Chef Vivian Lee is ready to open the doors to her long-awaited sandwich shop Leftie Lee’s.
After several weeks of operating with limited hours and menus, the counter-service concept will fully open June 1 inside the Olive and Pine adaptive reuse development at 6 Olive St. in Avondale Estates.
Since announcing her plans to open Leftie Lee’s in 2021, Lee has spent time researching recipes and experimenting in the kitchen, perfecting the sandwiches that would make the final cut at the eatery.
The result is a menu that includes several breakfast and lunch sandwiches, as well as sides like Hawaiian mac salad and crispy potatoes, a kids menu, and a rotating selection of pastries including croissants, cookies and muffins.
Lee is particularly proud of the braised beef sandwich inspired by one of her favorite Korean dishes that subs in beef chuck for short ribs, drizzled with perilla ranch and served on her popular milk bread.
Credit: Courtesy of @heyyywinnie
Credit: Courtesy of @heyyywinnie
Another highlight is the Moroccan chicken salad, based on an apricot chicken tagine that incorporates cinnamon, turmeric and almonds, also served on Lee’s milk bread (she also makes ciabatta and focaccia for some of her other sandwiches).
A portobello mushroom shawarma sandwich with baba ganoush serves as a vegan option. Lee plans to rotate several of the sandwiches seasonally.
Leftie Lee’s’ weekend brunch menu features dishes like kimchee buttermilk biscuits with gravy, and peanut butter-stuffed French toast inspired by a Hong Kong breakfast dish.
The small space, which will also include a retail section with packaged goods like crackers and salads from local food businesses, is “light and airy with pops of color.” Lee said.
Credit: Courtesy of @heyyywinnie
Credit: Courtesy of @heyyywinnie
Olive + Pine offers indoor communal seating throughout the building, as well as picnic tables on an outdoor terrace.
Before developing Leftie Lee’s, which is named for her daughter, Lee studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York and worked as the executive pastry chef at Osteria Mattone and Table & Main before launching her pop-up, Foodcation Forever.
She also sold her croissants and milk bread dough pastries at butcher shop and market Kinship in Virginia-Highland.
Leftie Lee’s’ opening hours are 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays. On nights when the sandwich shop isn’t open, Lee plans to open her space to pop-ups.
While a salon, gym and music school have already opened in Olive and Pine, several food and beverage concepts are set to join Leftie Lee’s in the coming weeks, according to developer Steven Chan.
Wonderful World, a coffee shop from Chan’s wife, Sylvia, will open June 7 with a menu of coffee and tea drinks. Brisk, which Chan describes as “QT without the gas,” will debut later in June with soft-serve ice cream, and grab-and-go options like empanadas and dumplings.
Niteowl, a tiki bar and pizza-by-the-slice concept from the owners of Edgewood Pizza and Handlebar in Old Fourth Ward, will open in the fall.
6 Olive St., Avondale Estates. .leftielees.com
Scroll down to see the full opening menu for Leftie Lee’s:
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
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