Yes, this might be the Bay Area’s best sandwich

What makes a perfect sandwich? To me, the pinnacle is biting into it and being able to sense distinct textures and layers of flavor collapse into each other, the way that a building’s floors implode during a controlled demolition. I know Japanesestyle milk bread sandwiches are all the rage right now, but I can’t abide the ones that are just softonsoft textures, like the fruit ones with whipped cream inside: They’re the textural equivalent of just falling through clouds, forever and ever. Dreamy, but uninspiring.

I’ve been a hound for textural contrast since I was a kid, when I would layer Doritos into my bagels for extra crunch. So when I laid eyes on S + M Vegan’s sandwich ($11) at Eli’s Mile High Club (3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland), I had high expectations.

The 6yearold vegan popup has been regularly showing up at Eli’s every other Tuesday. Its chefs, Marie Chia and Shane Stanbridge, combine their respective TeochewSingaporean and ItalianCalifornian palates for a menu that might include laksa, pizza and sticky rice zongzi. But this day, it was the sandwich that caught my eye.

The top of the toasted flatbread was scaly with browned sesame seeds and made a robust sound when tapped. Stanbridge makes all of the popup’s breads, and the shaobing’s scrunchy interior speaks to his intention to model it after Sicilianstyle pizza. The olive oil that usually goes into that dough was swapped out for toasted sesame oil, which really amps up the bread’s overall nuttiness. It was filled with a breadedandfried slab of firm Hodo tofu and a red cabbage slaw kept together with an eggless mayonnaise made with soy milk.

The tofu goes through a lengthy process to take on so much flavor: It’s frozen and thawed to give it a chewier texture. (If you dislike the sogginess of tofu, don’t just pat it with towels. Freezing it will drastically reduce the water content.) Chia and Stanbridge squeeze the tofu, then soak it in a marinade made with smoked mushrooms to infuse the slabs with deep flavor. The entire package had the feel of a cheffy, ½pound burger.

Eli’s Mile High Club is one of my favorite bars in the East Bay, if only because folks are often eager to sit with you at the huge picnic tables in the back. So I first experienced the sandwich through the noises of my neighbors, sitting right across from me as I sipped on my cider. Oh my god, they murmured to each other while passing it back and forth. But what really piqued my interest was that telltale crunchcrunchsquishcrackle of the sandwich. It told me that this was one with texture.

I ordered everything on

S + M Vegan’s menu, but my gut feeling was right: The sandwich was the hit single. The tofu soaked up the smokiness of the sandwich’s chile sambal spread. I loved the contrast between the bread’s crunchy exterior and the smooth feel of the coleslaw. The proportions felt exact, and I was ready to eat another one before I’d even finished.

This is the seventh variation on the sandwich. I can hardly imagine the next one being better — but I’ll be back at Eli’s to find out.

And the best part? Just this week, news came out that Chia and Stanbridge will open a permanent restaurant in Oakland’s Dimond District next summer, to be named Lion Dance Cafe.

Soleil Ho is The San Francisco Chronicle’s restaurant critic. Email: soleil.ho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hooleil

Soleil Ho / The Chronicle A shaobing sandwich from S+M Vegan has plenty of crunchy texture and so much flavor.