These quirky sandwiches are the brainchild of founder Pom Moongauklang and owner Tom Woodard.“We are Mad Hatter meets Willy Wonka.If those two were to have lunch together, this is what they would come up with,” says Pom.

You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who takes making sandwiches more seriously than Moongauklang and Woodard.“Every bite should taste the same,” says Woodard.Pom agrees, “All four corners, everything is spread out evenly.There is definitely a science to building sandwiches.”

Who would ever think of making a sandwich with daikon or watercress anyway?When asked about the odd assortment of ingredients found in the sandwiches, Pom replied, “I dream about it.Something will come into my head and I have to try it.”

But she isn’t just a dreamer. She attended culinary school in New York City, specializing in pastries.The idea for sandwiches came while interning at Nobu, a Robert DeNiro fine dining restaurant.“Next door to Nobu was a deli and that’s where we would all go after work.We didn’t want to eat Kobe beef, we just went next door for our comfort food, which were sandwiches.”

When it came time for Pom to start her own restaurant, she decided to take a risk.She says, “I was kind of the black sheep of the family because I didn’t want to have another Thai restaurant.”

Woodard, the owner of Pom Pom’s St Pete, started out as a customer in Orlando. “I was very middle of the road before eating at Pom Pom’s”, he said.However, after giving the sandwiches a shot, he was hooked.“I kept coming back and trying different sandwiches until I had everything.”He eventually convinced Pom to let him open a location in St. Pete.

To Woodard, the St. Pete location is a no-brainer.“I did a lot of growing up here.And it is close to the water!Its right between downtown and the beaches.”As for Pom, “My family owned one of the first Thai restaurants here in St Pete.”