviar adorns the egg salad on pain au lait ($25) for a very decadent touch. The portions of each slice hit the ideal ratio of egg to caviar. 7 E. 27th St.
Hi-Collar
Photograph: Courtesy of Hi-Collar
Since 2013, Hi-Collar has been serving a kansai-style sando ($10) that is made with an omelette instead of egg salad, which goes well with the sophisticated coffee menu. Today, it’s still a favorite at this East Village spot, which operates as a café during the day and turns into a bar at night. 214 E. 10th St.