Midtown Lunch

Sometimes lunch isn’t enough to fuel your afternoon. Sometimes you need coffee too, so it’s nice to find a place where you can get a good meal and a mean cup o’ joe as well. Demarco Coffee (Lexington Ave. btw. 50th + 50st St.), which opened this month, is that kind of place. Demarco Coffee is based in Queens, where they roast their own coffee beans. But at their Midtown Cafe, you can sample their coffee and choose from a small menu of cafe-style pre-made sandwiches and salads.

Before we get to the food, the coffee here deserves more than a passing mention. I ordered an Americano on a whim, but my barista recommended that I try a pour-over instead, explaining that it had a more mellow taste and allowed more distinct flavors to shine through. Normally I’d be annoyed by someone trying to change my order, but I don’t know much about coffee, so I went along.

As my barista prepared my single origin pour-over ($3.25), he explained why the process yielded a better result than a traditional drip or press coffee. He was right, because it was a real good cup of coffee. $3.25 might be a bit much for a cup of coffee, but I hardly ever buy the stuff, so when I do I’m willing to pay a bit more.

Now that our coffee detour is through, let’s get back to the food. Demarco offers a handful of sandwich options, including langostino, smoked salmon, grilled cheese, and egg salad. The langostino will set you back $12, but the rest are below the ML limit. There are also breakfast sandwiches priced between $4 and $5 and look to be available all day.

A few pre-made salads are also available. They looked like they were well made, but, like the sandwiches, lived on the edge of the $10 limit.

I chose the jambon et beurre (ham and butter) sandwich, with Swiss cheese, priced at $9. I had my sandwich toasted, which I immediately regretted, forgetting that the soft butter would melt. I was still happy with the results, though.

While looking small at first, the sandwich actually filled me up for the day. The ham was just what good, thinly sliced ham should be, and a step above the normal deli stuff. The butter, though melted, lent a sweetness to the salty ham. And the Swiss cheese, perfectly melted from the toasting, brought it all home with a slight funkiness. The baguette was also great, simultaneously airy and chewy.

Aside from the lunch and coffee, Demarco also boasts some good-looking pastries, including macarons, muffins, and brownies.

I suspect that the price will turn some MLers away, but this really was a quality sandwich. I also question how many customers Demarco will draw to its location, which is right next to the cheaper Cafe Metro (I was one of only a couple customers around lunchtime). I hope that it gains a following, because it’s workers clearly care about their product, which Midtown needs more of.

So yes, the prices are high and yes, its few dining options aren’t too out of the ordinary, but Demarco puts out quality food and beverages, a great place for a bite to eat and a jolt of caffeine.

Demarco Coffee, 569 Lexington Ave. btw. 50th and 51st St.