Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
If the restaurant gods in St. Louis had smiled on Amy Guo and Daniel Jensen the way the latter initially hoped for, there would be no Sando Shack food truck and no Sweet & Spicy Chicken Katsu Sando. When the couple returned here from Seattle to open Hello Poke, a poke kitchen at City Foundry STL—which was forced to postpone its opening due to the pandemic—the duo switched gears to another obsession: Japanese-style sandwiches. A string of successful pop-ups led to the introduction of the Sando Shack food truck in September 2020. A year later, City Foundry opened, Hello Poke became a success, and Sando Shack is still rolling along. The bestselling sando is made with a brined, seasoned, panko-breaded chicken thigh, which is deep-fried to order. The cabbage, carrot, and cilantro slaw contains both wasabi mayo and Kewpie mayo, and a drizzle of tonkatsu sauce pleases mild or spicy palates. The food truck makes public appearances, or it can be booked for private events. Maybe Guo and Jensen would consider bringing along some poke to cross-promote?
