Sully's Sandwich Kitchen opened its doors on a stretch of Gerrard just east of East Chinatown three weeks ago. Primarily a takeout sandwich shop, the space has one wooden bar table and six swivel stools for dining in. There are some playful details like black neckties with "eat quality meat" printed on napkins that are meant to be tucked into your collar before chowing down, perhaps a hint that eating these creations may be a messy (but formal?) affair.

Owner Michael "Sully" Sullivan, who also co-owns Hotel Le Germain's Victor Restaurant, clearly loves sandwiches. "It's always been a dream of mine to have a sandwich place," he says. Having worked in the restaurant industry for years, he usually likes to test chefs he hires by asking them to make him a sandwich because he thinks it's a good test of skill to be able to create a truly great one.

Sullivan is serious about his sandwiches. He calls them "consciously crafted food" with a professional kitchen mentality, so everything (except the bread) is made in-house. He tried 37 different bakeries, before finally decidiing on the one that makes the shop's custom buns - he won't divulge which place it is, wanting to keep it a secret for now. It was important for them to have the right texture and get the right bread-to-filling ratio (food math is fun!). He has also sourced Mennonite-raised meat, which means it's all-natural and doesn't contain preservatives.

The menu is simple, currently with six sandwich options, including a daily special. There is also a hot dog, a salad and house-cut fries on offer. Keeping it simple is probably wise; from what we sampled, it's all done exceptionally well.

Rosie's Porchetta ($8), named after a friend of Sullivan's who taught him to make the traditional Italian pork roast (she owns Speducci Mercatto ), is a Mexicanized version of the sandwich. The meat is more like carnitas, pulled apart instead of in chunks, and comes with crackling, roasted poblano pepper, pickled red onion, queso fresco, tomatillo sauce, parsley, fresh lime and a roasted jalapeno aioli.

It's a symphony of flavours and textures: some spice, acid, crunch, and the perfect amount of bread. The bun is a real winner (thankfully, after so much effort); it's crusty on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside - obviously fresh. This may just be a contender for my fave non-traditional porchetta sandwich in the city.

An Asian-inspired vegetarian sandwich, the Meatless ($7.50), contains a tempura-battered and marinated piece of tofu with sesame mustard and a slaw of carrots, pepper, daikon, broccoli and green onion. It's flavourful, has interesting textures and is certainly substantial enough for a meal, but the moist interior of the medium-firm tofu is a little too squishy for me; that may just be my meat-eating bias coming through, though.

More up my alley is the Shrimp Po Boy ($8), with tempura shrimp, southern slaw, romaine, tomato and creole aioli. It may not be a traditional version of the Louisiana classic since it uses the same secretly sourced bun as the other sandwiches and not a baguette, but like Rosie's Porchetta, that in no way means it isn't tasty. Traditions are meant to be broken as long as the end results are delicious.

I'll definitely be back to try the $6.50 ADB (all-day breakfast) sandwich when I'm next in this part of town. And another Rosie's Porchetta.

Photos by Jesse Milns.