Boomwich (CLOSED)

In a seemingly backward approach, Peter Entner—the Pete of PeteZaaz—built the idea for his off-the-wall sandwich spot, named for a hip-hop–style stereo, around its location. After commandeering Nicki’s Vietnamese, he kept the bread model to simplify things. “Everyone enjoys sandwiches and we’re using them to bring finer-style food to an approachable medium,” he says. Similar to his pie-slinging restaurant in Crown Heights, the Kings County sub shop mashes up far-reaching flavors (Mediterranean, Asian) and plays with format. Entner pulls chili from its bowl boundaries and slathers it between two bread slices alongside house-made cream-cheese burrata. "I like to take traditional things and mess them up a bit," he says. He even transforms customer-favorite slices into sandwiches: The Reubenese smothers pastrami in Chinese mustard, sauerkraut and mozzarella, and the C.F.C. layers chilled fried chicken, curried yellow squash and stewed collard greens with pickled chilis and fontina cheese.