The Ultimate Sandwich?

In the cold weather, I can rarely motivate myself to travel very far for lunch and I often end up eating turkey sandwiches from the deli next stoor or pizza from across the street day after day after day. Today it was chilly out, but an errand on upper Nassau Street forced me to venture far from the office at lunch and I decided to take the opportunity to try someplace I would usually consider too far for lunch. I went to Lenny's - home of "the ultimate sandwich."

I was craving a sandwich today after I saw this sad post on Serious Eats. I have eaten sandwiches from the Crosby Connection several times and was sad to hear it may close.

Lenny's first came to my attention because they frequently set up a little mobile shop/stand right near my office on the corner of Broadway and Exchange Place. There are usually two guys manning the stand, but it was never clear to me what they had to offer. Did you have to order in advance? Did they simply carry a selection of sandwiches available to buy? Why would anyone buy sandwiches from this random street stand with the proliferation of nearby delis? I was curious, but not enough to investigate. In the months that have followed, I find hardly a lunch break goes by when I don't see a Lenny's bicycle delivery man riding around near the stock exchange. I started to think there must be something to this place, but what was it? And where* was it?

An article in the New York Times piqued my interest further, and I finally got around to researching where my nearest Lenny's actually was. Sadly, it was not close. I figured it would be quite a while before I would make it there. But chance (and my cats' appetite, which requires me to replenish their food - wtf?) conspired to take me to that general neighborhood on a day when I was craving a sandwich.

I had the Chicken Cheddar sandwich, which is a breaded chicken cutlet, cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato on bread of your choice (my choice: sourdough). And it was delicious. It was on the small side, which is perfect for me, but might disappoint some - especially given the $7.25 price. With a bottle of seltzer and tax, my meal came out to $9.60. The price seemed high, but my biggest complaint about Lenny's was the seating, or virtual lack thereof. I was too far from my office to bring a hot sandwich back and have it still be hot when I got there, so I ate there. They have only a very small counter in the window area, which was not the most comfortable place to enjoy my sandwich.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Lenny's sandwiches, especially if you have somewhere besides Lenny's to eat them. I don't know when I might make it back there, but maybe I'll try out their delivery or investigate further the stand that occasionally pops up on Broadway.

Lenny's only lower Manhattan location is 108 John Street between Gold and Pearl Streets. They have several other locations throughout Manhattan.

* I am, for reasons that I cannot really understand myself, generally opposed to ordering food in for lunch. Maybe because lunch is (when I actually take it) practically the only time I leave my desk over the course of a day.

The Perfect Sandwich

I love sandwiches. My biggest problem when it comes to sandwiches is that many places that prepare them fail to understand the meatless sandwich. (Or, for that matter, the meat and cheese sandwich, in the form that I want it: approximately equal amounts of each rather than a pound of meat and 2 slices of cheese.) Frequently, when I order sandwiches at delis or bodegas requesting, for example, swiss cheese with lettuce, tomato, and mustard, I get confused stares and am forced to repeat myself and explicitly state that I don't want any kind of meat. (This is then often followed by the sandwich preparer having also to doubly explain the sandwich to the cashier, which occasionally works nicely in my favor because some places just have no idea how much to charge for a meatless sandwich.)

Yesterday, my morning was very busy, so I wanted to spend lunch quietly, which for me nearly always means a trip across West Street Rector Park. Just around the corner from Rector Park is Samantha's New York Trattoria and Salumeria. I had walked by Samantha's a number of times and had been intrigued by its old-school Italian decor, but had never gone inside. I decided to check it out. It's pretty small inside, with basically just an L-shaped counter where you order food, a cashier, and a few fridges/freezers. The sandwich menu was extensive: 35 sandwiches (order by number) divided among a range of categories: heros ($6.50), focaccia sandwiches ($6.95), brick oven muffalatta sandwiches ($6.95), plus panini (which I hope is the real thing, not the corporate deli-style on crappy flat bread) and wraps. To my delight, there were many meatless options. I had #32: the Mozzarella, Tomatoes, Basil & Roasted Peppers Muffalatta Sandwich. As the menue says, "All [muffalatta sandwiches are] topped with tri-color salad, balsamic vinegar, virgin olive oil & oregano." The sandwich was delicious - excellent mozzarella, fresh basil, just the right amount of vinegar, well-complemented by the peppers, and the bread was really tasty (if a bit on the greasy side). With an over-priced seltzer ($1.75), my meal came out to $9.45: a little steep, but delicious enough that I was okay with it.

Samantha's New York is at 235 South End Ave., just north of Rector Street to the west of West Street. There are a couple of tables you can eat at out front, but I would recommend taking your food to Rector Park instead.