Midtown Lunch » 39th btw. 3rd+Lex

Milant Still Makes a Damn Good Sandwich

Zach Brooks — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:16:43 +0000

Always 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…

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.

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

Read all Milant posts here

Is The Party Over at Milant?

Zach Brooks — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:35:17 +0000

Listed on the right as my favorite sandwich in Midtown, Milant on 39th btw. Lex+3rd has been having some issues of late. Shuttered by the DOH, they’ve now been “closed for rennovations” for a few weeks. Before their rennovations, one commenter had this to say: “Went to Milant in June because I was craving gazpacho. There was a definite funk in the air, the sandwich was on at least day-old bread (tough and chewy), and the gazpacho, which cost an extra $1, had huge chunks of onion and tasted like canned tomatoes and refrigerator.” Even the rennovations are sounding a little dicey according to another commenter: “Walked by Milant. People inside looking like they were doing inventory or something. Place hasn’t been “renovated” and all the same food is sitting in there.”

It’s not sounding good. I walked by yesterday and the place was as described. Shuttered, with all the food still sitting in the windows and display cases. Not a good sign. We’ll see what happens when they re-open, but one thing is for sure… I may stay away on opening day (they’ve got to replace the old food, right?) In the meantime, I’m taking taking Milant off my favorites until they get their act together. Anybody have a worthy replacement for best sandwich in Midtown? Homefront Deli? Macaron Cafe? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments…

SPEAKING OF COLD SOUP

Zach Brooks — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:50:53 +0000

Milant (38th btw. Lex+3rd) has started serving their summertime gazpacho. It’s $1 more to get it as the soup that comes with your sandwich, but in the words of Lunch’er Dan who emailed me the news- it is “so necessary.”

DOH Closes Milant (aka the Best Sandwich Shop in Midtown)

Zach Brooks — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:46:55 +0000

Upsetting news from Midtown East… it appears as if the Department of Health paid a visit to Milant (on 39th btw. Lex+3rd) Friday afternoon, and shut them down. The “review” hasn’t been posted to the DOH website yet (their last one in March looks pretty stellar, aside from the fact that the DOH got their name wrong), but I talked to somebody at Milant who claimed it was a freezer temperature issue, which they immediately fixed on Friday afternoon. Now they’re just waiting for the inspector to return to give them the green light, which they hope will happen in time to open for lunch tomorrow (Wednesday).

I can’t help but wonder if this is related to the Food Trends DOH’ing that happened a month ago. The post for that received a bunch of anti-Milant, pro-Food Trends comments that all came from the same IP address. It certainly wouldn’t be unheard of for a competing deli full of internet shillers to call the Department of Health on a clearly superior next door neighbor.

But the real shocking news in this whole thing, comes after the jump…

Caitlin, one of the two lunch’ers who emailed me to let me know about the closing, had this to say:

It’s a sad, sad day when a jolly old man can’t hand out free cheese crunchies to pretty girls.

Wait a second. Are you saying that Milant gives free samples to pretty girls? That’s total BS. Short fat guys like free samples too you know…

Thanks to Caitlin & Andrew for sending along photos- and as always, if you have some news to share, please send it along to zach@midtownlunch.com

UPDATE: Milant got the thumbs up from the DOH, and were allowed to re-open at the end of the day on Tuesday. They will be fully open for lunch on Wednesday.

Rong Bao Shuttered, DOH Helps Milant

Zach Brooks — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:08:10 +0000

Walked by a couple of shuttered establishments yesterday…

Super cheap Chinese steam table, Rong Bao Fast Food, on 38th btw. 7+8th, was mysteriously closed yesterday. Not sure if this is permanent, but if it is, it’s no big surprise. Given the choice between Rong Bao, and the newly renovated Ying Du directly across the street (formerly the 38th St. Restaurant and Bakery), I’d always go to Y.D.

How the DOH is pushing more business to the best sandwich shop in Midtown, after the jump…

Directly across town, the Department of Health shut down “Cafe Trend” on the corner of 39th St. and 3rd Ave. Normally this wouldn’t be Midtown Lunch worthy news, but apparently the closing has created a ton of spillover for Milant, the tiny deli next door (and home to what I consider the best sandwiches in Midtown). Truthfully, if you chose Cafe Trend over Milant to begin with, you’re a total idiot, and deserve to be inconvenienced.

In related news, Winter is not officially over until Milant starts serving their famous Gazpacho, which they told me would be coming sometime in June.

If you have any news, tips or recommendations, email them to zach@midtownlunch.com

Milant Gourmet Deli

Zach Brooks — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:29:33 +0000

Some places you just know are going to be good. It may be rare, but it happens. I trekked over to Milant, a tiny deli on 39th St. btw. 3rd & Lex. after getting a tip from a Midtown Lunch’er named Corey. I’m not usually a big sandwich guy, and I almost never write about “delis”, but when I walked into this tiny take-out only place, something said to me “This is going to be good.” Don’t let the name fool you though. Milant is tiny, and sort of dumpy, but I think that’s part of its charm. Take the same place and dress it up in fancy Midtown duds, and it probably wouldn’t be as good.

I don’t know if it was the crowd (there were about 5 or 6 people cramped in there waiting for their sandwiches), the price ($5 to $6.50 for some pretty sweet sounding sandwiches), the free soup (you get a free cup of soup) or the fridges full of nice cheeses and assorted pates- but I was not leaving this place empty handed. Corey had told me to get the #13. No explanation, or description… just an ”Order the #13. It rocks.” When I saw it on the menu, I knew I had found a winner.

The #13, more food porn and a +/-, after the jump…

The #13. Chicken Cutlet, fresh mozzarella, pesto sauce and sun dried tomato on French bread. How could it be bad! Can you get the same sandwich at a million places in Midtown? Probably. But is it only $6.25? Doubtful. Do they give you free soup? Probably not. Do you walk into the place and think “This is going to be good?”. Definitely not. You only get all that at a place like Milant.

Milant is a strange little place. Your initial thought is that it is Italian (all good delis are, right?), but it is definitely not Italian. The cheeses and pates in the fridge, combined with the fancy looking chocolates in the window mean it could be French- but the guys running the place don’t seem French to me. There are vegetarian sandwiches with hummus, baba ganouj and falafel. That’s not French or Italian. What a strange little place. I guess that is part of its charm.

There were 15 other combination sandwiches on the menu, and not a single one looked bad. My friend ordered the #15- crabmeat cake with fresh tomato, lettuce, & mayo on french bread ($6.50). The crabmeat cake was not your typical crabcake (it was almost like a crab, vegetable and potato pancake) but the sandwich was really good. Some of the other menu highlights… #3. Country style pate with roasted red pepper, cornichons and Dijon mustard on fresh baked bread. #5. Genoa salami with fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers on sourdough. #8. Tuna with apple and fresh dill on rye with lettuce and tomato.

They also have gourmet cold salads, garden salads, vegetarian sandwiches, appetizers and a few gourmet entrees like Eggplant Parm and Lasagna. And then of course there is the free soup! Every sandwich comes with a small cup of soup. There is always Chicken and Vegetable, and the second choice changes every day. Monday is Lentil, Tuesday is Chicken Wild Rice, Wednesday is Split Pea, Thursday is Three Bean & Friday is Chicken Noodle. Naturally the chicken and vegetable is a little watery- but the flavor is good, and it’s hard to complain about something you get for free. In the summer months they serve a Gazpacho (which I am very excited to try!)

Sandwiches are not rare in Midtown- but sandwiches with ingredients like these, that cost between $5 and $6.50 are. If you read the blog regularly, you know that sandwiches and salads are not really my thing. I have always felt that the generic, one on every block, Midtown delis/salad bars are in existence because Midtown eaters are lazy, and aren’t willing to walk the extra block for something good. (Every once in awhile you find a good or interesting one, but they are few and far between) It’s nice to have a place like Milant, where I can get a sandwich, and not feel like a Midtown Lunch sell out.

THE +

Delicious sandwich combinations for $5 to $6.50

You get free soup!

The sandwiches on french bread are surprisingly big for the price

The intangible plus. You walk in, look at the menu and just know that it is going to be good. It’s one of the few Midtown cases where you feel like you get more than what you paid for.

THE -

The place is tiny, and it is take out only

The free soup is not the greatest ever (but it’s home-made, and free- so you can’t argue about that)

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