Tim Wiechmann Opening New Eastern European Sandwich Shop

This fall, Bronwyn and T.W. Food chef Tim Wiechmann will delve further into the canon of Eastern European cuisine when he opens his first fast-casual concept, Playska, in Cambridge’s Inman Square. Slated to open this September at 243 Hampshire Street, in the former Rosie’s Bakery space, Wiechmann’s third restaurant will specialize in sandwiches such as the shop’s namesake, the playska, a burger-sausage hybrid that is a creative interpretation of the Balkan street food favorite pljeskavica.

Wiechmann’s signature sandwich combines locally-sourced beef and pork into a patty that is set between soft house-made pogacha bread. Additional components include ajvar, a red pepper compote; a house sauce with a cream cheese base; red onion and pickled cucumber. Other menu items will be based around Playska’s extensive pickling program and in-house bread focus, including a vegetarian beet-chickpea playska, an oat honey challah panini, and a stuffed lepinja (pita).

The chef says the idea for Playska was born out of Bronwyn’s Tuesday night “prototype dinners,” which have featured everything from footlong brats and Hungarian fried dough, to Serbian hamburgers served on bacon pagocha bread.

“In lieu of getting to travel all over the map, like a lot of chefs, I used those Tuesday ‘prototype’  nights almost like a kitchen lab,” Wiechmann says. “One of the things Bronwyn [his wife] and I have never wanted to do is get stuck in our ways. That’s why we constructed this creative forum, where you could experiment with something more unconventional, without a lot of consequence. As far as finding out what guests would really respond to, those dinners have been hugely successful.”

Playska’s new home, located in the heart of Inman Square, originally housed the first Legal Seafoods restaurant. The historic 1,000 square foot, single-story brick building will seat 15.

243 Hampshire St., Cambridge; 339-970-4101 or playska.com.