Porchetta

Porchetta sandwiches

Here is one way to feed a small group. A structurally unsound mountain of brown paper packages that reveal pork sandwiches. These sandwiches in question are Italian in heritage and purchased from Porchetta, a white sliver of a shop a few blocks down my apartment.  Slow roasted pork with crackly golden skin nests within a small, square ciabatta roll that soaks up all the juices. For sides, one can order beans, slow-cooked greens and roasted potatos studded with more roasted pork.  For pig freaks, this is all good, although the price at $9 a smallish sandwich is  steep. And frankly, we did not really get the raving “top 10 eats of the year” type of reviews.

 

 

Porchetta

110 E7th St (Between 1st Avenue and Avenue A)

www.porchettanyc.com

 

Starwich

Like most good things, Starwich came by the way of a recommendation. And once I shared my second-hand “discovery” of this gourmet sandwich shop to my chow-minded colleagues, they too have been ordering from Starwich with almost clockwork regularity. And why not, when the sandwiches made of superior bread are filling, inventive, stuffed with gourmet ingredients, and at an affordable price similar to, if not cheaper than other seamless alternatives?

On any given week, my colleagues and I would make at least one meal out of Starwich sandwiches and salads. Our office favorites include a deep fried soft-shell crab sandwich so greasy but tasty that Lily is willing to risk her allergies and a braised short rib sandwich packed with tender meat and sweet, slow cooked red onions. The thick tomato soup goes hand in hand with the grilled ham and cheese sandwich sweetened by slices of golden delicious and lightly bitter endive, and at $1.95 a cup is by far one of the best soup deals in midtown. There are however some missteps, and not all sandwiches are winners. The pomegranate-juniper glazed chicken sandwich sounded intriguing in theory but yielded a bland piece of chicken breast served in a too-sweet raisin bread and with a green, unappetizing and far too bitter mix of chopped greens. Make-your-own sandwiches can be tricky too and results could disappoint based on the pick of ingredients.

In the mood for a salad? Starwich does those admirably well too. The steak salad is packed with spinach, tomatoes, cranberries and strips of grilled spicy skirt steak that may at times be juicy but during other times dried out in the process of delivery. The apples, mangos, figs and more salad is even more satisfying, and does double-duty as dessert. A true dessert however is the chocolate brownie, rich, moist and unctuous, amongst the better ones found on seamless web these days. So there are times I have to work late, but Starwich and its brownie makes me return to my cubicle post-dinner feeling much better.

Starwich

Multiple locations

www.starwich.com