Midtown Lunch

At least two people have recommended I head up to Soho’s Rheon Cafe on Spring St. (nr. Thompson) for the roast duck sandwich. One fellow lunch’er offered no explanation what was so amazing about this sandwich that I would take a train to get it, other than saying it was “really good.”  It was featured on Serious Eats last year, and last week, profiled lunch’er Rachel recommended the sandwich. I thought it might be time to head north to see what this roast duck concoction was all about.

Rheon is a popular spot but they have plenty of seating in a sort of hidden back area and enclosed garden. At first I thought the people heading to the garden area were insane since it was below freezing, until I noticed no one was wearing a coat and figured out it must be heated. If you sit in the back you also get to watch the bakers making their goods.

I ordered a half roast duck sandwich ($5.75) which was actually about the same size as a normal sandwich you’d make at home. I’m not sure how large the full size is since they cut the bread from a large loaf of ciabatta, but it’s a steep $10 so there was no way I was going to find out.

The sandwich contained cold slices of roast duck, lettuce, cucumber and some sweet sauce that was supposed to taste like miso but seemed like straight hoisin to me. I kind of wished the duck slices would have been warm but that’s just my preference. All in all it was good, but I could have used a little less sauce.

To round out my meal I grabbed a tea cake donut ($1.50) from the front display that reminded me of the wares at Takahachi Bakery in Tribeca.  It was more like a slightly-sweet cake that tastes like tea than an actual fried donut so be warned if that’s what you’re expecting.

Nothing I had at Rheon blew me away enough to recommend you go out of your way to eat there if you don’t work in Soho. That being said, I thought the duck sandwich was a good value and the croissants sitting in the front display didn’t look too shabby.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• You can pretend you’re sitting outside, even when it’s sub-zero.
• They bake their own bread, and it’s delicious.
• You can get a decent amount of food for $10.

THE — (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• I am not paying $10 for a full-size sandwich.
• It’s always crowded and I don’t want to eat at my desk.

Rheon Cafe, 189 Spring St. (nr. Thompson), (212) 966-7040