Which of the dishes on your menu says the most about you?

That has to be my panéed pork loin po-boy, because I’m from the Midwest, a small town in southern Illinois about four and a half hours southwest of Chicago. When I was growing up, my father would pound out and make these pork loin sandwiches, and I’d help crush the saltine crackers for the breading.

Pork loin sandwiches are very Midwest. You can drive around and see all the roadside restaurants and bars advertising them on hand-painted or spray-painted signs. So this is a nod to my family and my roots, very Illinois, but I also made it a po-boy, on a Leidenheimer pistolet, and that’s very New Orleans, too. So this is where I’m from and where I am now, all on one sandwich.

What else do you put on this po-boy?

Lettuce, tomato, pickled red onion, and I make this creamy poblano hot sauce, which just borders on spicy.