Midtown Lunch

Sometimes a lunch that I warily buy takes a turn for the delicious. That was the case when I randomly stopped by Terri on Pearl St. (btw. Maiden Ln and Cedar) and happened to see they had a new sandwich on the menu. They now offer a vegan version of a BBQ pork sandwich ($8.05) and after a taste I was immediately reminded of an offering at a certain fast-food chain. 

This looks like a legit BBQ sandwich, right? It’s actually pieces of seitan in a sweet barbeque sauce with coleslaw and dill pickle slices on top, contained in a rosemary ciabatta bun. The texture of the “meat” is a little bit off – more chewy and less stringy than actual pulled pork – but otherwise this replicates a barbeque sandwich remarkably well.

After eating half of the sandwich I finally placed what the flavors tasted like. It’s been many years since I’ve eaten a McRib from McDonald’s, but the sweet sauce and pickle slices as well as the slightly bouncy texture of the seitan conjured up the same flavor profile. If you are vegan and feel like you’ve been missing out on this highly-processed specialty, then you might want to hit up Terri. Even if this thought hasn’t crossed your mind, this sandwich was really tasty whether or not you eat meat.

Terri, 100 Maiden Lane (entrance on Pearl St.), (212) 742-7901