In a sea of overpriced gourmet grilled cheeses (see: Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C), it’s easy for us to roll our eyes at a new contender. But here’s the thing: a girl still gets a craving for a good grilled cheese and tomato soup combo every now and then, and she’s gotta get it somewhere. On a recent dreary day, I noticed that Pret has a new Grilled Cheese Toastie on the menu, and when I saw that one of the rotating daily soups that day was Tomato & Basil, I knew what I was having for lunch.

The Grilled Cheese Toastie ($5.99) contains parmesan, brie, roasted tomatoes, basil, black pepper, and Pret seasoning on Pret’s sigature 7-grain bread. I found it to be decently sized, with two large slice of bread holding in a generous portion of delicious brie, sweet tomatoes, and pungent basil. Most importantly, this sandwich had plenty of what I like to call “goo factor,” it had enough cheese to give that explodey cheesy feeling when you bite into it. I suspect that the juicy roasted tomatoes were key here as well, because the sandwich didn’t leave me feeling weighed down as much as you would expect with this level of goo. You grab it from the case and they grill it right in front of you, so it’s guaranteed to be piping hot and melty as long as you don’t have too far to go before you eat it.

The small order of soup ($3.99) was very fresh tasting in that it wasn’t creamy, but more chunky and tomatoey than I expected. The tomato and basil complemented the tomato and basil in the sandwich, making this a perfect combo meal. If you’re still hungry after all of that, they even throw in a free roll with the soup. Yes, it’s $10, which is a little much to pay for such a simple childhood throwback meal, and Pret isn’t usually our cup of tea. But the $5.99 price tag for the sandwich is still below that of a comparable sandwich from Melt Shop or Gorilla Cheese, and it’s tasty to boot. So if you’re feeling a little nostalgic I would say this is worth a try, and there’s enough veggie goodness in here that you might even be able to trick yourself into thinking it’s a healthy meal!

Pret a Manger, Multiple Locations

After reading Lunch’r joer’s recommendation of the steel cut oatmeal at Pret, I headed over to check it out this week. I tend to go for my breakfast late-ish in the morning, so I was disappointed to discover that they finish serving their oatmeal at 10:30, but while I was there the limited edition Pret Holiday Toastie ($6.69 + tax) caught my eye.

Filled with turkey, vegetarian stuffing, cranberry sauce, “Pret seasoning,” and brie cheese the holiday toastie makes for an interesting combo. The cranberry sauce is the star. It’s whole berry and really nicely spiced. I haven’t been wowed by Pret’s Toasties in the past, but this is clearly a superior toastie. With the turkey + cheese + stuffing, it seemed a little more filling than some of Pret’s other sandwiches, though if you have a bigger appetite you’ll still probably have to augment your lunch to stay full through the afternoon.

Oh, and another word of warning: don’t delay in eating it. It comes right out of the toaster and then they stick it in a bag, which can result in a steamed toastie. But if you’re already missing your Turkey Day leftovers, this sandwich might be just the thing to put you back in the holiday spirit.

Pret a Manger, Multiple Locations (website)

Last month, Lunch’er NYCguy posted in the forums that Pret, of all things, would be taking over the space formerly occupied by the Judaica store that had been in that 45th street spot (between 5th and 6th) forever. Sadness! I passed by today and saw the coming soon signage still there, so I became curious. A quick call revealed they plan to open December 12. With 11 locations already open in Midtown West alone, I can’t imagine anyone’s clamoring for this one to open, but in case you are, there you go.

The wrap tastes like the sort of thing a frat boy might come up with after a rager. So wrong and yet the Marinara/sweet chili dressing/blue cheese combo was strangely compelling. The wrap itself is a a standard tortilla, that was tender rather than tough. You can find it in the warming case (though I got mine at the start of lunch just as it came out of the kitchen). All admit the warm lettuce inside was a little odd.

Not a sandwich that I’d want to eat all the time (or necessarily more than once), but I can see that it could be enjoyable after a night of drinking. Still for the over $6 price point for a light on the calories and not particularly large wrap, I think I’d rather hit up the Comme Ci, Comme Ça Truck for more bang for my buck. Pret regulars, is there anything on their summer menu that deserves a look? Let us know in the comments.

Pret a Manger, Multiple Locations (website)

Here’s the drill, pick your toastie from the refrigerator case and bring it up to the register. They grill it while you wait. All and all the process, at least at the Rock Center branch, was quite quick. They tend to keep people moving.

The sandwich itself was made of Niman Ranch Ham, NY state cheddar, mustard mayo (sorry, Mamacita). The sandwich was pleasantly melty and around the size of a ‘wichcraft grilled cheese, maybe even slightly bigger. ‘wichcraft uses fancier ingredients overall, but along with their recent menu overhaul has also come a price hike (the priciest sandwiches are now clocking in at $9.87 up from $9.50 and the cheapest sandwiches are $6.20 up from $5.95).

Pret Toasties come in several other varieties: Mozzarella & Pesto, Eggs Florentine and Tuna Melt and apparently some locations have Cheese & Onion Toasties and a New York Deli Toastie (salt beef, gherkins and Greve cheese with mustard dressing.)

Not all the Prets have Toasties, but you can check the “Toastie Finder” to locate a Toastie selling option near you so you’ll want to call ahead to make sure (they definitely have them in the Rock Center Concourse and the one on 6th Ave. and 48th). Are they as good as the midtown sandwich shop that goes by the same name? Here’s where I’ll admit I’ve never set foot in that place. Have you?  Let us know which one you think is better…

While Pret is at most an occasional lunch spot, owing to the high price of their sandwiches, I do make frequent morning visits because their coffee tends to be darker and stronger than the other joints in the Rock Center area and it’s made with organic milk for less than the cost of a similar cup at the ‘bux. And they offer a 10% Rock Center discount with the Privilege Card (I have a card, somewhere, but I’ve never had a problem just asking for the Rock Center discount). Anyway, I like the morning ritual of settling at my desk, getting the lay of the land then going out to get cup of coffee. Usually I just get coffee but if I missed breakfast I might get an egg sandwich, too. The other day, I overheard that the Pain au Chocolate ($1.99) had just come out of the oven and quite frankly I have a hard time saying no to any Pain Au Chocolate. Dark chocolate in a buttery, flakey pastry? Yes, please. Somehow I had avoided the siren song of Pret’s chocolate croissant… until now.

It’s common knowledge at this point that the chocolate chip cookies at Pret are stellar when they are hot and fresh. And you can say the same about their chocolate croissants. The one I had was so soft, so buttery, so light. And the chocolate was mmmmm melty. So much better than my chocolate croissant from Micheal Cluizel.

While I think a hot and fresh croissant always scores points over a less fresh one, I went back and had, let’s just say “a couple” other chocolate croissants on different days (obviously for the good of the Midtown Lunch community) and even their not quite as fresh croissants are still pretty damn tasty and since they keep them in that heated thingy they tend to still be at least a bit warm. They make them fresh all morning according to demand, but the odds of getting one fresh out of the oven are higher earlier in the day. The very best ones I’ve had there have been golden-y brown, so if they look a little on the darker brown side, pass until another day. And it’s always worth asking if they just came out or when they have another batch coming out.

If you love croissants and have an addictive personality, I might suggest closing this window and forgetting about this post.

Pret a Manger, multiple locations.

As far as chains go, I’m not a Pret hater. Yes, their sandwiches tend toward the pricey. But they do use good ingredients and they are always switching up the menu with new items. Case in point this their new “Vietnamese Baguette” which to my way of thinking is their dummy’s way of saying bánh mì.

The Pret Vietnamese Sandwich consists of Murray’s Grilled Chicken, Sweet Chili Dressing (tasted like sriracha mayo to me), roasted red peppers, daikon radish, and cilantro on a Pret baguette.

Upon inspection it appeared that there was also some pickled carrot action as well. The sandwich itself is a far cry from the classic bánh mì đặc biệt (aka the combo bánh mì that most people are familiar with) which is typically made from cold cuts, head cheese, pâté and pickled carrots, cucumbers and radish.

Lunch’er MTFoodie recently posted about this very sandwich in the forums:

I tried it out and was happy to see it chock full of cilantro, carrots, and what appeared to be pickled radish? Offensively, it also contained chicken instead of pork, and for some unknown reason, grilled red peppers. More offensively, I think I really enjoyed it.

The roasted red peppers (WTF?) were definitely distracting. Maybe it’s a product of my childhood surrounded by Italian relatives, but when you slap roasted red peppers on a sandwich it’s going to taste vaguely like an Italian sub to me. If you take off the peppers and eat them separately you get more of a Vietnamese vibe and overall this was actually a pretty tasty sandwich. If you’re expecting an authentic bánh mì you’re going to be disappointed and if you’re used to Chinatown pricing you’ll be especially disappointed when you see the $6.89 price tag. But if you like the sound of a bánh mì-inspired sandwich, there’s a lot to like here.

I stand with you, MTFoodie.

Pret a Manger, Multiple Locations (website)

If you’re looking for something to do tonight, Mamacita filled you in on all the St. Paddy’s Day sweets and drinks specials but what celebrating St Paddy’s day at lunch? On a recent Rock Center concourse jaunt, I noticed that Pret a Manger is now stocking new Corned Beef and Pickle Sandwiches made from Niman Ranch Corned Beef. Could be a good choice if you are looking for your corned beef fix without the pub crowds, though the price tag seems a bit steep at $6.89. If you’re willing to brave the hoards of drunken revelers, Blarney Stone on 3rd Ave has a lovely looking corned beef sandwich that Zach calls his “favorite St. Paddy’s Day lunch.”

Pret a Manger (various locations)
Blarney Stone , 710 3rd Ave (btw 44+45th St)

Where was I at 2pm today?  At Pret of course (along with god knows how many other Midtown Lunchers), trying the chocolate chunk cookie that Serious Eats: New York dubbed best in Midtown yesterday. Soooo good.  Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, good mix of chips and chunks.  (You may say the secret ingredient is the warming case.)  I went to the Pret on 7th Ave. and 36th and while I walked north, enjoying my cookie, I passed by a girl coming out of the Pret on 39th and 7th holding her cookie. (Coincidence?  Possibly… but whatever.  It’s more fun to think everybody is rushing out to eat cookies because of NYC food blogs.)

There are almost 20 Pret a Manger locations in Midtown, so you should have no trouble scoring one in our neck of the woods (if you haven’t already.)  With only two locations Downtown, our lunch friends to the south might have some problems.  This was twittered by @ahemler at 1:15pm today: “Pret on Maiden lane sold out of choc chunk cookies. You guys are savages.” Doh!

Related:
Pret Wins Best Midtown(ish) Cookie