Image via Complex Original
Good sandwiches are not dainty. If you eat a good sandwich properly, your cheeks will be smeared with mustard and your new white button down will be stained with tiny flecks of balsamic. There's no proper way to go about eating a sandwich. There's just a gnashing of teeth, and a wild grab for napkins. You just pray you can keep the bread and meat parts together, and not be stuck with just one or the other at the end.
In a city that takes itself as seriously as New York does (read: tasting menus that feature lemongrass-flavored air and napkins with elaborate folds) eating something with your hands is a much-needed respite from the requisite civility of dining with multiple forks.
We may occasionaly drop an entire paycheck on fine dining, but we run on sandwiches. Bite down on the greatest thing between bread the city has to offer: The 10 Best Sandwiches in NYC Right Now, In GIFs.
Written by Shanté Cosme (@ShanteCosme)
Photography and Video by Liz Barclay (@LizBarclay)
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Smoked Brisket Sandwich
Smoked Brisket Sandwich
Where: Fatty 'Cue
Neighborhood: West Village
Address: 50 Carmine St.
Website: fattycrew.com
Cost: $12
Ingredients: Smoked brisket, baguette, chili jam, aioli, pickled red onion, smoked cheddar, cilantro
Chef Says: "Our brisket is super tender, and it has just the right amount of fat to make each bite mouthwatering." —Anthony Masters, Chef de Cuisine
Why We Love It: We have a soft spot for brisket in our meat-driven hearts, which might be why Fatty Cue's tender cubes of brisket get us a little emotional. The meat's slight smokiness is cut by a sweet and spicy chili jam, a Southeast Asian kick that plays well against a savory layer of melted cheddar. A heavy spread of aioli on the toasted baguette adds a final layer of indulgence that is only slightly offset by lighter flavors of pickled red onion and cilantro. Come for lunch, and schedule a nap shortly afterwards.
Zucchini Parm
Zucchini Parm
Where: No. 7 Sub
Neighborhood: Flatiron
Address: 1188 Broadway
Website: no7sub.com
Cost: $9
Ingredients: Toasted bread, raw sliced zucchini with panko, sweet onion puree, fontina cheese, pickled jalapeno, barbeque chips
Chef Says: "It's looks like an eggplant parm and sounds like an eggplant parm. In a way, it is an eggplant parm. We just replaced all of the ingredients to make something different." —Tyler Kord, Chef/Owner
Why We Love It: Joining Stumptown Coffee and The Breslin to complete the Ace Hotel's trifecta of covetable grub, No. 7 sub is not your typical sandwich joint. Chef Kord's creative take on things between bread are as exciting as they are comforting. Case it point, his zucchini parm, which renders something green into an indulgence by coating it in panko bread crumbs, and frying each slice until crunchy. The vegetables are then blanketed in a thick layer of fontina cheese, and covered in crunchy BBQ chips. Sliced jalapenos take the whole operation up a notch, and leave literally no need unmet. If you don't like this sandwich, you're not human.
Pig's Head Banh Mi
Pig's Head Banh Mi
Where: The Daily
Neighborhood: NoLita
Address: 210 Elizabeth St.
Website: thedaily-nyc.com
Cost: $13
Ingredients: Pig head terrine, Asian pork rillette, crispy spicy pig's ears, twice cooked pork belly, yuzu pickled carrots, fresh daikon, fresh cucumber, house pickled chilies, picked cilantro, lime, chili dressing, banh mi bread
Chef Says: "The beauty of the banh mi is how all of these salty, rich bass notes get balanced with vibrant crunch. It's a mouthful, and a delicious mouthful, and one that people come back for over and over, which is the best compliment that I can think of." —Executive Chef, Brad Farmerie
Why We Love It: By far the most complex sandwich on this list, the Daily's pig's head bahn mi is an obstacle course of competing textures: a rich, creamy spread of ginger-laced pork rillettes (pork cookied in its own fat, making a pate-like spread), a thick slice of braised pig's head terrine, crispy pig ears coated in dijon and tabasco, and crunchy twice cooked pork belly. The sandwich would be overwhelmingly savory if it weren't cut with traditional picked vegetables, pickled chiles, and an equally lively chile-citrus dressing. Chef Farmerie said the sandwich was inspired by a trip to Vietnam, and that he hoped to avoid a one-dimensional, Americanized version of his favorite street food. We'd say he more than succeeded.
Coconut Tiger Shrimp
Coconut Tiger Shrimp
Where: Num Pang
Neighborhood: Flatiron
Address: 1129 Broadway
Website: numpangnyc.com
Cost: $8.75
Ingredients: Tiger shrimp, toasted coconut flakes, coconut milk, pickled carrots, French baguette, cucumber slices, cilantro, chili mayo
Chef Says: "The sweetness of the Coconut Shrimp balance perfectly with the acidity of the carrots, the freshness of the cilantro, and heat of the chili mayo. It touches upon your need for something sweet, salty, and spicy all in one." —Ben Daitz and Ratha Chaupoly, Chefs/Co-Owners
Why We Love It: Sometimes the mere thought of diving into a sandwich leaves us feeling sedated, but no recovery is required with Num Pang's Coconut Tiger Shrimp. Yes, there are carbs involved, a Parisi baguette with crisped edges, but subtle, Cambodian flavors manage to make you feel sustained rather than sedated. Plump shrimp have a slight sweetness owed to a coating of coconut milk, and lie on a bed of pickled carrots, cilantro, and cucumbers. A restrained smear of chili-sambal mayo adds a special something, which might be owed to the "secret love" the chef puts in the sauce. Whatever that means, it's delicious.
Rotisssere Porchetta Sandwich
Rotisserie Porchetta Sandwich
Where: Eataly
Neighborhood: Flatiron
Address: 200 5th Ave.
Website: eataly.com/index.cfm
Cost: $12
Ingredients: Pork belly, pork loin, sea salt, black pepper, garlic, fennel, rosemary extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, baguette
Chef Says: "Our porchetta is brined porkbelly and loin from Bensmiller's farm from Iowa with traditionally Tuscan flavors of garlic, rosemary, and fennel. We slow roasted it in our rotisserie ovens to achieve a crispy exterior skin, and it's hand carved in order to ensure that the meat stays moist. This attention to detail is what makes it so great." —Alex Pilas, Executive Chef
Why We Love It: Pork, salt, pepper, and olive oil—that's apparently all it takes to win us over. Don't be fooled; this deceptively simple sandwich actually has several types of pork stashed inside. There's a pork skin with a bacon-like crunch, wildly tender bites of pork loin, and wonderfully fatty bits of pork belly. You can distinctly taste every aspect; each is different, all are sublime. The downside? It's only available on Thursdays.
Fried Chicken Sandwich
Fried Chicken Sandwich
Where: Cheeky Sandwiches
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
Address: 35 Orchard St.
Website: cheeky-sandwiches.com
Cost: $6.50
Ingredients: Lightly toasted homemade buttermilk biscuit, red cabbage coleslaw, buttermilk marinated fried chicken, white gravy
Chef Says: "Like anything special, it lingers long after it's gone."
Why We Love It: Cheeky had us at "biscuit." This soft, cakey biscuit is the stuff of Southern dreams. And that’s even before the fried chicken enters the picture. Here, the biscuit serves as the perfect conduit for the peppery, crunchy nub of chicken and a rich, white gravy. Red cabbage coleslaw adds a refreshing contrast, but the overall effect is pleasurably simple. We found ourselves in Cheeky on a rainy, miserable day, but inside this cozy den devoted to all things New Orleans, we felt happy and at home. This is partially owed to owners Den and Ricardo's warm hospitality, but mostly due to that killer biscuit.
Pulled Bacon
Animals
Where: Animals
Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 138 Ave. C
Website: animalsnyc.com
Cost: $9
Ingredients: Slab bacon braised with bourbon, apple cider, rosemary and maple syrup, vinegar slaw, avocado, refried beans, chili mayo, pickled jalapeno, frisée, tomato
Chef Says: "I love the sandwich because it embodies three things that I love: the layers of flavor of a Mexican Torta, some of the sweetness and tenderness of a pulled pork sandwich, and of course, bacon." —Robert Ceraso, Chef/Partner
Why We Love It: Animals' pulled bacon sandwich shows no restraint, and we like that in a sandwich. There's a barbecue element owed to the slight smokiness of the pulled slab bacon, a hearty dollop of refried beans, creamy avocado slices, and some seriously spicy jalapenos (which we should mention, are optional). All stops are pulled. Plus, how often do you see pulled bacon served with a side of animal crackers? Exactly.
The Godfather
The Godfather
Where: Graham Ave. Meats & Deli
Neighborhood: Williamsburg
Address: 445 Graham Ave.
Website: facebook.com/pages/Graham-Ave-Meats-Deli/
Cost: $7.50
Ingredients: Garlic, pepper, basil, olive oil, roasted peppers, spicy peppers, provolone cheese, mortadella, capicola, tomato, onion, and several more "secret spices"
Chef Says: "We only use Italian imported meats, and we always alternate the ingredients. It gives the Godfather a different taste each time, and our customers love that." —Letizia Virtuoso, Chef/Co-Owner
Why We Love It: The Godfather is the stuff of sandwich legends. Several chefs on this list admitted that Graham Avenue's Italian sub was their personal favorite, and if you're looking for disagreement, look elsewhere. The charismatic staff (shout out to Vinny's lamb-carving skills) is just part of Graham Avenue's charm. The sandwich is choose your own adventure; you can order it mild, medium, or spicy. Spicy is the superior option, with the zesty peppers playing the perfect foil to the thick layers of capicola, mortadella and provolone piled on the vinegar-soaked bread. Don't worry; the bread's integrity is not compromised. It's soft, but tough enough to withstand the force of many Italian meats. Owner Gennaro Virtuoso tells us he's never shared the actual recipe, and has no plans of ever doing so. And really, we don't blame him.
The Scuttlebutt
The Scuttlebutt
Where: Saltie
Neighborhood: Williamsburg
Address: 378 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn
Website: saltieny.com
Cost: $10
Ingredients: House made focaccia bread, pimenton aioli, hard-boiled egg, pickled onions, roasted red beets, pickled carrots, pickled cabbage, early spring mixed greens, capers, cured black olives, feta cheese
Chef Says: "The ingredients change as the season does. In spring and summer, anything that is in season and tastes great is fair game." —Caroline Fidanza, Chef/Owner
Why We Love It: This bread. Attempting to adequately describe it inspires rumbles in our stomachs. Pliant and spongy, Saltie's signature focaccia is laced with sea salt and olive oil, lending a savory finish to every bite. In contrast, the sandwiches innards are surprisingly light, a bright bunch of pickled vegetables, hard-boiled egg, and mixed greens. Somehow, each bite tastes different. First, there's a lively bite of beet, next, there's the saltiness of black olive and feta cheese; the sandwich's complexity adds a certain element of surprise you'll relish. Shout out to Saltie for making vegetables fun again.
Smoked Meat
Smoked Meat
Where: Mile End
Neighborhood: Noho
Address: 53 Bond St.
Website: mileenddeli.com
Cost: $14
Ingredients: Dry-cured Black Angus brisket, Mile End's spice cure blend, rye bread, mustard
Chef Says: "Curing and smoking the brisket the way we do takes time and results in a lower yield, but the resulting smoky and fatty meat is worth it. A good rye bread and some mustard is all the sandwich needs to make the meat shine." —James Merker, Executive Chef
Why We Love It: Mile End's meaty masterpiece is a testament to simplicity. There are only three elements to their famed smoked meat deluxe: mustard, rye bread, and brisket. Each ingredient serves its purpose; anything more would be superfluous. The brisket is oak-smoked for a minimum of two weeks, revealing a velvety, almost maroon meat with a sooty crust, charred with a matrix of spices. A thick layer of mustard between the brisket and two soft slices of rye bread provide contrast to the almost overwhelming richness of the meat, while a flash of yellow makes for a delicious lesson in color-blocking.