Of course every once in awhile a Midtown deli innovation occurs, pushing the boundaries of gastronomic advancement; begging to be noticed, unwilling to following the standard formula. By the lb. buffets were one of the early innovations. The good ones are tough to resist (despite being a curse to us fatties.) Korean deli owners selling Korean food is a more recent example. The stations set up at Cafe Duke and Ambrosia elevate those delis to worthwhile status. Now, we have reached a new plateau… brought to my attention in this email:

Anyone tipped you off to this yet at the Old Bridge Deli? For about $6.50, you can get a fresh baked (i.e. made, then baked on the spot while you wait)… what is essentially an elongated calzone with a thinner crust with custom ingredients of your choosing (they call it a rolly wrap).

The fresh baked part is killer. So is the fresh chopping the guy does if you order chicken, or any cheese other than mozz. I’m a sucker for a little fresh cutting and baking on my lunch order, especially when it’s a FULL lunch and costs $6-7. Just wait in line, pile on pretty much as many ingredients as you like, and wait while it bakes. He’ll even give you a sour cream or hot sauce on the side if you ask nicely.

I usually roll with a choice of cheddar and/or mozz (sometimes rotate in the jalapeno jack too) the breaded chicken (grilled if I’m going “healthy”), some pepperoni or bacon, rotate the vegetable (onion, mushroom, broccoli, red peppers), then top it off with salsa and either sour cream or guac. Delicious.

Fresh baked? As many ingredients as you like? In a generic Midtown deli? Wait- ignore that last part and this kind of sounds amazing… 

Old Bridge Deli has been seized for tax reasons multiple times in the past few months, but that didn’t stop me from trekking over on Monday to see what this rolly wrap thing was all about.  As promised, the station had loads of toppings to choose from, and while there is a menu that hangs on the wall with set rolly wrap options, it quickly became clear that you could stuff this thing with whatever you wanted.

The thing starts out with a ball of dough, which a guy rolls out behind the counter. Then you tell him what you want inside.  There are meats (meatballs, pepperoni, sausage, chicken, steak); cheeses (shredded mozzarella, swiss, munster); veggies (olives, grilled onions, mushrooms, spinach, roasted red peppers); and condiments (guacamole, sour cream, salsa, marinara).  It’s a little daunting at first, and you’ll want to just order one of the choices off the menu- but resist the temptation.  Choosing your own adventure is a lot more fun.

There are really only 3 directions you can go in.  Standard (i.e. steak and cheese sub), Italian (meats + cheese + sauce) or Mexican.  I got two:

The Italian route: meatballs, spinach, grilled onions, mushrooms, shredded cheese, and marinara.

And the Mexican route: grilled chicken, shredded cheese, guacamole, and salsa.  Putting the guac into the rolly wrap before it was cooked may have been a classic rookie mistake.  I found out later, the guy behind the counter will gladly give you two dipping sauces of your choice (guac, sour cream, salsa, etc.) for no extra charge.

After he wraps the whole thing up, it gets put into an electric pizza oven thingy and about 5 minutes later, voila!  Fresh baked rolly wrap goodness.

Now you may be thinking, “Zach- what you just got was called a calzone.  A crappy, deli version of a calzone!” NO dammit! I say it’s gastronomic deli advancement!!!

Ok, so I admit it’s not all fun and games.  While the grilled chicken was perfectly good, the meatballs were made of some sort of weird gray matter (as one of my co-workers put it)… and the fact that the guy cuts them into thin slices before adding them to the wrap doesn’t help.  The marinara sauce is watery, and fairly gross, and I didn’t try the sliced up steak, so I don’t know if it’s good or bad.  The spinach and ricotta mixture thing was probably a mistake as well, and the mushrooms are definitely canned. The dough they use isn’t high quality either (big surprise), but for $5.79 the fact that it’s fresh baked, and you can put whatever you want into it, make the rolly wraps a good deal (and a nice change of pace from the boring old Midtown lunch.)

Surprisingly I didn’t try pushing the limits of the counter guy’s kindness (i.e. asking for chicken, steak, meatballs, pepperoni and sausage) but he seemed pretty nice, and I think you can do whatever you want, within reason. If you like cilantro, I would definitely recommend the Mexican route. The guac is perfectly good- and considering that at Chipotle you would get charged an extra $1.75, getting it for free almost makes the rolly wrap worth it for that alone.

Despite all this, I admit that Old Bridge Deli is still a dump. Their by the pound buffet looked decent at first glance, but upon further scrutiny I wasn’t tempted (never a good sign, since I’m almost always tempted).  And I wouldn’t eat your lunch in the upstairs seating area- unless you feel like being eaten to death by mosquitoes. (Perhaps having a fountain/tree fixture in the middle of the room isn’t the best idea.)

In the end rolly wraps are enough to get Old Bridge Deli added to that list alongside Cafe Duke & Ambrosia as generic Midtown delis I wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen in. Just don’t order the meatballs, try your best to keep it simple, and when it doubt- go with the guac!  For $6, and loaded with the low expectations that should always come with stepping food in a generic Midtown deli, it will be tough to be disappointed.

THE +

• How can you argue with “fresh baked” and “whatever you toppings you want” all for $5.79
• They have a lot of toppings
• If you like cilantro, you’ll love their guac and salsa
• The grilled chicken is really good (and appears to be actual meat, unlike some of the other choices)
• The guy behind the counter is very agreeable, and will pretty much do whatever you ask
• Two dipping sauces are included in the price. Chose between guac, sour cream, marinara, salsa and more

THE -

• It’s still a crappy generic Midtown deli
• Most of the meats are kind of strange (especially the meatballs, which are terrible)
• If you get too many things, it will taste gross
• The dough is not that great
• The upstairs seating area is gross. Take your food to go.
• They are fresh baked, so it will take at least 5-7 minutes for your lunch to be made- and although when I went it was empty, I can imagine it being a bad scene if any sort of line formed
• Uh… it’s still a crappy generic Midtown deli

Old Bridge Deli, 373 Lexington Ave (btw. 40+41st), 212-986-0500

(Anybody have a photo of the sadness?  Email it to me at zach@midtownlunch.com or post it to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Group)

An inside shot of the Lexington location. You have two dining options at Sophie’s.  You can sit at a table and order from a waitress (on the left), or get in the cafeteria style line and order directly from the steam tables.  If you get in the line, you have to take your food to go.  This is especially confusing at the 56th St. location, where the tables are in the very back of the restaurant.  If you want to sit and eat, you must bypass the crowds at the steamtable, and head directly to the back to order from the waitresses.  The menu and prices are the same when you sit and order (but you do have to tip, making it a little more expensive.)

The back of the 56th St. location.

Two plates of food fixing to go out, at the 56th St. location.

More food porn, after the jump…

My first meal ever at Sophie’s… pernil (roast pork) with moros and maduros.  Moros is the term for rice and beans already mixed together.  At Sophie’s, for $8 you get a choice of one entree, and two sides.  Unfortunately, rice and beans count as two seperate sides, so if you want rice, beans and plantains (my idea of the perfect combo)- you have to order the moros, which only count as one side, but are a little drier than rice with fresh beans.  The other negative… Sophie’s moros is made with pinto beans, so if you like black beans, you can only get them as a seperate side.  Maduros are the sweet fried plantains that I consider essential to any proper Cuban meal.  Platanos Tostones are made from the same fruit, but cut, smashed and fried before they ripen, so they are more mealy, and usually not sweet at all.  Sophie’s has both options. 

Baked chicken with rice and black beans (as the two sides).  Definitely not going to be dry…

Pescado Frito (or fried fish).  Sophie’s entrees rotate depending on the day of the week, but fried fish is one of the options they have every single day.

Various grilled meats covered in onions.  A staple of Cuban food.  At Sohpie’s they’ve got chicken, steak, and pork chops.  The chicken is much better than I expected, and a perfect option for the Cuban food beginner who might be scared off by the stewed meats (like Ropa Vieja, goat or oxtails).

The oxtails.  Don’t be scared!  Oxtails are delicious… and a Cuban specialty that is worthy of charging (and paying) an extra $2.  It is one of two items on the menu they charge you more for (the Shrimp in garlic sauce is the other).  Only available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, oxtails are exactly what they sound like-  the tail of a cow.  If you’ve never had them, you’re probably imagining a long tail served on a plate, but it’s a little less gross than that.  The tail is cut into chunks so you have a little bone surrounded by a layer of meat.  The pieces are then fried, and stewed until the meat is fall off the bone tender.  You may say the secret ingredient is fat… which ends up coming out of the meat (and bones) and flavoring the sauce.  Delicious!  And a must have at least once in your life…

The cuban sandwich.  Now this is something anybody could be down with.  Don’t like rice, beans, plantains and weird stewed meats…  order the cuban.  Who doesn’t like sandwiches!  A standard cuban is sliced ham, sliced pork, cheese, pickles and mustard served on a cuban roll (sort of like french bread) and pressed flat in a sandwich machine… and Sophie’s version is awesome.  A highlight of the menu, and made in the proper Cuban Style (no salami, like the Margon version).

THE + (what people who like this place would say)

• Great cuban food, for decent prices
• Huge selection
• Amazing cuban sandwich
• It’s a chain, so it’s pretty clean (especially compared to places like Margon, La Strada & Cafe Cello).  There are plenty of Latin places to eat in Midtown, but if “clean” chains give you comfort, Sophie’s is going to be your favorite of the bunch.

THE – (what people who don’t like this place would say)

• It’s a chain… so it doesn’t have that “feel like I’m eating in Miami” feel of Margon
• The morros is made with pinto beans… so if you want rice, black beans AND plantains you are going to have to suck it up and get moros, or pay extra.
• They don’t give you a ton of plantains when you order them as one of your two side dishes (last time, I only got three)
• The ordering line at the 56th St. location is very hectic, creating an “every person for themselves” type of environment.  Not a very well designed location, and pretty confusing.
• If you want to eat in, you have to tip the waitress, making the meal slightly above the Midtown Lunch budget.  If you go through the cafeteria line, you have to take your food to go.

Sohpie’s Cuban (multiples locations)

• 369 Lexington Ave. (btw. 40+41st), 212-922-3576

• 240 West 40th Street (btw 7+8th), 212-730-9200 link

• 805 Third Ave (btw. 49+50) in the Lower Level Food Court, 212-308-1024 link

There’s also three downtown locations for the few people who read this blog downtown

• 96 Chambers. (nr. Church), 212-608-9900

• 141 Fulton Street, 212-608-6769

• 73 New St., 212-809-7755

Also, since this piece was written, these two locations have become “Tina’s Restaurant”:

• 23 w. 56th St. (btw. 5+6th), 212-315-4313
• 179 Madison Ave. (btw. 33+34th), 212-679-3500