Inside the Obsessively Curated Pantry at Konbi, Our Best New Restaurant of the Year
An egg-salad sandwich is just an egg-salad sandwich—unless every detail is dialed-in. No one understands that better than Nick Montgomery and Akira Akuto, chefs/co-owners of Konbi in Los Angeles, our No. 1 best new restaurant in America, and creators of 2019’s most talked-about sandos (oh, and chocolate croissants, too). The menu—inspired by Japanese konbini (convenience stores)—is about as focused as the 10-seat shop in Echo Park is tiny. Which means every item in the space has to pull its weight. Here, four essential ingredients deemed worthy of their very limited shelf space.
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Photo by Alex Lau1/4Miyako Panko
These unseasoned breadcrumbs are light, airy, and just the right size: any smaller and the pork katsu (get the recipe right here) would be too bready; any bigger and its crust wouldn’t feel uniform.
Photo by Alex Lau2/4Yamasa Light Usukuchi Soy Sauce
When trying out soy sauces, the duo had one goal: Find the best possible brand at the most affordable price. After testing more than 15 varieties, they settled on Yamasa Usukuchi, which has less sodium than its competitors and a light flavor that lends their pickled vegetables a well-balanced dose of salt.
Buy it: Yamasa Light Usukuchi Soy Sauce, $13 for 1 Liter on Amazon
Photo by Alex Lau3/4Bull-Dog Tonkatsu Sauce
The Japanese brand of this sweet, zingy condiment—key to the katsu sando—has enough tang to cut through the cutlet’s richness, enough moisture to prevent the sandwich from drying out, and enough body to keep from dripping out the sandwich’s sides.
Photo by Alex Lau4/4Japanese-Made Kewpie Mayo
While this might be a cult ingredient among American chefs, not all Kewpies are created equal: “The Japanese-made one is more eggy, custardy, and shines more, so that’s what we prefer in our egg salad sandwiches.” Look for the plastic pouches (not bottles) to make sure you’re getting the good stuff.
Buy it: Japanese-Made Kewpie Mayo, $12 for two 18-oz. pouches on Amazon
