It takes a considerable amount of chutzpah to name a 15-seat restaurant using the word ‘planet.’ But to Sandwich Planet’s owners, Jay and Nick Kidchob, the tiny size of their storefront is immaterial–in their view, the real source of the restaurant’s disproportionate gravitational pull is its high-quality food. They have a very good point.

The Kidchob brothers stacked the deck in their favor by making two brilliant, strategically critical moves. First, they signed contracts with one of New York’s finest breadmakers, Sullivan Street Bakery, ensuring that every one of their sandwiches can be made with superior artisanal Italian bread. This alone guarantees a minimum level of quality to their dishes that most other sandwich shops might never reach on their very best days. Second, they hired exactly the right person to be the face of Sandwich Planet. Rung, the woman behind the tiny counter/lectern, might just be Gotham’s most genial server: unfailingly kind, she remains always smiling and soothing, even to cranky local customers during the restaurant’s busy lunchtime rush. Moreover, Rung knows the restaurant’s 150-sandwich menu like a true expert and is not afraid to warn customers who turn to the ‘World of Custom Sandwiches’ section of the menu if they concoct a mismatched sandwich that might not be so delicious.

Fortunately, Rung does not have to intervene very often; most customers at Sandwich Planet opt for one of the several dozen pre-designed sandwiches and hamburgers on the menu. With these, it is hard to go wrong. HungryMan and I have eaten at the restaurant fifty or sixty times in the past few years, and we have yet to order a dish we did not genuinely enjoy. Some of our favorites include Raoul’s hamburger, which comes with a hefty dose of cracked pepper (it is an au poivre burger), swiss cheese, and mushrooms, all served on thick slices of ciabatta bread ($6.95); the Mikie panini, served with lovely bresaola, roasted peppers, fontina cheese, and mesclun greens–it is a pricey sandwich, but savory and gooey, and worth every cent of the $8.45 it costs. We also have a soft spot for Sandwich Planet’s tuna sandwiches, especially the pizza bianco or rosemary foccacia sandwich with red leaf lettuce and fresh basil (pictured above, $8.10)–a custom creation, but one that always garners a silent look of approval from Rung. Recently, we have begun eating more of the restaurant’s hot sandwiches. Of these, we especially love the unlikely combo of ingredients in the Mini Cristo, made with ham, swiss cheese, and chicken salad in lieu of turkey ($7.75); as well as the crusty French Dip on Ciabatta, served au jus (shown right, $7.25).

Before the end of this year, Jay and Nick plan to expand the restaurant’s dining room by moving back a few feet into their large kitchen space and opening up the store’s basement. The extra room, in combination with extended evening hours and several new evening menu offerings, will give Sandwich Planet a chance to offer a casual dinner service. But before you start thinking that the tiny restaurant’s expansion will make it truly planetary in size, keep in mind that the eatery is zoned for only five or six more tables. Its space may eventually grow to resemble Mercury more than Pluto, but as long as the sandwiches stay as reliably excellent as they are, Sandwich Planet can bring its outsized orbit to our solar system any day.

Sandwich Planet, 534 Ninth Avenue (between 39th and 40th Streets), 212-273-9768.