When the doors officially opened at Playska at 11:30 a.m. yesterday, a few customers immediately arrived, and by noon, there was a steady line. By 12:30, the line reached the doorway of the cozy Inman Square space, formerly Rosie's Bakery. The tables — including a couple of high-tops meant for standing — filled up quickly. While some customers stayed to eat, many took their sandwiches to go, wrapped up neatly in brown paper bags stamped with the Playska logo. Flip through the slideshow above to peek inside the shop.
The Balkan-inspired sandwich shop features — along with the sandwiches — Balkan street food pies (burek and banitsa, currently), bags of chips, some cans and bottles of nice sodas (San Pellegrino Limonata and Aranciata, for example), and a sheet cake made of chocolate, buttermilk, and beet juice. Every sandwich comes with a bundle of foil; unwrap it and you'll find a hearty hunk of pickled beet and a slice of red onion. In fact, there are lots of pickled goods to be found at Playska. The current roster includes cauliflower and golden raisin, honey-jalapeno carrots, and more.
There's also an interesting selection of condiments, including a kardizi pepper barbecue sauce, pomegranate mustard sauce, ajvar ketchup, cream cheese remoulade, and more. Some appear in the sandwiches. If you order one of the pies, like the pork and beef-stuffed burek, you can choose two condiments to accompany it.
Playska is the first fast-casual project from the team behind T.W. Food and Bronwyn, and they're passionate about bread, meat, and pickles. Each sandwich is served on one of three house-made breads — bacon pogacha, lepinje, and challah — and sample loaves are attached to a sign on the wall so you can see what you're getting. At this time, individual loaves are not available for sale.
Playska is currently open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (or until everything is sold out) Tuesday through Sunday, and breakfast will launch in the future.
