Brown Bag Sandwich Co.

Gimmicks are everywhere—whether it’s caviar on a mozzarella stick, or an all-you-can-eat omakase. It’s rare that a restaurant has a gimmick that works in some contexts but flames out in others. This is the case at Brown Bag Sandwich Co., a Greenwich Village sandwich counter that’s opened with a lot of social media fanfare and a nearly ever-present line. 

If you want, you can get any of their sandwiches chopped. Not a new concept, by the way—Fort Greene spot Farmer In The Deli popularized the idea, though Brown Bag (by their own admission) chops their fillings a bit coarser. For cold sandwiches, this is a great idea. Bites of a turkey club are evenly coated in an herby, lemony mayo and hot honey; slices of bacon become little pops of smoky, crunchy bacon bits; and there are no seismic tomato slide-outs to worry about. 

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

But on hot sandwiches, like their spicy cutlet—which they’re pre-chopping in batches to help deal with the lines—things get real soggy, real fast. And even unchopped, that sandwich just can’t compete with a place like Faicco’s, who has mastered the art of the smothered cutlet. 

That’s not to say you shouldn’t come here, or you shouldn’t wait on their seemingly unrelenting line. Just order smart. Get the hot sandwiches whole, get the cold sandwiches chopped, and if there’s a long line, don’t make yourself late to your afternoon meetings waiting on it.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Kate Previte

Cubano

This is the best sandwich on the menu, and getting it chopped would be both morally reprehensible and flat-out sinful. Juicy, tender pork, punchy mustard, and bright pickles are stuffed in between crunchy griddled bread, and the whole thing feels like it was finished with expressed citrus peels. It’s cut the long way.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Turkey Club

A delicious version of a turkey club. Herby, full of lemon, with pops of bacon and fresh tomatoes, and rounded out with a little sweetness from hot honey. This sandwich is a ripe candidate for chopping.

photo credit: Will Hartman

Chicken Caesar Wrap

There’s lots of anchovy flavor in this caesar. It’s savory, lemony, and the romaine is particularly crunchy. If you like chicken caesar wraps, you’ll like this one, but it’s not worth going out of your way for.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Italian

This Italian combo has all the classics—soppressata, prosciutto, pickled cherry peppers, provolone, mozzarella, and Italian dressing. It’s nothing revolutionary, but it’s a well-put-together version. Honestly, chopping here is a dealer’s choice. If you like the individual textures of the meats, like we do, get it whole. But we won’t get mad if you want to try it out chopped.

photo credit: Will Hartman

Spicy Cutlet

Put simply, there are better places to get cutlets smothered in a spicy vodka sauce. We like the pickled peppers—the same ones that are in the Italian—but that’s really all this sandwich has going for it. Skip it.

photo credit: Will Hartman

Chopped Cheese

If they’ve got this chopped cheese on special, it’s worth an order. The beef is well caramelized, the bread gets soft and squishy, and while it’s not so different from what you might find in your local bodega, it is an excellent representation of a classic New York sandwich.

photo credit: Will Hartman

Potato Salad

Brown Bag does a few sides, including mac salad and coleslaw. But just look at this potato salad, glistening in the sun in Washington Square Park. It's dilly, it's acidic, it's got some crunchy mustard seeds, and it's worth an extra $5.