When Service Bar partners Chad Spangler and Glendon Hartley began thinking of names for their new burgers and fried chicken venture, they tried imagining their ideal guest. Ultimately, their daydreaming conjured Sandi.
“We see her as this really, really energetic, lovely person,” says Spangler. “A woman who would walk in, order three cheeseburgers and eat all of them, but still be very dainty and polite.”
Once they had her in mind, the aesthetic for what became Sandi Buns came naturally. The website and Instagram feed are full of peachy pinks and minty greens, giving a breezy, carefree sensibility to the new enterprise, which began in late January as a virtual restaurant operating out of Service Bar’s kitchen. Sandi Buns is available for delivery and pickups with a pre-order; no walkups are allowed. For now, the concept will run indefinitely.
The casual concept made sense to them given the pressures of the pandemic. “Restaurant food is great to get every once in a while,” says Spangler, “but after fees and everything, it becomes even more expensive than even going to a restaurant. And you miss out on the experiences. We think having more economically-priced comfort food that travels very well in to-go packaging is more viable right now.”
Helming the kitchen is chef Carlos Delgado, who simultaneously oversees the Peruvian pop-up Criollo at the restaurant, as well as Service Bar’s menu. He will also helm a three-concepts-in-one Peruvian restaurant in Blagden Alley — Chelita, Causa, and Amazonia — which he, Spangler, and Hartley aim to open later this year. Previously, Delgado was head chef at José Andrés’ Peruvian-Asian mashup China Chilcano and chef-owner of the now-closed Peruvian restaurant Ocopa on H St. NE.
Sandi Buns features four specialty burgers, made with either beef from Seven Hills Food in Lynchburg, Virginia or Impossible Meat. One of the more ingenious creations is the Puff Puff Smash with blue cheese and bacon, “which has a special place in my heart — or I should say blocks a special place in my heart,” jokes Spangler. The whole burger is smoked with hickory wood chips, so when a diner opens the takeout container they’re greeted with a whoosh of smoke. Like all the burgers, it arrives on a Martin’s potato bun (the chicken sandwiches are served on sesame seeded Martin’s potato buns).
When it came to Sandi’s Spice Bomb, the pair had one goal: “To make something that tasted like Flamin’ Hot Cheetos,” says Spangler. The outcome is a Nashville hot style burger amped up with chili oil and a spicy dry rub, and complemented with pimento peppers, American cheese from Cooper (a beloved Philadelphia brand), apple butter, caramelized onions, pickles, and their special sauce, which Spangler describes as “zesty Thousand Island that’s a little less creamy and a little more spicy.”
Chicken sandwiches mostly take their cues from iconic fast food favorites: Popeyes, KFC, and Chick-fil-A. Made with thighs from Murray’s Chicken based in southeastern Pennsylvania, the meat gets a 24-hour brine before it’s breaded and deep fried. One exception is the Charred and Feathered. Nodding to Delgado’s heritage, it comes coronated with Peruvian black mint, chimichurri, huancaína sauce (cheese sauce spiked with ají amarillo chiles), salsa criolla (Peruvian red onion relish), and avocado.
Sides include Fuckin’ Hot Fries, which are dusted with the same spice rub as Sandi’s Spice Bomb. “You could call them Flamin’ Hot Fries, but we don’t want to get sued by a company that’s much bigger than ours,” Spangler says.
The pair hopes to draw on diners’ imagination by crowd sourcing ideas from them for specialty burgers and fried chicken sandwiches. Contenders can submit ideas by commenting on Sandi Buns’ Instagram posts, sending them a DM, or tagging them in their own post. “This is an outlet to do something quirky that we wouldn’t normally do,” says Hartley. “And it’s a way for us to connect with guests in a way we haven’t done before.”
Sandi Buns is located at 926 U St. NW. Hours are Tuesday-Friday 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m.-10 p.m.
