Tucked away in a space off Pine Street, near the freeway, the Baguette Box feels almost like an after-thought of Capitol Hill. And indeed, this hole-in-the-wall establishment is a place one could easily miss when walking downtown, were it not for the effective logo featuring a hungry dog gripping a large sandwich in its jaws.

Inside, the dog theme is elaborated with whimsical impressionistic portraits of pooches lining the walls. It is soon made apparent that a dog's hunger is exactly what is expected from patrons.

Hailing from the thoughts of chef Eric Banh — the mastermind behind the classy East Pine Vietnamese restaurant Monsoon — the Baguette Box's sandwiches are large, gaping and decidedly proletariat.

Not that you'll find any peanut butter and jelly on this menu.

Banh's sandwich combinations run the gamut from roasted pork loin with apricot aioli to grilled yellow squash and eggplant. All bread is sourced from the fabulous Belltown bakery Macrina, with many meats cured by Salumi in Pioneer Square.

The crispy drunken chicken baguette ($5.90) is served nearly over-flowing with large pieces of an upscale version of General Tso's chicken, finely-shaved carrots and jicama atop a crispy baguette lightly doused in tangy rice wine vinegar. One desperate and beleaguered bite was enough to send a quarter of the sandwich's filling down the patron's front — a mistake the assemblage of patrons' canines had long awaited.

Salumi's cured meat baguette ($6.90) was slightly more manageable. A delicate blend of three spicy Italian meats, a light creamy cheese, tomatoes and lettuce, the sandwich celebrates the subtle satisfaction possible through simple ingredients and understated flavors.

The Baguette Box's secret standout, however, is its truffle fries ($4.50). Rising from a cauldron of peanut oil and served in a cup of greasy glory, the fries are a decadent treat so flavorful and rich that the mere suggestion of salt or ketchup would be sacrilegious.

Service at the Baguette Box is an exercise in D.I.Y., and the staff can be a little brusque near closing time. The setting, however, makes for a perfect late-afternoon lunch with light streaming in from the establishment's large windows, or a very casual (and frugal) early evening date spent people-watching as the local bars and nightlife come alive.