Here’s the UWS Dish: Hashi Market’s Japanese 7-Eleven Sandwiches (Sandos & Onigiris)

By Abigael T. Sidi

When the beloved, Broadway-and-107th location of Garden of Eden permanently closed its doors a few years back, my family was left in a state of distress. Beyond the melancholy, we failed to identify alternative spots for our biweekly supplies of staple Turkish dairy products, such as ayran (drinkable yoghurt of my childhood) and süzme yogurt (hyper-rich and fatty, revered by Dad as the only acceptable basis for his homemade tzatziki). If anyone here knows where to grab the süzme, in particular, please let me know in the comments.

While we dearly miss Garden of Eden, its replacement, Hashi Market, has provided us with seldom-found treats in its own right, namely, the amazing selection of 7-Eleven-style Japanese sandwiches, all made fresh daily.

You read that right: 7-Eleven – perhaps the last place on earth you’d consider buying lunch. As the story goes, though, the U.S. franchise is well implanted in Japan, and in the 50 years since its first location opened in Tokyo in 1974, the shop’s sandwiches have risen to Japanese culinary institution. They are now a genuine staple of konbini (convenience stores) throughout the country. And that’s what Hashi Market, headquartered in Brooklyn but with locations that have spread across the city since late 2024, brings to the Upper West Side: a genuine neighborhood konbini, replete with sandwich offerings, other grab-and-go items such as lovely bentos and fresh sushi boxes, and much more.

Konbini sandwiches – a.k.a. “sandos”– typically shine by the high quality of their crustless milk bread (the light and delicate shokupan) and carefully crafted fillings, which range from savory to sweet. Hashi Market offers on the order of 10 varieties, half of them of the classic savory type and the remainder of the no-less iconic fruit-and-cream type.

The ultra-classic tamago sando ($6.99) boasts a delicate, airy, almost whipped egg salad, prepped with a touch of rich Japanese kewpie mayo and other minimal seasonings (salt, pepper, that’s it – no paprika or dill or anything of the like).  It feels substantially more fluffy and velvety than its NYC deli counterpart; less chunky and mayo-forward, and definitely lower on carbs —delicious. The other savory sando I tried was the chicken katsu (fried chicken cutlet). I thought it was a little dry (too low on the kewpie), though, like the tamagosando, it is an extremely filling sandwich for the price ($7.99).

But to me the star sando was the strawberries-and-cream. Unlike the savory sandos, whose breads had their crusts on, the crustless fruit sandos feel more like the authentic shokupan, resulting in even lighter bites and making the necessary room for the out-of-this-world-marvelous, whipped cream. The strawberries were also splendid: super fresh, sweet and juicy, with a great snap. I thought to myself that this sando was the closest thing to the French fraîsier (elevated strawberry shortcake) I had tasted this side of the Atlantic, save perhaps for the Bilboquet’s version on the Upper East Side. Other fruit sandos available that day were kiwi, mandarin and mango. At $5.99, they’re a great deal that beats out most equivalent patisseries in the city.    

Another common, even more affordable staple snack at Japanese konbini are onigiris, the origami-like, triangle-shaped, seaweed wraps filled with sushi rice and raw or cooked fish preparations (basically maki rolls made convenient, for on-the-go). Of the three I sampled at Hashi Market, the seasonal, pollock roe onigiri has my vote. The iodine, oceanic burst you get from this bite is special, and the rice and nigiri take it all home—succulent. I’ve experienced onigiris in the past, mostly from H Mart a couple of blocks north, and none had the quality and structure (including detailed opening instructions!) of those sold at Hashi Market. At only $3.99 each, they truly are the perfect, affordable and healthy midday snack.

Speaking of H Mart v. Hashi Market, I asked my sister Rebecca, a sophomore at Barnard, if the latter had found its place and customers in the neighborhood despite the fierce competition. In an exclusive interview for WSR, Rebecca said that “Hashi is more of a convenience store compared to the grocery vibe of H Mart. It is strictly specialized in Japanese products while H Mart covers everything Eastern Asia – South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand, in addition to Japan. For warm meals, H Mart is the choice [it turns out Hashi does also have a substantial section as well, of which she was unaware], but for sandos and onigiris, Hashi is the place. They [Hashi] also have beauty products that make it worth the trip.” 

Hashi Market is open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., with delivery available at these times. In addition to the grab-and-go food items and beauty section, they have every Japanese sauce, noodles, condiment and seasoning imaginable, and small but carefully curated produce, fruit, meat and fish sections. They currently have a deal where you get a gift for $30 spent. (I got a bag of green matcha KitKats!)     

The Dish: Sandos ($5.99-7.99) and onigiris ($3.99)  

The Restaurant: Hashi Market, 2780 Broadway (between West 107thand 108th streets)

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