After checking in with Sandbox Bakery owner Mutsumi Takehara a few times this past month, I was happy to see her tweet that her new second business officially opened in the former Maggie Mudd location, 903. She is serving breakfast and lunch daily from 9am-3pm, and dinner will launch February 1st.
On yesterday’s lunch menu: crispy shrimp ball with aioli and sweet and sour plum sauce in a challah hot dog bun, chicken tsukune burger on a potato roll, and Panang fish curry in a Bernal roll (all items $7-$9, and come with mixed greens). You have the option of getting dishes like these (and more) over rice or salad, or you can upgrade to a bento for $3 more and get rice, and your choice of two sides, like corn fritter with Kaffir lime (um, hello), soba noodle salad, or crispy kale.
In case you’re wondering about the smoker out front, Mutsumi’s husband, Mike (who did all the work for the restaurant and bakery), welded the giant smoker. His dad owns a farm in Oregon and the couple is getting some pigs from them, and then butchering and smoking them in the smoker! Today, there were some ribs and a roasted porchetta sandwich to add to the menu mix, and they also do brisket and pastrami.
There are about 20 seats total at a communal table and a couple four tops, plus some stools at a counter. The website will eventually go live here. 903 Cortland Ave. at Gates.
The front of 903 (avec smoker!). Photo by Renee Crawshaw.
