Armani Johnson has a thing for sandwiches, and that’s good news for us.
The 31-year-old chef is running a pop-up called I Am a Sandwich on Mondays (at least through the spring, he says) at Mattie & Eddie’s in Westpost (formerly Pentagon Row), featuring four of his creations ($19 to $21).
It’s hard to choose a favorite, but my money is on the General Tso’s shrimp po’boy, which finds crispy, buttermilk-brined shrimp tossed with chives and fried garlic and stuffed inside crusty French bread from the award-winning D.C. bakery Bread Furst, with lettuce, tomato, General Tso sauce and lemongrass aioli. The jumble of crunch, sweetness and tanginess is irresistible.
Born in D.C. and raised in Prince George’s County, Johnson has gravitated toward the kitchen ever since childhood. After graduating in 2012 from the Art Institute of Washington in Rosslyn (now closed) with an associate degree in culinary arts and a concentration in baking and pastry, he worked in various area restaurants before landing a position as the opening sous-chef at D.C.’s ABC Pony (now closed). That’s where he worked with Mattie & Eddie’s chef Casey Bauer, who now hosts his pop-up.
The other three sandwiches on the menu are equally tantalizing. Johnson accurately describes his AJ Smash burger as “a nod to surf and turf that’s like a Big Mac, but with crab dip on it.” The Banh Moe is a riff on Vietnamese banh mi with D.C.’s venerable fave, the half smoke, serving as the star protein, accompanied by liver paté, pickled jicama and carrots, aioli, cucumbers and cilantro.
Last but not least is a galbi steak and cheese (galbi is a soy-based Korean marinade) with American and provolone cheese, caramelized onions, kimchi, ssamjang (a condiment similar to gochujang) aioli and jalapenos. Save room, if you can, for Johnson’s dreamy banana pudding.