Brown Bag Sandwich Co

My office brings in popup food stands every week for a 3-day run.  I've loved the exposure to local vendors, many of which don't have permanent locations but are found at night markets, food festivals, etc so it always feels extra nice to support these smaller businesses. This week's vendor, Brown Bag Sandwich Co, was a departure from that format though, as they do indeed have two locations in Manhattan and they are quite popular.

"We created a chopped sandwich menu that pays homage to all of the NYC deli’s that came before us. We focus on house-made meats to ensure that our product is quality, consistent, and accessible. We’re not your average corner store."

Brown Bag Sandwich Co has only been around for 2 years.  The second location opened just about a year after the first. It has been very popular, in part I think fueled by collabs with brands like Mike's Hot Honey, HOKA, Extra Butter, Grillo's Pickles, Leon's Bagels, 7th St Burger, and more, and perhaps from the chef's background as a Michelin starred chef.  As you may have guessed from the name, it is a sandwich shop, featuring hot or cold sandwiches, and a few sides.

Menu.

For our event, we had the choice of 3 sandwiches and 2 sides.  All sandwiches were cut in half, and we could pick one half sandwich, and one side.

Sandwiches:

• Italian: Prosciutto and soppressata, topped with sharp provolone, fresh mozzarella, sweet hot cherry peppers, red onions, tomatoes, and shredded romaine, drizzled with our house-made Italian dressing.
• Chicken Caesar: Roasted chicken, topped with romaine lettuce, house-made croutons, parmesan cheese, and chives, drizzled with Caesar dressing.
• Marinated Eggplant & Stracciatella: Chimichurri marinated eggplant, topped with red pepper romesco, stracciatella cheese, and arugula.

Sides

• Mac Salad: Macaroni pasta, tossed with shredded carrots, scallions, black pepper, fish sauce, and our house-made mac dressing.
• Potato Salad: Red bliss potatoes, tossed with melted leeks, dijon dressing, dill, and tarragon.

The sandwiches were all cold options, which makes sense, but I think many of us were disappointed that their popular chopped cheese variations were not an option.

Half Sandwich + Side.

I was very interested in both sides as I love deli salads, and I wasn't really interested in the sandwiches (I'm not a sandwich person in general, but in particular, I dislike chicken, Italian dressing, and chimichurri, and since the sandwiches were premade there was no way for me to get the Italian hold the dressing, the chicken caesar hold the chicken, or the eggplant & stracciatella without the marinaded elements).  I asked for both sides instead, but was told the rules were one sandwich and one side.  Doh.

I visited two days in order to try both sides, and got the same half-sandwich both times (I tried it the first time, gave it to a co-worker the second).

Chicken Caesar Wrap. $18.

"House-Made Roast Chicken / Romaine / House-Made Croutons / Parmesan / Chive / Caesar Dressing."

People love this wrap.  I don't like chicken, but I like Caesar, and it seemed the most appealing of the three options.

It was good.  It had big hunks of white meat chicken, it was not overdressed, and wasn't at all soggy. There was sooo much chicken in it, which I'm sure is wonderful if you like chicken.  The croutons were very ... bready.  Almost overly flavorful if that makes any sense (specifically, sesame seed bread).  The dressing used Kewpie and had anchovy, so I was certainly a fan of those elements, as I could taste them, and those were wonderful tastes.  The wrap itself was soft and pliable, not doubled up, so it served to hold the sandwich together well, but wasn't too dominant.  It held together well.

Overall, I think this was a great wrap if you like chicken, I just, well, don't.  I'd love a version of sans chicken. 3.5/5 because the dressing was that good, the ingredients seemed high quality, and it really was a well made item.

Mac Salad. $6.

"Macaroni Pasta / Shredded Carrot / Scallion / Black Pepper / Fish Sauce / House-Made Mac Dressing."

The macaroni salad is definitely the item I was most excited for.  I adore macaroni salad, and the fact that they use fish sauce in it for some extra funk made it even more appealing.  

It was good macaroni salad.  The pasta was not too mushy, although I’d prefer even more al dente. It was not overdressed.  It had good flavor from the scallion.  They use both Kewpie and Hellman’s mayo in it, which perplexes me; I’d love to know why the Hellman’s too!  It was really well seasoned with pepper.

Along with being more al dente, I would perhaps prefer some hunks of carrot (rather than shreds) or celery, just something for crunch, and a touch more dressing, but it was good. 3.5/5.  My favorite of the sides.

Potato Salad. $6.

"Red Bliss Potatoes / Melted Leeks / Dijon Dressing / Dill / Tarragon."

I also adore potato salad, although red bliss potatoes are my least favorite, particularly when skin-on.  

The potatoes were fine, just like the macaroni, not too soft, although I’d prefer a bit more firm.  The skins also were sorta peeling off, making it even more red bliss peel forward, so really not my thing.

The rest of it was very flavorful: super herb forward, with tons of dill and tarragon, plus the melted leeks and lots of zing from two kinds of mustard. It also had confit garlic, Crystal hot sauce, Worcestershire, lemon … so much flavor.  I can imagine some not being into the generous amount of leeks.

3/5, although would be a 4/5 if they used different potatoes and cooked them a bit less.