[Photographs: Rebecca Fishman]

When word broke last week that in advance of opening his much-anticipated (much delayed) restaurant ink (yes, that was an intentional lowercase), Michael Voltaggio would start serving up sandwiches in a little storefront a few doors down, our interest and appetite were piqued.

What would the Top Chef winner, known for a love of futuristic culinary techniques and impeccable plating, do with a sandwich shop?

And when we heard that the menu at ink.sack, the slightly unfortunate name of the new venture, consisted of sandwiches ranging from $4 to $6, we knew we had to get there, fast, hungry, and ready to try the entire menu.

And we weren't the only ones. The lines at ink.sack have snaked out the door since the bare-bones, graffiti-adorned, takeaway joint opened its doors last week, full of neighborhood locals thrilled to finally have an affordable, take-away lunch spot in a stretch of Melrose that's a bit of a culinary wasteland.

The menu consists of seven diminutive sandwiches, all served on petite baguettes and stuffed with almost entirely house-made ingredients. They're small, but two would be a satisfying and still pretty affordable lunch. There are also a few sides and a couple of cookies to supplement.

Check out the whole spread in the slideshow »

ink.sack

8360 Melrose Avenue, #107, West Hollywood, CA 90069 (map); 323-651-5866; mvink.com