Lardon

Lardon is a salumeria that treats the sandwich as its proving ground. This is a daytime spot in Logan Square built around house-cured meats and cheese, and the pastrami is the argument for the whole operation — it's the best in the city, full stop. The Reuben built on it works because of what surrounds the meat: goat gouda standing in for the usual Swiss, housemade sauerkraut cut sharp enough to hold against all that smoke and fat. The finocchiona and butter sandwich looks simple until the salted arugula shows up and reframes it.

The charcuterie boards are the obvious extension of a kitchen that cures its own meat, and they hold up, but the sandwiches are where the thinking is sharpest. Nothing on the menu is trying to be more than it is, and that restraint is exactly why it works.

Three separate years of Bib Gourmand recognition from Michelin confirm what the sandwiches already prove. This is a small menu executed with real precision, and the pastrami alone is worth the trip.