Certe’s Thanksgiving Dip is the Greatest Sandwich Ever Created

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Ok, well maybe that is a bit of an overstatement… but between this, the duck sandwich at FreeFoods, and the Mexican Cheesesteak from the El Rey del Sabor cart– this Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge thing is turning out to be the best thing I’ve ever done for… well… for myself.  Seriously.  I can’t believe how well this is going, and after trying Certe’s “Thanksgiving Dip” (on 55th btw. 5+6th), I am ready to declare this challenge thing a complete success- even if not another sandwich gets made.

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Unlike a standard “french dip”, where the bread is thick and can sop up the gravy, this “dip” is more like a burrito, with a thin tortilla shell. Strange, but it totally works. It’s $8.95, but a total gut bomb- and completely worth the money. Guaranteed you will not leave hungry. Mashed potatoes is the first layer to go down in this thing, and gets topped with thick chunks of turkey. On top of that goes a cornbread stuffing and a tiny bit of cranberry chutney. The whole things gets rolled, and grilled, and comes with a cup of gravy for dippin’. (You didn’t think that was coffee did you?)

Sorry the the close-up couldn’t be more “food porn’ish”, but my camera ran out of batteries- so I had to take this one with my phone. But you can get the idea.

The Thanksgiving kitchen sink sandwich is nothing new, but there is something about this one that really goes above and beyond the sum of its parts. The mashed potatoes could have made the thing too heavy (and for some people they might) but for me it was just right (and this is coming from someone who finds mashed potatoes to be the least exciting kind of potato you can get… I know- it’s shocking but true.) You could taste the perfect amount of salt and pepper and seasonings, and that tiny bit of sweetness from the cranberry chutney added the “mmmm, that is so good” moment of every bite. Of course the cup of gravy didn’t hurt either. I could go back and eat another one of these today.

One final thing… I have always found Certe to be a mildly intriguing version of the standard Midtown deli. Not only does their food look good, but they do a lot of interesting things… enough to have gotten me to consider eating there (although I never got around to it until now.) But the thing that puts the place over the top is how nice everybody is. I’ve never seen anything like it in all of Midtown. They know all their regular customers, and it is a total party in there at lunch time… so much so, you forget about how incredibly cramped it is to order and pay for your food. I had the other member of the Midtown Lunch Buffet Team with me, and they were totally cool about it- even though we were taking up a ton of room. They even offered us a free brownie. (Oh, maybe that’s why I liked the place so much.) And they didn’t know I was from Midtown Lunch. I just came in and ordered the sandwich just like any regular customer… they are literally that nice to everybody. The one negative… they don’t have seating unless you order from a waiter, but the Sony Atrium is just one Ave. away, and the perfect place to eat when it’s cold out (on 55th btw. 5th+Madison).

Oh, and one more thing. They have free brownie samples at the front (I had 2), but anybody can actually get a free brownie just by signing up for their mailing list. (The cards are also in the front.) This could be the greatest place of all time. I will definitely be back, and not just for the Midtown Lunch Sandwich Special.

Certe, 20 W 55th St. (btw. 5+6th), New York, NY 10019,    212-397-2020

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