Fönn’s sandwiches are finished with a skyr sauce. Illustration: Igor Bastidas
If you’re like us, you’re currently thinking about what you want to do this weekend. To help, we’ve debuted our newest guide. Every Thursday, we offer you exactly what this column’s name promises: five things to eat this weekend. We’ve sifted through the newest restaurant openings, events, and limited-run menu items so you don’t have to. This week, there are a lot of new, excellent sandwiches, so we’re dedicating the column to things served between slices of bread.
A Texas Toast Tuna Melt at Val’s Diner & Bar (347 Van Brunt St., Red Hook)
Messing around with a diner classic like the tuna melt can be risky, but the trio at Val’s — which took over the former Pitt’s space — treads the line between nostalgic and new. The tuna filling is really an excuse to eat fluffy-crisp slabs of Texas toast and to scoop up any loose bites with the side of waffle fries.
Chicken Medianoche at Bar CC (85 Tenth Ave.)
The team behind Crown Club has given a Havana bar snack a luxe upgrade. With citrus- and cumin-marinated grilled chicken instead of the usual pork, a gooey Swiss-style cheese, a generous serving of cornichons, plus black garlic and Dijon mustard, it’s the best way to chase (or soak up) a cocktail or two from bar sage Harrison Ginsberg.
Carnegie Colossus at Carnegie Deli (834 Seventh Ave.)
Earning the newly minted title of “Carnegie Deli’s Tallest Sandwich” is, ahem, no small feat, hence the aptly named Colossus. With layers upon layers of pastrami, corned beef, turkey, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing on rye, it’s the kind of sandwich that will send you into a cozy food coma in one of Carnegie’s shiny, recently renovated booths.
A Chile-spiked Ham & Cheese Croissant at H.Valley (569 Hudson St.)
The highlight of Austin Johnson’s new café-and-grocery prepared-foods haven is the bread and Viennoiserie program, which perfumes Hudson Street starting at 5 a.m. Their version of the humble ham and cheese is served on a flaky, nutty Calabrian chile–flavored croissant.
The Icelandic Panini at Fönn (22 W 40th St.)
This daytime pop-up is tucked inside TALEA’s midtown taproom and is a shrine to all things skyr, the protein-rich Icelandic yogurt. Prosciutto-and-egg panini are a welcome lunch option in a neighborhood better known for slop bowls; the sandwiches are classic combinations made interesting thanks to a surprisingly tangy sauce made with olive oil, salt, pepper, and — of course — skyr.
