Midtown Lunch

Photo courtesy of Robyn Lee/SENY

Back in January FeastNY gave us all a look at the 7 brand new seasonal sandwiches introduced by ‘wichcraft.  We especially liked the pork loin and kale and the new potato and leek fritatta sandwiches, and today Serious Eats: New York finally got around to weighing in. For those of you who don’t feel like clicking through the whole slideshow, we’ll just tell you… their favorite was the shrimp salad.

I like the sandwiches at ‘wichcraft, but the price to size ratio…not so much. I was excited to read about the new sandwiches that they added in their recent menu overhaul, but sad to see that their prices had inched up as well. Still I’ve been a fan of doing their all day breakfast sandwiches for lunch, so their new potato leek frittata caught my eye. I had to check it out. Read more »

When Feast NY told us about the new sandwiches at ‘Wichcraft last week, I immediately knew that’s where I was going to head for lunch. ‘Wichcraft is one of my standbys when in a lunch pickle, and any news of sandwich changes needs to be investigated immediately. Also, I have an equal amount of love for pork loin and kale (aka the best vegetable ever.) Apparently they did their pricing with us in mind because, after tax, the sandwich comes in at $9.99.

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Blackened flank steak w/ grilled scallions, romesco, and cheddar. Photo by Feast.

Great news for fans of ‘wichcraft who may or may not have been getting sick of all their sandwich options.  Yesterday the mini-chain got rid of their chicken breast, white anchovy, and pastrami sandwiches (even though Ed Levine called the latter one his favorite snow day eats in NYC) and replaced them with 7 new seasonal options. We’ll miss the pastrami too, but are pretty excited to try all of the new sandwiches. You can see all 7 in all their glory over on Feast NY>>

Sometimes when I take lunch I want to just chill out for a little while, but let’s be honest here, I’m cheap, so hitting up most traditional sit down restaurants is generally going to be out of my lunch budget. ‘wichcraft in Rock Center is my sometimes oasis. If you hit it a the right time (early or late lunch), you can get a table and hole up with your lunch and a complimentary magazine. Most tourists don’t venture that far into the Rock Center underbelly, so the seating situation is much more pleasant than jostling for a free table in the open seating area. But as far as chains go, ‘wichcraft is a pricey spot, so getting out of there feeling like you get your $$ worth is a constant struggle.

Zach covered some of the best bet options for under $10 dining, way back when, but one of the things he missed is that ‘wichcraft serves breakfast all day long.

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I know it’s now a chain, but I can’t help my love for the ‘wichcraft. I like a few of their soups, I like some of their sandwiches, and I crave their grilled gruyere. It’s definitely on my “go-to” lists especially when I’m in a rush since it’s the closest to my office. Everything Zach reported about ‘wichcraft two years ago still remains true, it’s all slightly overpriced, but it’s the comfort of knowing exactly what I’m getting that keeps it in my rotation. No matter… I was cold and in need of lunch, plus I knew that they had just made their autumn switch to thick pumpkin soup, so off I went. But they threw me for a loop when I saw that mini pies came back during my California vacation!

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BLTs are in season at ‘wichcraft, but as the heirloom tomatoes begin disappearing from the green markets, so to will these sandwiches disappear from the ‘wichcraft menu. My partner in crime, Blondie, is a huge fan of the ‘wichcraft BLT–in fact she’s the one who reminded me that they were available–but despite her tummy rumble inducing post about them from two summers ago, I haven’t had a chance to try their BLT until this year. Could ‘wichcraft’s sandwich possibly stand up to expectations?

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My Happy Hour review is coming up at 3, but I thought I’d mention this interesting news for those of you who can’t wait.  Black Shack Burger (on Lex btw. 37+38th) has now added beer to their libation list of shakes, sodas, tea and lemonade. Current brews available are Corona, Sly Fox Phx. Pale Ale, Sly Fox Pike Pilsner and Heineken. This officially enters them in to the pantheon of post work places to head to for a burger and beer. And what do you know, it’s Friday already. Eastside lushes engage!

In related news… Blondie sent me word that the ‘wichcraft in Rock Center has also added beer.

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Blondie and Brownie headed to opening day of the Southwest Porch in Bryant Park, and tried a few of the new sandwiches created by ‘wichcraft.  Like we reported last week, Friday is the only day they are serving food and drinks and it is really more of a great happy hour spot with “snacks” than anything resembling a Midtown lunch spot- but damn, that soft shelled crab sandwich looks good!

Related:
‘wichcraft Brings Pop Up Happy Hour to Bryant Park
If You Don’t Get An Amazing Soft Shelled Crab Sandwich from Certe I Want to Hear About It
Crabwatch: Are Soft Shelled Crabs Back at Cafe Duke?