You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

The basic breakfast roll pictured above was four bucks, already twice as much as it once shortly ago. I got it somewhere near Sullivan Street, starved out after some bad, expensive coffee that cost just as much. I don't see many bodegas in Manhattan proper anymore, so when I do, I pay my respects. Staying in Brooklyn, the corner bodegas still offer this type of sandwich, but more and more, they are being pushed out by the cafe bistros that already dominate Manhattan by offering upscale versions of the classic, like the greasy mess of a Reuben pictured here, which was no Reuben in my books. Putting together more expensive ingredients does not a good sandwich make, especially if the maker is unskilled in sandwich preparation. While your storefront may showcase the finest baked sweets, if you don't know how to make a sandwich or pull a long shot, then you are charging twenty bucks for me to look at your haircut. Gentrification has ruined entire neighborhoods, if not entire ...

I don't know if this is the new amazing sandwich as mentioned in the sign, but it wasn't that amazing. A cold roast chicken sandwich with greens, the best part of this panini was the bread. Damn their bread is so good, I would order another one just for the bread.  For some reason, I expected a warm sandwich, as their egg salad is so warm and delicate. I guess it was just too simple, something I could and have made at home, though I would have heated it up. 

Visiting the location in Chelsea, Sullivan Street Bakery is serious business. I got this egg salad not knowing what I was in for, and once again, I succumbed to cutlery. Making the egg salad on order using soft boiled eggs, the gorgeous mess of eggs are mixed with fresh herbs like basil and rosemary, a perfect bit of crispy pancetta, and well-proportioned cheddar shreds. This sandwich owned me. I should have eaten it on the spot, but I took it back to the office. Eating this thing at someone else's desk is probably the rudest thing I have ever done. Okay, not ordering one for the other person and then eating it at his desk is the rudest thing I have ever done. Oh, and the bread, forget about it. I would just eat their bread, with some good olive oil and salt, all day long, I would.

Train travel food is sometimes better than airport food, and this is an example. Zabo's bread basket lured us in one early weekday morning in the hell hole that is Penn Station, and they certainly had an array to choose from. This classic egg sandwich on an everything bagel took the edge off, but I wish I had been more awake as I would have ordered it with bacon. Word of advice: when traveling with vegetarians, specify that you are not them.

Never one to turn down a po'boy, this little sandwich shack at the edge of the Lower East Side made my day. Offering an oyster AND shrimp po'boy, I had figured I would double down on my flavour town by getting two sandwiches in one. But no, my friends, instead of splitting the oysters and shrimps half and half on the short side of the bun, they spread out the fixings on the long side! Meaning every bite there was a bit of shrimp and a bit of oyster from start to end. Cheeky ! Brilliantly cheeky.