Mike and Patty's

For men and women to happily share the same space requires compromise: she has to ditch hundreds of ornamental bed pillows, and he has to sell his motorcycle so there's room in the garage for his Centipede cabinet game. Shove compromise in your mouth, at Mike and Patty's sandwich shop.

From two Formaggio Kitchen vets (cheesemonger, prepared foods chef), this 9-seat spot's a study in gender yin-yang: a corner store's potato-chipped counter abutting an upper-crust, pot-and-pan-festooned open kitchen prepping two classes of 'wich: classic French and fatly comfortable American. The manly latter starts with Le Sloppy Joe (French only in "Le"), Classic Bacon and Egg (bacon/egg/bulkie roll), and natural cased Hot Dogs in your region of choice (Michigan = chili; West Virginia = chili/slaw; Quebec = mustard/relish/onions/slaw/delusions of viability as an independent). Beguiling Frenchness includes the Pan Bagnat (marinated tuna/salsa verde/olives/egg/green beans/roasted tomato), a Fancy Bacon and Fried Egg (peameal bacon/cheddar/avocado/onion/house-made mayo), and a Croque Monsieur with ham, gruyere, dijon creme fraiche, and pain de mie -- just add egg to become a Madame

Other standouts include the torta (carnitas/avocado/black bean/jicama slaw/queso fresco), handcrafted Maine Root sodas, artisanal American cheeses (Vermont Brie, Minnesota Manchego-style...), and charcuterie, because if a tamed man still hopes to snack on straight cold cuts, they'd better be dainty and French.