I will fully admit to being a Sullivan Street Bakery/Jim Lahey superfan.  That’s not to say I know anything about bread.  In fact, not only am I not a bread aficionado by any means, I never really even thought about bread as something that could be revered… until I tried the bread at Sullivan St. Bakery.  Now, if I’m out somewhere and have an out of control good sandwich, I’ll ask where the bread came from.  Invariably I know the answer is going to always be Sullivan St. Bakery.  Because if it’s good enough to ask where it came from, it means it probably came from there.

If you feel like me, than you probably have made the trek out to 47th Street btw. 10+11th for a sandwich at lunch. I admit the sandwiches are on the small side, and totally expensive for what you get (especially if you follow the Midtown Lunch mentality), but the bread makes it all worth it.   But I also understand that not everybody has that kind of time, which makes finds like Culture Espresso Bar (on 38th btw. 5+6th) that much more exciting. They follow a similiar mentality (smallish sandwiches for the price), but there is something in me that forgets to be a cheapass when staring down the barrel of a sandwich on Sullivan St. Bakery bread.

Yesterday I stopped by Culture Espresso Bar, and helped myself to three different kinds…

The Figgy ($7.25) – Fig jam, proscuitto, and goat cheese. This probably comes closest to the regular sandwiches at Sullivan St. Bakery, since they’re on the same exact bread and uses very little filling.  More like an expensive snack, than a filling lunch, but if you like sweeet/salty/tangy combo of figs, prosciutto, and goat cheese you’re gonna like the taste of this one.

Carribean Chicken Salad ($9).  I’m a big fan of this curry chicken salad, and this one takes the genre a bit farther with the addition of ginger and a mango chutney.  Less curry flavor than some people will like, but the mayo levels are not bad and for me it was a hit.  Sadly it’s also pretty small, especially for $9.

Porchetta ($9) – Chipotle pork, tomato, onion, avocado, greens.  This is probably the best value.  I’m all about avocado in sandwiches; in fact it’s the only way I’ll eat non-Thanksgiving turkey.  Add it to pork, and it’s a home run.  The only way you won’t like this sandwich is if you expect hot porchetta with crispy bits (like they serve in the East Village.)  Sadly, this is the old school cold cuts porchetta.  But like a pig flying through the air on a BBQ, “it’s still good, it’s still good!”

They’ve got about 10 sandwiches on the menu, so there’s probably something for everyone… although the only other one that looked good to me was a proscuitto/salami/mozzarella/pesto number that cost $10.25! (And as you know that’s out of my price range.)   In other words, the sandwiches are all small for the price.  But if you love Sullivan St. Bakery as much as I do, it’s better than walking to 10th Ave.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• I freaking love Sullivan St. Bakery bread, but don’t feel like walking to 10th Ave.

THE  – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• There is no way I’m paying $7-9 on a tiny-ass sandwich.  (I don’t care where the bread comes from

Culture Espresso Bar, 72 West 38th Street (btw. 5+6th) 212-302-0200

It’s never a shock when a bad restaurant resorts to something crazy to help boost business.  You’ll see name changes, expensive redecorating, crazy specials, and yes, even sushi being added to a Kosher falafel and kebab place.  But Olympic Pita (on 38th btw. 5+6th) was not a bad restaurant!  Home to my favorite falafel in Midtown (you may say the secret ingredient is their fresh baked laffa bread) Olympic Pita shouldn’t have to resort to this nonsense.  And yet there it was, last week their new sign, with their new name (Baraca), promoting their new menu item (sushi?!?)  Oh, and of course there was the gussied up interior.  Why Olympic Pita?  Why?

The name change is not just for show, according to an employee Baraca is no longer owned by the same people who own the original Olympic Pita in Brooklyn (not good.)  Thankfully, the take out area in the front looked like it hadn’t changed- so yesterday I stopped by to survey the situation.

Apparently they added sushi long before the name change, but I had no idea.  Admittedly I’ve never eaten in the sit down portion of Olympic Pita.  Almost everything on the menu is outside the $10 Midtown Lunch price range, and once you add tax and tip it’s waaaay outside.  So, it’s always been take out for me from the front counter; and always falafel (the rest of the sandwiches are over $10).  A sandwich on pita is cheaper, but their laffa is worth the extra money, which you can see being fresh baked in the front window brick oven. The oven is still there, and it’s still churning out fresh baked bread.  So far so good.

Next stop, the pickled salad bar.  $7.50 is a lot for a falafel sandwich, but it’s completely worth it at Olympic Pita (sorry, I mean) Baraca.  Not only do you get to stuff whatever you like into your sandwich, but you also get a small plastic container to fill up with assorted cabbage slaws and pickles from the salad bar. 

You’re only limited to however much you can stuff into the container, and still close the lid.  (Your threshold for embarrassment will also have an effect.)  The salad bar is now smaller by a few items, but still mostly intact.  But what about the free french fries *in* the sandwich…

Bingo!  They’re still willing to stuff french fries in your sandwich… for free.  Man, I love this place!  Hot sauce + their famous spicy and savory mango sauce (known as amba) and we’re in business.

You don’t want to walk too far with this thing, because the fresh baked laffa gets a little chewy wrapped in the tin foil.  And while I don’t normally advocate buying one lunch and sharing it (fat guy no like sharing) once you add the container from the salad bar, this lunch could easily be split.  It could also just as easily be devoured solo (which is what I did yesterday.)  I could get into the finer taste points re: the falafel  (whether or not it is slightly drier than Crisp or slightly less flavorful than Azuri Cafe.)  but why bother?  With the fresh baked bread, the salad bar, and the french fries, you will not hear a single complaint from me about this sandwich.

Baraca… I will probably never eat your sushi (sorry!), but I wish you good luck in your attempt to expand dinner time business (I can only assume that is why you’ve done what you’ve done.)  Midtown Lunch’ers, however, will continue to enjoy the take out area in the front… and on behalf of all of them, I’d like to thank you for not messing with a good thing!

No +/- today. It’s pretty much exactly the same as the one I posted in my original write up of Olympic Pita.

Baraca (formerly Olympic Pita), 58 W. 38th St. (btw. 5+6th), 212-869-PITA

While I normally ignore sit down lunch places, and bar specials (even the ones that are around $10, because you still have to pay tax and tip and drinks are usually super expensive) you can see why this caught my eye. Meat pie! Sausage Roll!?! With chips!!! (That’s french fries by the way.) For $8. Yes please. I’ll have both.

Every since the Tuck Shop abandoned their post inside the Cyber Cafe (on 49th btw. B’way+8th) Midtown has been deprived of Aussie meat pies (and sausage rolls for that matter.) They promised they would populate bars around the city with their wares, but so far I haven’t heard of any Midtown sightings. That’s where the Australian enters to the save the day. Not only are they serving traditional Australian pub grub, but all of it is made in house from scratch… and for $8 (with french fries included) how can you go wrong?

For the pies you have your choice of traditional or curry, which for me is not a tough choice at all. (If the opportunity arises to make my food taste a little bit Asian I’m going to seize it.) Both pies come with beef, and potatoes and an egg in the middle (nice touch!)

Unlike the Tuck Shop’s curry pie, which is a very spicy green curry situation, the Australian’s version is more like a standard meat pie with a hint of curry powder flavor throughout. I would have liked it a little bit stronger, but it was still nice. The fries were really good too- clearly cut from fresh potatoes (a great bonus.)

As for the sausage rolls, I’ll admit I’ve actually never had a sausage roll before… but I knew I would like it. Best case scenario, it ends up being the Australian version of a pig in a blanket. Worst case scenario… well, I can’t think of a worse case scenario.

Less pig in a blanket than sausage egg roll with a pastry shell, the sausage rolls were good but could have used a little more flavor. Don’t mistake this for complaining though. You take sausage meat out of the casing, wrap it pastry, deep fry it, and serve it with french fries for $8, I’m going to like it.

And that’s the moral of the story. Best meat pie and sausage rolls you’ll ever have? Probably not. But serve it for $8, in a nice pub, topped with french fries, and I’m sold.

THE +

• Lunch is only $8 and comes with french fries
• It’s nice to eat at a sit down place every once in awhile, as long as it’s a good value
• It’s a bar… if that is something that interests you during lunch
• Sodas are only $2, another nice touch considering that most places like this will give you a great lunch deal, and then charge you a ridiculous amount for a drink (Rick’s Cabaret I’m looking in your general direction.)
• There’s an egg in the pie!
• The french fries are fresh cut

THE -

• If you like your curry pie super spicy, Tuck Shop’s green curry pie is better than this one
• The sausage rolls could have been a little more flavorful

The Australian, 20 W 38th St (btw. 5+6th),  212-869-8601

We can add one more location to the list of bubble tea places in Midtown that got put in the comments of this Profile last month.  Galaxy 2.0 has opened up on 38th St. btw. 5+6th serving frozen yogurt, smoothies, and a slushy version of bubble tea out of of a takeout window.  At $3.50 for a small, it’s slightly more expensive than a few of the other Midtown options, but they blend it with ice, making it pretty refreshing for the summertime.  I had Taro, which was prety tasty, but on second look I think I may have to try the “cookies and cream.”  They also serve a version of Pinkberry’ish frozen yogurt, with the green tea option being replaced by blueberry (???).  They didn’t have cap’n crunch as a topping, so I’ll be sticking with Red Mango- thanks.

More photos, after the jump…

Galaxy 2.0, 24 W. 38th St. (btw. 5+6th)

At the time, Kosher Deluxe’s shawarma on pita was (barely) under $10, so I was of the opinion that I didn’t need Olympic Pita.  Plus if they were going to charge that much for a sandwich, there were cheaper places to get good falafel and shawarma sandwiches, like Pick a Pita on 38th btw. 7+8th (and they’ll even put fries in your sandwich!)  Since then, Kosher Deluxe has raised their prices (a shawarma on laffa sandwich is now over $10) and so I finally caved in and tried the Olympic Pita falafel on laffa ($6.50), the only item on the menu worthy of a Midtown Lunch distinction… and all I can say is- wow.  What the hell took me so long! ?! 

$7 is expensive for a falafel sandwich.  There is no shortage of cheap falafel sandwiches available in Midtown, but that being said, there are a few reasons why this could be the best one of them all- even at the price.

1.  The bread.  The fresh baked laffa at Olympic Pita could possibly the best bread in Midtown.  There’s a reason they put the oven in the window.  It looks amazing, it tastes amazing.  This alone could be the deal breaker… leaving the other plusses of this sandwich as just icing on the cake.

2.  The salad bar. You can load up on the salad/pickle bar both in a separate container *and* on your sandwich.  I seem to remember Kosher Deluxe requiring you to do one or the other- but I’m not positive.  Either way, the salad bar at these Kosher places is a huge plus, and helps to justify paying the higher prices when you could get $4-5 falafel sandwiches at multiple carts in the area.

3.  French fries on the sandwich are free!  Oh, you heard me right.  The magical “french fries on the sandwich” that Pick-a-Pita charges for, and Moshe’s Falafel refuses to do (even though they sell fries on their cart) is FREE at Olympic Pita.  When they told me, I almost didn’t believe it.  I asked two different guys, plus the lady at the cash register, at least 5 times, “It’s free right?  Totally free?  Really? French Fries?  Are you sure?” and pretty much didn’t believe it until the fries were on the sandwich, and I was walking out the door.  At this point, I almost didn’t even care what the thing tasted like- I was sold.  You give me the best bread in Midtown, let me load up my sandwich PLUS a separate container with stuff from the salad bar, AND you’ll add french fries to my falafel sandwich for free?  Olympic Pita- you are the greatest place in the history of forever.

4.  Oh yeah.  And the sandwich is huge.

What more do you need to know?  Oh… right.  The thing tasted good too.  Real good.   And between the salad bar, and the giant sandwich, it could even be split between two lesser sized people.  Midtown Lunch’er DDR has mentioned the mango sauce a few times as well, but unfortunately they were out because they had been closed the week before for Shavuot- so I didn’t get to try it… but be sure to ask for some if that kind of thing interests you.

There are a few downsides to the place… I wish one of their shawarma sandwiches on laffa were available for under $10, and I wish the tables in the main part of the restaurant weren’t only for waiter service but those issues are easy to ignore when free french fries are involved.

THE +

• The bread
• Free french fries in your sandwich
• Free salad/pickle bar in your sandwich, and in a little container on the side
• Did I mention the bread?

THE -

• There are no seats for you to eat your food, unless you sit down and order from a waiter
• The price

Olympic Pita, 58 W. 38th St. (btw. 5+6th), 212-869-PITA