“Conor Higgins had felt the economic downturn on a personal level; he had been an unemployed chef for a year before opening Oxmantown in 2013 with Amie Costello among the fruit and vegetable stands of the City Markets neighborhood, just above the River Liffey.

Now, Mr. Higgins spends his days preparing sandwiches that include a pork belly special on a soft sourdough roll that he said was inspired partly by the 10 months he spent backpacking through Asia. He marinates the fatty, succulent pork in spices that include cardamom and star anise, and accents the meat with quick-pickled grated carrot and apple and aioli that has been spiked with sriracha chile sauce.

In January, Mr. Higgins and Ms. Costello opened a second spot, Cotto (cotto.ie), serving sandwiches by day and pizzas in the evening, in the city’s Stoneybatter neighborhood.”

“The streets around Oxmantown are steeped in animal history — nearby Smithfield was the city’s animal market for 300 years. But “ox” is a reference to the Viking word for east; the Eastmen were the Vikings whose stronghold was nearby. In this small place, the art of a brilliant sandwich means every element is taken seriously, like the breakfast sandwich that comes with butcher Jack McCarthy’s black pudding. Grab a stool to eat in or, on a sunny day, hop on the light rail tram from Four Courts and go west three stops to picnic at the museum at Collins Barracks. [$]”