Although Aurora Centro owner Dario Barbone hails from Italy, he’s not averse to sliding distinctly un-Italian ingredients into his panini. The four-sandwich selection at his counter-service cafe, hidden on the fifth floor of Salesforce Tower, includes a stack of mortadella, cheddar and arugula, plus pickled red onions, jalapenos and shaved fennel.

Or take the seasonal zucchini panino, which combines sliced summer squash and tender squash blossoms with German Grandamer cheese and Spanish piquillo peppers. Barbone also recently added a California-ized version of smørrebrød, the Danish open-faced sandwich, that layers the fancy French egg salad called gribiche with oily tinned mackerel, Calabrian chile and Sichuan peppercorns.