In 2012 I described the sandwich pictured above as a nocturnal emission and the brainchild of Hunter Pond, a law school dropout who was not seduced by torts and grievances but instead had sandwiches and dollar signs in his eyes. He'd just recently opened East Hampton Sandwich Company.
A dream of a sandwich, this grilled cheese is stuffed with short rib meat cooked till the fat is so soft you can spread it like butter, arugula and sweet, caramelized onions. It's all housed by two slices of sourdough, and is delicious by all accounts. Pond, who is probably pretty glad he chose not to be a lawyer right now, is riding this and his other sandwich creations to big profits.
See Also: The Awesome Sandwiches of East Hampton Sandwich Company
The original location, which is still busy, is located in Snyder Plaza. Pond later opened a second location in Plano, and not long after a third, nearby. With three locations up and running Pond was far from satiated and announced his plan for further expansion late last year. Three more sandwich shops are expected to open in 2015, and four more are planned for the year after.
It's all this expansion that's likely caught Forbes' eye. The publication recently named Pond among its 30 Under 30: Food and Drink list, which profiles young professionals poised for big success. If you want to feel hopelessly inadequate, you can check out the writers, chefs, technologists and other hyper-driven people on the list.
Or you could just got to East Hampton. You may never capture the attention of the press with your business prowess before you die (let alone before the end of your third decade) but you're always a winner when you've got a killer sandwich in your mitts.