It just got a little bit easier to enjoy a treat from the Sullivan Street Bakery.  You could always trek all the way to to the actual bakery on 47th btw. 10+11th, or you can visit one of Midtown’s many Dean and Deluca locations, and now, according to Blondie and Brownie you can visit ‘wichcraft for your Sullivan Street Bakery fix.  The sandwich chain, which has a number of Midtown locations, is now offering up Sullivan Street Bakery pastries, including their very famous bombolini, which B&B call “a mighty fine doughnut.”  Indeed it is.  Indeed it is.

I love and revere New Orleans (and the Brennan’s restaurants), and didn’t want to look like an ass, so I took your suggestions and gave Ralph a choice of 5 places that in theory, could serve the best sandwich in Midtown (this way I could blame it on you guys, or even him- since in the end, he chose.)

• Best Quintessential New York Sandwich – When in New Orleans, you eat a Po’boy.  When in New York, you gotta have a gigantic pastrami or corned beef sandwich.  For that, we would go to the newly re-opened 2nd Ave. Deli on 33rd btw. Lex+3rd.
• Best Bread in New York City – For the best sandwich, you’ve got to have the best bread- and although it’s out of bounds to the west (47th btw. 10+11th), Sullivan St. Bakery is arguably the best in town.  And even though their sandwiches are small, they are perfectly crafted.
• Best Burger – Ralph is a burger man, so I had to include the Burger Joint at the Parker Merdien.  He had a car service, so I even suggested we could make the trip down to the Shake Shack if he wanted to see that craziness.
• Best Street Meat – What’s more Midtown than the carts?  And the best street meat sandwich has got to be Kwik Meal’s lamb on pita (45th & 6th), right?
• Best Midtown Lunch – And finally, the place that started it all.  I told him if he wanted the quintessential Midtown Lunch, the place that sums up everything this site stands for (cheap, delicious, unique- and usually ethnic), then we could go to Kati Roll (39th btw. 5+6th).  That counts as a sandwich, right?

Ralph admitted he could definitely go for a big corned beef sandwich- but felt like being taken to the 2nd Ave. Deli was like eating at the Central Grocery.  I assured him that Carnegie Deli was more like the Central Grocery of NYC, but he wanted something a little more unique.  With his Executive Chef Haley Bitterman on hand to consult, they both seemed really interested in seeing what Jim Lahey was doing over at the Sullivan St. Bakery.  So we headed west, for what I billed as ”the best bread in New York”.

But in true Midtown Lunch’ing fashion, the eating did not end there…

Not content with what a normal person would consider “lunch”, after we finished eating at the bakery, Ralph said “I really want to go have something from a street cart.  Can we do that too?”

Yes Ralph.  Yes we can.  And it was off to the Kwik Meal Cart.

It was not only an awesome lunch, but Ralph was a super nice guy and a great ambassador to New Orleans.  I was interested in hearing the “real story” of the Brennans (they’ve been feuding over the family restaurants and name for a long time), but we had better things to talk about- like how great the food in New Orleans is, and what exactly is in the white sauce that they pour over street meat.  Ralph’s verdict on your suggestions:

“The Sullivan Street Bakery was great, and the Chicken and Lamb Pitas (they ordered both) were outstanding.”

Thanks for all your suggestions, and I will email the winners of Ralph’s cookbook today.

It may seem like a terrible day for it (if you haven’t noticed, it’s pouring)- but I had to run an errand on the west side today, so I used it as an excuse to grab lunch at the Sullivan St. Bakery on 47th btw. 10th and 11th. Amazing flat bread pizzas (the potato is to die for), and sandwiches make this place well worth the walk (if the day is nice, and you’re looking for an excursion).I went with the much praised Duck Egg one (with buffalo mozarella, artichokes and ramps). It could be bigger, but considering the ingredients, fresh bread, and price tag ($6) it’s quite the treat!