PigWizard's new sandwich shop makes oddly quiet debut in Monterey.

People have been talking about it. “Did you hear they’re open?” “Have you been there for a sandwich?” And yet there’s been scant mention from other local media, seemingly always hungry for scoops on any new restaurant opening.

So what’s the big secret?

Earlier this summer, PigWizard, which has long enjoyed something of a secretive but devoted following, announced news that a brick-and-mortar location was coming soon. Owner Jonathan Roberts wouldn’t give any details on the location—though the information was publicly available, from the state’s liquor licensing agency, ABC, which was reported by Weekly columnist Squid—or an anticipated opening date.

Faced with media inquiries about the much-anticipated opening, Roberts sent a strongly worded message to some local food writers, threatening to ban us from the shop for a year if we released any details without his consent (despite the fact that the location was a matter of public record).

Despite the missive and threats to ban admiring food writers, PigWizard has made a quiet debut at Monterey’s Breakwater Cove.

A visit earlier this week confirmed the open secret that Roberts and Ezekiel “Zeek” Fickle are slinging sandwiches in the shop on the Coast Guard Pier, beneath new Italian eatery Osteria Al Mare.

Pick one of five housemade sausages: Sicilian, hot Sicilian, caraway bratwurst, orange-poppy chicken, or Manchego-artichoke chicken. Sausages are $8 and are available as a sandwich or lettuce wrap. Pick a “slop” sauce (garlic-lemon aioli, beer mustard, herb yogurt, chimichurri, onion-poppy vinaigrette, mayo, or “Hog Scald” barbecue sauce) and toppings (grilled onions and peppers, veggies, and various pickles). Add an egg for $1.50. Sides include bacon potato salad, house-fermented kimchi, beet salad with grapefruit and feta, and pear-cranberry slaw (all $3).

Roberts’ signature sausages are also available to take home. His pork chicharrones are also available. The crackly crisps are available tossed in the P-Dub Rub ($3.50) and beer-bacon caramel sauce ($5).

The menu promises more options coming soon, so expect an expanded selection in the weeks and months ahead once the shop gets settled.

And what’s better than a beer and brat? The shop has six beers on tap, served in aluminum tumblers. There’s also a selection of five wines and bottled non-alcoholic beverages. Fickle teases a kimchi bloody mary steeped with housemade kimchi and spiked with soju, garnished with house-pickled guindilla chilies and bacon that’s currently under development.

PigWizard 32 Cannery Row, Suite G, Monterey. 236-1844. 10am-5pm Wednesday, 9am-5pm Thursday-Sunday, closed Monday-Tuesday.