Milant Still Makes a Damn Good Sandwich

Newly Re-Opened Milant
Newly Re-Opened MilantAlways up for challenging my stomach, I decided to hit up Milant yesterday (on 39th btw. Lex+3rd) despite the fact that they’ve been closed for most of the past month or two. Since they were shuttered by the DOH, there has been concern about the freshness and cleanliness of what was once considered Midtown’s finest sandwich place.  All the food in the display case looked fine, although there is a creepy-ness that will probably only go away after multiple visits without incident (i.e. sickness). I went with my standby #13.  Chicken cutlet, fresh mozarella, sundried tomatoes, and pesto. 

Check it out, plus more- after the jump… 

Newly Re-Opened Milant

I made the mistake of ordering it on a whole wheat baguette, which made for a smaller sandwich than the french bread (which they didn’t give me as an option for some reason).  The bread was a tad bit stale, but the oily goodness of the pesto took care of that problem, and overall the sandwich was pretty damn good.  As reported by a number of commenters, soup no longer comes free with a sandwich.  All soups now cost $1 as an add on, making it not as good a deal as it used to be…

For the sake of being “thorough” I orderded Milant’s $6.99 lunch plate, where you get to select any three prepared items from the cooler, plus a salad.

Newly Re-Opened Milant

From left to right, I got their curry chicken salad (with all that mayo you can’t get much more dangerous than that), roasted veggies in the middle, and babaganouj (eggplant dip) on the right.  It also came with a free soup, and considering that at a by the lb. deli the same amount of food would probably cost you over $10, it’s a pretty amazing deal (especially if you’re a vegetarian.) All three choices were really tasty, although I will admit I’m not as much of a fan of the Milant gazpacho as I used to be.  It was cool and refreshing, but I definitely couldn’t eat a whole cup of it.  Next time I’ll go with the hot soup. Aside from that, the only other complaint I have about the lunch special was they should give you some bread with it.

All in all a great lunch (I shared all that food btw) and I’m pleased to report that there were no unpleasant side effects.  Even the sweets in the window looked a little fresher than normal… although I still don’t think I would eat them. (Has anybody?  I’m always curious if they’re ok to eat.)  Anyway, I think it is safe to eat at Milant again.  Not sure if it’s still the best sandwich in Midtown, but it’s still a damn good Midtown Lunch.

Milant, 158 E. 39th St. (btw. Lex & 3rd), 212-682-0111

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13 Comments

  • In the past i’ve noticed the salads in the case tend to be the same day-day. Not sure if they are the exact same or just new batches of the same shit.

  • Brave man, I had intended to make it a wafels and dinges day, but I may just have to venture into Milant for the first time after reading this post.

  • They said the reason they were closed was that they were fixing the upstairs area and not the deli – makes sense since there was no work being done in the deli and it looks the same. Nope never tried the treats in the window. The food tastes the same and the prices have not gone up ….. yet.

  • has anyone tried their veggie naan or the spinach pie? always curious about those.

  • What could be upstairs ?

    Sloth lair ?

  • Looks yummy… and yes a small hunk of bread with all that salad-y type stuff would be nice

  • Man I went today and went with the #13 Zach special.. pretty good, a little oily… those truffles in the window look hard to resist… anyone try?

  • this is funny. there is no work upstairs. there is no upstairs! they were closed due to reasons you all dont want to know!

  • Just to let everyone know I used to believe this place to be a great cheap lunch spot. It still is if your into finding pieces of metal in your soup. Thank god i spotted it in time.

    PS- They let a cat roam around the store in the morning. Not a very good sign for the faint of heart.

  • I’m Catholic. I believe in forgiveness. I have been going to Milant for years and have given them numerous chances….EVEN AFTER THE PLACE SMELLED LIKE CAT URINE. I went back after the most recent closure and the place was somewhat spruced up, but still maintained a dank feel, with traces of feline. All of this combined with their up-creeping prices and the termination of the free soup program made that visit my last. Maybe I’ll try again next year.

  • cody–i totally agree. maybe i am faint of heart but i was a 3-4 times a week person at this place for a long time. but i can’t get over the smell of cat that permeated the place last time i was in there. in addition old dried out cheddar cheese and no more free soup. it’ll be a long time before i am willing to take a chance on this place again.

  • Before the “renovations,” I had been going to Milant at least once a week. No longer.

    On Wednesday, 8/27, I returned to Milant and ordered a sandwich and soup. Also purchased two “buttercrunch” candies to bring home for my wife. She wound up saving her candy to eat on Thursday.

    Last night, she opened the cello to discover the candy teeming with bugs. Definitely not from our home.

    Utterly disgusting.

    A complaint has been lodged with health dept.

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    Hello everyone, Millant is comming back with a new look in January 2010.

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