If you’re still wondering what the point is to checking in on Foursquare, ‘Wichcraft just offered a pretty compelling reason. Starting today, all 18 ‘Wichcraft locations in New York and San Francsico will give a free meal a day to whoever is the current mayor on foursquare. The meal includes a sandwich, full sized salad, or soup and salad combo as well as a drink and one of their spiffy creamwiches – a value of up to $18. Every. Day. That’s huge.

While you’re jumping on the Foursquare bandwagon, be sure to follow Midtown Lunch to get tips on nearby lunch spots.

The ‘wichcraft ice cream kiosk will return to Bryant Park on Friday and to celebrate they’ll be offering free scoops and selected ice cream sandwiches for free from 2-4pm tomorrow (4/13). You might remember that last year Blondie really enjoyed the $4.25 cream’wiches, so if you didn’t get a chance to score one last season here’s your chance! The kiosk is located on the south side of the park, near 40th street and 6th Ave.

Sometimes all I want for lunch … is breakfast. Surprisingly, finding a good breakfast sandwich in the afternoon can be challenging, because many places stop making eggs at 11am. It makes me nuts. So, in case you’re like me, and you need some standby egg-making lunch spots in your back pocket, here are some of my go-tos.

Eggs & cheddar on an everything bagel at Times Square Hot Bagel

If you want literal breakfast for lunch, this is a good egg and cheese sandwich. Why? The eggs. Unlike a lot of breakfast joints that ladle some eggbeaters (blech!) onto the flattop, here you get 2 real cracked and scrambled eggs, sandwiched by two slices of cheddar, sandwiched again by a toasted everything bagel. You’d think some salt or pepper would be necessary, but no: the “everything” on the everything bagel provides all the seasoning you need. Plus, at just $4, you can’t go wrong with the price at lunchtime.

Roasted mushroom frittata sandwich at ‘wichcraft

The roasted mushroom frittata sandwich ($6.88) comes with spinach, shallots and aged cheddar on a ciabatta roll. The veggies are savory and the aged cheddar adds a mild bite that regular cheddar can lack. I watched how they constructed the sandwich and was particularly impressed at the use of the salamander — that’s how they warmed up the frittata and melted the cheese on the roll. It’s worth the couple minutes extra, trust me. While I don’t enjoy their tomato soup ($4.59) on its own, it really does shine as something in which to dip the sandwich. Unfortunately, the soup pushes you over the ML limit, making this idea a splurge.

Pavia sandwich at City Sandwich

If you’re looking for a breakfast sandwich that feels almost good for you, head to City Sandwich for the Pavia ($8.25). Egg whites, spinach, melted brie (ok, maybe not that good for you), sauteed onions and tomatoes together create a well-constructed sandwich that tastes balanced and feels light, even though it’s a big sammie. I suggest splurging for some sauce, like the basil pesto yogurt sauce ($.75), which will add an extra herby tang without weighing you down with lots of oil. Of course, if you need something more serious than egg whites, City Sandwich offers plenty of other options that include different kinds of sausage.

Unda rolls at Kati Roll

I’ll admit it, I don’t immediately think of kati rolls when considering breakfast items, but actually, the Unda roll ($3.50 each, or 2 for $6) at Kati Roll is a perfect breakfast-for-lunch option. The freshly beaten egg with some red onions wrapped up in a warm paratha becomes a wonderful meal that is definitely reminiscent of breakfast. Need something a little more substantial? Order the Unda Aloo roll ($5.50 each, or 2 for $10), which includes spicy potatoes in the wrap as well. Or, snag one of each!

Got a favorite of your own that wasn’t included in this list?  Feel free to suggest it in the comments…

Times Square Hot Bagels, 200 W 44th St (btw. 7+8th), 212-997-7300
‘wichcraft, multiple locations
City Sandwich, 649 Ninth Ave (btw. 45+46th), 646-684-3916
Kati Roll, 49 W. 39th St. (btw. 5+6th), 212-730-4280

If you were sad when ‘wichcraft kicked their grilled Gruyère to the curb, today is your lucky day. Not only is it back starting today as part of their new winter menu, but it’s returning alongside two other old favorites and two new sandwiches. The old favorites are the meatloaf with tomato relish, bacon and aged Cheddar on ciabatta, and the roasted pork coppa with pickled pepper relish and fontina on grilled country bread. The Berkshire pork is being sourced from Iowa’s Berkridge Farms, which raises its animals without ‘roids, hormones, or growth promotants, sub-theraputic antibiotics, or animal by-products in their feed. Now, about those new sandwiches…

If you’re not stopping by to pick up the “French Onion Soup as a sandwich” Grilled Gruyère, then check out one of the new ones. The first is a remake of the frittata sandwich they had a while ago, except this one is a roasted mushroom frittata with spinach, shallots, and aged Cheddar on ciabatta. The other sandwich sounds especially delicious to us kale-lovers: roasted chicken topped with braised kale, pickled vegetables and spicy aioli on ciabatta. No word on the prices for any of these, but we’re sure their probably between $7 and $10 each.

‘wichcraft, multiple locations

I’ll admit that I enjoy a ‘wichcraft sandwich every now and then, even though they are on the spendier end of the ML spectrum. When I heard they were offering a this-week-only special sandwich featuring my favorite meat (lamb!) for $11.02, I had to go check it out to see if it was worth the extra $1 above and beyond the ML price limit.

Here’s the deal with the sandwich: roasted leg of lamb plus braised kale mixed with golden raisins and jalapenos, topped with lemon aioli made from their “signature lemon confit.”

I ordered my sandwich to-go and was pleasantly surprised when I picked up the takeout baggie and discovered that it was heavier than I was expecting. The lamb was tender and still slightly pink and the golden raisins mellowed out any bitterness from the braised kale. If you’re a heat-loving luncher, I don’t think that the jalepenos will wow you, but they were a tasty addition to the sandwich. However, if you are the slightest bit mayo-adverse, caveat emptor, there was a lot of the white stuff on the ‘wich.

The sandwich is available at all ‘wichcrafts in the city, but only until this Saturday, December 24th. If you work near the Rock Center branch, be sure to ask for the “Rock Center discount” (they’ve never asked me to actually show my Rock Center discount card, which is a good thing because it’s buried somewhere in my desk). With the discount that brings the sandwich total to $10.80 and for serious lamb lovers, 80 cents over the line for a limited-time sandwich seems like a worthy splurge. It’s the holidays!

‘wichcraft, multiple locations

This Saturday, Slow Food USA has challenged everybody around the country to get together with friends and family for a “slow food” meal that costs under $5 per person- because as they say “slow food shouldn’t have to cost more than fast food”.  Well, ‘wichcraft has decided to step up to the plate to help make it happen… and they’re doing it a day early! (So that Midtown lunchers can enjoy the spoils.)  On Friday, September 16th all 13 ‘wichcraft locations in Manhattan will be selling their signature roasted eggplant, zucchini, ricotta cheese and arugula sandwich, with a side of marinated chickpeas and a 12 oz unsweetened Mighty Leaf iced tea for just $4.82.  Hard to argue with that…

The long-standing ‘wichcraft kiosks in Bryant Park recently got a new outpost, an ice cream kiosk (40th btw 5+6th) close to the carousel. As far as I know, this is actually the first ‘wichcraft foray into ice cream, and they’ve decided to source their ice cream from Van Leeuwen! This actually makes a lot of sense knowing that ‘wichcraft likes to use organic and local products when available. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I headed over to the kiosk, but I ended up finding one of the cheapest ice cream treats around.

Single and double scoops are $4 and $7 respectively, with ice cream floats being $6.50. But the best part of the menu is at the bottom. They’ve recreated ‘wichcraft’s Cream’wich as an Ice Cream’wich. The flavors are tricky to understand–you can get vanilla or strawberry ice cream sandwiched between specific cookies in pre-made packages. I chose vanilla in between peanut butter cookies since that’s my favorite of the cream’wiches. At $4.25, it’s a perfectly priced lunchtime dessert. Despite coming from a freezer, the cookies were crumbly and had great flavor. I loved the added crunch from the salt on top. Once the ice cream warmed up a bit, it was creamy and delicious. The size is great too–once it starts melting, there are only a few bites left.

‘wichcraft Ice Cream Kiosk, 40th Street side of Bryant Park