Sandwich Nirvana

Where to find the BEST in NYC, and why the perfect at-home sandwich “is eaten off a paper towel.”

Are we entering a new age of sandwich decadence?

That’s what we asked some of the owners behind New York’s coolest counter spots. “I think we’re experiencing a renaissance of sandwich pleasure,” is how Dria Atencio, the owner of Salty Lunch Lady’s Little Luncheonette in Ridgewood, answered. “We have finally remembered how great they can be—and we are all eating accordingly.”

“Bread is useful because it can carry things.”

In today’s OTH, we’re sitting down with Atencio, as well as Willy Corman and Jack August of 20 Blocks in the East Village (opening tomorrow, 8/19!) and Gracie Gardner and Henry Wright of Barker in Bed-Stuy (a recent New York Times critics pick). They each talk about the sandwich that changed their lives, their must-have tools/formula for constructing the perfect one at home, and where THEY love to grab a sandwich in this city (that isn’t their own). But first…

Newsy Things This Week:

1. These vegetable chandeliers at Hermès’ summer dinner party —

   

   We got a quick exclusive with visionary florist Holly Hmiddouche of Flùr London — aka the creative brain/hands behind these sculptures — who told us each chandelier took 5+ hours to create, “from cleaning and prepping all of the vegetables to building the mechanics, constructing the arrangement, and rigging it into position,” and hundreds of items (including 250+ carrots alone). “We loved the idea of taking something incredibly familiar and humble, like a carrot or a cabbage, and using it in a completely unexpected and playful way,” she said of the inspiration behind the designs. “We wanted them to feel abundant, slightly surreal, and almost as though the garden had taken over.” Holly also noted that all usable produce left from the installation was given to the catering team and staff to ensure as little as possible went to waste. 🥕

2. A Tale of Two Ruths — We loved this Strategist interview with legendary food writer/editor Ruth Reichl on the items she can’t cook without (we couldn’t order this Celery Leaf vinegar quicker) as much as we enjoyed this Sotheby’s magazine ‘tour’ of the most collectible/special objects in Ruth Rogers’ London home that we discovered, published earlier this summer.

3. New New — Bon Appétit released its first-ever Pantry Awards that included a range of snacks and sweets, staples and sauces, and beverages. Consider us officially super fans of Row 7 tinned vegetables and GHIA’s Blood Orange Le Spritz.

4. Ladies who Lunch — For Airmail, Ruth Peltason reflected on the legacy of the department store lunch, charting its history from Helen Corbitt’s revival of the Zodiac Room at Neiman Marcus’ flagship in Dallas (still exists — but only until 9/30! — still gets great reviews) to the Blue Box Cafe at Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue, which Daniel Boulud helped open in 2019. For us, and probably a million other New Yorkers, nothing will ever beat Freds at Barneys (RIP 🪦). Erin still makes its extremely zippy balsamic dressing at home at least once a month.

5. Little Touches — Eater’s Bettina Makalintal wrote about restaurants leaning into handmade touches in the age of AI. We’ve been working on a list of ways to make eating/entertaining at home feel luxuriously more analog, too. Stay tuned this weekend for a special OTH send.

What We’re Buying This Week:

1. For any spare sandwich halves you’re about to be eating.

2. This candleholder — aka a statement piece for absolutely any place.

3. These oversized Rawhide leather oven mitts with extra padding and dummy-proof extra-long sleeves…chic sans burns.

4. A portable oven for end-of-summer pizza nights and beyond (it’s built for patios and kitchens alike). And honestly, what a beauty!

5. Finally, any parting thoughts on the latest obsession over salmon sperm + DNA skincare?

And now, on to today’s story... — Team OTH

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When did a sandwich become a status symbol?

Lines for Salt Hank’s French Dip have gotten so long The New York Times compared them to “peak Cronut.” Salvatore La Rosa’s Italian sandwich pop-up Salvo’s earned such a cult following it became a full-on restaurant earlier this year. In March, The New Yorker declared the Court Street Grocers’ Vegitalian “New York’s finest sandwich.” (It’s Atencio’s go-to, too).

Dria Atencio when her sandwich was named one of The New York Times’ 57 Sandwiches That Define New York City.

The truth is though: No one invented the sandwich to be special. Its whole point of existence (historically) was in fact the opposite. “It’s a quick snack…portable, accessible, FUN,” says Atencio. “It can be a casual dinner or a party food.” Its ease/comfort/simplicity is probably why people are craving them even more during these overstimulating times. “These past several years have shown a lot of uncertainty, and I think we all want to feel comforted during moments of instability,” she adds. “The people who cared for us growing up made them for us; we all know and love them. Now we have a whole crop of chefs who enjoy making their version of nostalgia.”

But it’s not just the sandwich. It’s the whole meal: “Lunch, unlike dinner, has never been one for attention,” say Gardner and Wright. “And that seems to have changed recently.” Here’s what they — and three other owners at the center of it — have to say.

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Willy Corman + Jack August, 20 Blocks.

215 East 4th Street, East Village

The Turkey Town: Thin-sliced turkey with fried green tomatoes, Cajun mayo, and baby romaine on toasted Honey Whole Wheat from @native_braed.

OTH: Growing up in NYC, what was the first sandwich that truly blew your mind, and how did it influence what you’re doing at 20 Blocks?
Willy: “It was at Barney Greengrass, the Sturgeon King. As a kid, I perfected my order: Nova Scotia salmon scrambled with eggs and onions, piled between two cream cheese-shmeared halves of a toasted sesame bagel. It tasted as exceptional and welcoming as the atmosphere — and that is one hard thing to nail…the DREAM.”

“Jack asked me out of the blue in 2023 if I wanted to open a sandwich shop. I said yes. Sandwiches, because why not. Neither of us has a hospitality background, just a love of sandwiches, food, and people.

“For the first year, the whole idea was ‘sandwiches’ and nothing past that. We looked at a hundred spaces in New York, and not one had that Goldilocks “just right” vibe. So we started pop-ups just to DO something. The premise was simple: bring in a chef, put out a sandwich, a side, a drink, and set up in a community garden. We got to work with cooks from The Four Horsemen, Borgo, Blue Hill, Bread and Salt, and One White Street. People lined up by the truckload. We donated all the proceeds back to the gardens. And somewhere in that string of borrowed kitchens, we found our identity, and ultimately our space.

“20 Blocks is an American sandwich shop — a story of cross-regional American food. The first sandwich we cracked for the opening menu was the Fly Fish. Herb-heavy, citrus-forward smoked trout dip with homemade dilly beans and baby romaine on sourdough Pullman. It’s silly delicious.

Willy + Jack’s At-Home Tips/Tools.

OTH: Can you share your go-to places for sourcing ingredients in New York?

• Flowers (especially sunflowers): Trader Joe’s

• Tomatoes: Campo Rosso Farm (Union Square Greenmarket)

• Green Sichuan Peppercorns: SOS Chefs

• Kimchi: Lani’s Farm (Union Square Greenmarket)

• Sourdough Milk Bread: ACQ

• Meat: Paisano’s

• Beans & Herbs: Amoon Farm (Union Square Greenmarket)

• Mozzarella: Russo’s

• Fish: Aquabest (or if you’re up in the wee hours of the morning, Fulton Fish Market)

OTH: What are any must-have tools for making sandwiches at home?

• Offset spatula: is just an all-around great tool

• Food weight/press: to get some nice color when searing

• Cooling rack: for resting your bread. If you don’t have one, you can teepee them on your cutting board.

• Mandoline: for more precise prep

OTH: Constructing a truly great sandwich at home can be surprisingly tricky. What are your top tips for getting it right?

1. Main ingredients are on the bottom! This does two things: It lets the main/base flavor hit your tongue first, and it helps the sandwich hold together structurally. Heavy tops flop.

2. Try the secret ‘Inside-Out Toast:’ Sear one side of your bread in a hot, dry pan (or with a little butter). Do not flip it — that would defeat the purpose. Build your sandwich with the toasted side facing in. Best for soft sandwiches that need a little crunch.

3. Don’t try too hard. 😉

The perfect end-of-summer sandwich.

Dark chocolate and salted butter on a warm baguette.

The best local sandwiches (besides their own).

Willy: Salami, Gorgonzola, and Fig Jam from Bread and Salt
435 Palisade Avenue, Jersey City, NJ

Jack: EBBB from Elbow Bread
1 Ludlow Street, Lower East Side

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Gracie Gardner + Henry Wright, Barker.

395 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn

Barker’s most popular sandwich: Roast beef with hickory sticks, horseradish cream, and watercress. Close second: Smoked turkey with apple butter, Dijonnaise, mizuna, and Jake’s Gouda.

The Sweet Potato sandwich. Photo by Colin Clark for Barker.

OTH: What was the first sandwich that blew your mind?
Henry: “The first food I ever made was a tuna sandwich. My mum showed me how to drain the can, fluff it, add mayonnaise, and put it on bread. It was mind-blowing at the time to make something from raw ingredients. I was probably 10.”

Henry + Gracie

Gracie: “When I was younger, I would come home from school and make a salami butter sandwich — toasted sourdough bread, too much butter, thin-cut salami, and a drizzle of honey. I would eat this and watch the Food Network or Oprah. This ritual, the making of the afterschool snack, was probably the beginning of my cooking life… learning the simple satisfaction of making something as a response to your cravings.”

OTH: How do you handle food trends, especially ones that impact ingredients core to sandwiches, like gluten-free/vegan/etc. Do you try to keep up with them?
Gracie + Henry: “Yes, we try to have something yummy for all. Each new food trend acts a bit like a vegan offering — you need to have it, you won’t sell all that much of it, and it won’t be a big moneymaker, but it makes those few people incredibly happy, and that’s important. But we don’t try to bend to the will of all culinary fads, because that can suck the joy out of cooking!”

Gracie + Henry’s At-Home Tips/Tools.

OTH: What’s your process for making the perfect sandwich at home?
Henry: “Things that don’t make a mess. The perfect sandwich at home is eaten off a paper towel and creates no dirty dishes. Certainly mayo and mustard. I am so lazy at home, so I love those squeeze-top ones. Good quality meat, good bread. Honestly, a good toaster oven (might be called an air fryer for marketing, but it’s a toaster oven.) We had a Breville that we adored when we lived in Canada. Something that heats things up fast is nice (also no cleanup).”

The GOAT.

Gracie: “Sour pickles are required. If in NYC, Zabar’s has the best. Chips are also necessary. My preference is Cape Cod or Ruffles. I have a seasonal rotation of lazy sandwiches. Grilled cheese + pickle for colder months (or toasted ham + cheese); tuna fish + pickle for more neutral weather months; tomato toast for summer. Things I always have on hand for those are:

• Good bread

• Comté/cheddar

• Ham

• Honey

• Sour pickles

• Genova Yellowfin Tuna Fish in oil

• Hellmann’s mayo

• Good tomato

• Basil

• Garlic

• Olive oil”

The best local sandwiches (besides their own).

Henry: “Yuba Verde at Superiority Burger or Tuna at Subway with salt and vinegar chips and lots of pickles.”

Gracie: “Is a bagel a sandwich? Probably not but… Absolute Bagels on the UWS: an everything bagel with lox and scallion cream cheese, and a small carton of Tropicana orange juice.”

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Dria Atencio, Salty Lunch Lady’s Little Luncheonette.

565 Woodward Ave, Ridgewood

Salty Lunch Lady’s most popular sandwich: “The Dill Party ⬇️, which is a fairly simple sandwich. It’s thinly sliced turkey, dill havarti, dill mayo, dill pickles, and avocado on a soft-but-chewy bread called Strecci Doppio from Sullivan Street Bakery. We brine, roast, and slice our turkey here every day, which is why I think it’s so special. Also, dill is just, well, great.”

OTH: Is there one sandwich that changed your life/has influenced what you’re doing at Salty Lunch Lady?
Dria: “Astro Burger is a really cool old spot by my childhood home in L.A., and they have the most amazing veggie burger called the Santa Fe Garden Burger (whether a burger is a sandwich or not is an argument that I’d rather not touch).

“Even though it’s not on the menu anymore, you can still get it if you ask nicely. It’s a garden burger, American cheese, mayo, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and roasted Anaheim peppers on a wheat bun. I make everyone I go with to LA try it, and they all love it. It’s shown me that even a simple addition or swap to a familiar dish can make a huge impact.“

Dria’s At-Home Tips.

OTH: Do you have any clever sandwich-making hacks?
Dria: “Freezing bread is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I love getting a really good loaf, slicing it, and storing it in the freezer so I have slices to pull out whenever I need them.”

(Freezer-Safe!) ReZip Bread and Bagel Storage Bag.

OTH: Is there a special formula to making the perfect sandwich?
Dria: “For me, it’s always: Choose a turkey (or meat) that I love and cheese that goes with it, mayo (or mustard for moisture), lettuce (for crunch), onion (for sweetness and bite), and something pickled, whether that’s pickles themselves, or pickled jalapeño, or cherry peppers. I like tomatoes too, but then I have to eat the sandwich right away and can’t save leftovers, so I almost never get them. (Unless it’s the height of tomato season, of course).”

The best local sandwich (besides her own):

“The Vegitalian from Court Street Grocers! It’s so damn good.”

+++ Team OTH’s Favorite Sandwiches in NYC:

John: Rare roast beef, provolone, tomato, and peppers on a house roll with mayo and mustard from Faicco’s on Bleecker (260 Bleecker Street) AND (when it’s the carving board special) fresh, warm pork on a Portuguese roll from M&O Market (124 Thompson Street)

Erin: Turkey Muenster (that spicy house-made tomato jam!) from Welcome Home (1047 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn)

Christene: Tuna Melt with tiny pickled peppers at Montague Diner (148 Montague Street, Brooklyn)

Landon: The Cha Siu BKRib at Bonnie’s (398 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn) AND Mortadella + Mozzarella on olive sourdough at A&C Super (292 Leonard Street, Brooklyn)

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