The last thing Amy Waas said as I walked out of the doors of Cheeni with a paper bag of sandwiches in hand, was to not tell anyone about the sandwiches.
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The problem is, the secret is already out in a big way. The Super Secret Sandwich Pop-Up is the dining phenomenon of the summer.
Waas and her mother, Cheeni Chef Preeti Waas, are running a month-long lunchtime pop-up called Super Secret Sandwiches, a password-only, sell-out-always, gauntlet of sandwich ecstasy. The menu includes options like the “Chapli’d Cheese,” an Indian-spiced take on the Chopped Cheese, a Turkey Bacon (Curry Leaf) Ranch, a mint chutney chicken salad, a smashed samosa sandwich on griddled bread, a butter chicken melt on focaccia bread, plus sweet treats like chocolate chip cookies.
The sandwiches are all made by Amy Waas, single-handedly running a flattop grill of sizzling buttered bread and aromatic sandwich fillings while her mother Preeti expedites and packs up orders.
“Week two I honestly thought was going to be a little less crazy, but I’ve learned I’m so naive,” Amy Waas said while preparing a mint chutney chicken salad sandwich. “I can never trust my judgment again.”
Perhaps unintentionally, Waas created a sandwich spectacle surpassing any expectation. When Cheeni first opened in Durham three years ago, it started with a lunch service. But that later ended when sales were too inconsistent.
Now, the spark of the pop-up ignited something insatiable in the Durham lunch crowd, with people waiting in droves for their carefully made sandwiches.
“I think it’s the pop-up, and sandwiches always excite people,” said Preeti Waas, while hand-smashing a trio of just-fried samosas. “Sandwiches seem more… approachable.”
Like many great adventures, the Super Secret Sandwiches begin with a riddle. Pre-orders officially begin on Fridays, but that might be the riskiest way to try and get a sandwich. Insiders should look out for a mid-week Instagram post sprinkled with clues, inviting sandwich seekers to ask for the password, which is freely given until the sandwiches are sold out. Customers pick Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week for their sandwich pick up.
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By now it should be clear that the Super Secret Sandwich pop up is not for the faint of heart. But no great sandwich ever is.
And if there’s one consensus about the Super Secret Sandwiches, it is that they are, indeed, great.
I wasn’t fast enough to score a sandwich in Week One, but managed to get a Chapli’d Cheese and a Turkey Bacon (Curry-Leaf) Ranch in Week Two.
The Chopped Cheese is having a major moment and this Chapli’d version is upgraded with sharp chiles and warm coriander, the ground beef just barely held together by the melted cheese, stuffed in a griddled soft hoagie roll.
The Turkey is generously ranched, with a thick summer tomato and plenty of bacon. The genius that holds it all together is a half-cut on the focaccia, offering some stability for a deliciously slippery sandwich.
Despite the enormous frenzy stirred up by these sandwiches, this secret endeavor already has an expiration date. There are two more weeks left for the Super Secret Sandwich pop up and no word on whether there will be an extended engagement.
“No, so much no,” Waas said. “After this I’m never making a sandwich again.”
Perhaps it will live on in some way, but the pop-up ends Sept. 17, so make sure to get orders in by Friday. And be patient about pick ups. These sandwiches are removed from the lunch rush, they are moments to savor.
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