You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

After a disappointing breakfast wrap from Le Gourmand, I opted for one of their big ham and cheese sandwiches, not trusting the same counter from which I got my wrap. The bread here is the clear winner, along with all of Le Gourmand's baked goods. The ham was fresh, the chedddar cheese freshly and thickly sliced, and how odd that it is cheddar! What could be a standard sandwich was elevated with their bread and a palpable layer of salty butter, and this ham and cheese was the perfect post-meeting treat to bring me back to life.

On this day, I fancied rich chocolate ice cream with a spicy ginger cookie, but the possible combinations of cookie, ice cream, or sorbet are numerous. Served in wax paper and cute mini French fry baskets to catch the chocolatey drips, these sammies look nostalgic and taste divine. 

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.

Artisan bakeries take themselves seriously, right? I am always a little surprised when I see premade sandwiches at these places, as don't they know what happens to their bread once they wrap it in plastic and throw it in the fridge display? I had this frittata sandwich with a bowl of lentil soup, and it was good, but you could tell it would have been great if it had been freshly made. For starts, the homemade focaccia left the plastic wrap so oily that no amount of paper napkins could render the situation better. The cheese had been put on the other side of the frittata, which in theory, should work for a cold sandwich, but somehow, it just didn't. The layer of frittata itself was also incredibly sparse and filled with almost entirely asparagus, which left me sort of sad. Next time, I would buy their bread and make a sandwich elsewhere.