Sandwich Of The Week: Café Gitane's Roasted Chicken Sandwich
It can seem as if there are countless varieties of chicken sandwiches in America. New York is a city that offers its fair share, but one of its very best is the organic roasted chicken sandwich at Café Gitane.
As we've mentioned previously, one of the most important factors in the making of a good sandwich is the bread; although Gitane does not bake their own, they do source their baguettes from French Soho institution Balthazar, which delivers their authentic loaves every morning to the café. Each sandwich consists of approximately a third to a half of a baguette, with organic roasted chicken, slices of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano, housemade chipotle mayonnaise, and roasted tomatoes, with the option of adding anchovies to your order. The spicy mayo gives the sandwich a strong but balanced kick, the fresh cheese lends some much-needed salt, and the roasted tomatoes helps soften the crunchy baguette as you enjoy each bite. The dish comes with a side of mixed greens lightly dressed in their housemade lemon vinaigrette, which can offer a palate-cleansing break in between bites of the sandwich; patrons can also been seen adding it onto the sandwich itself in order to experience the tastes of the entire plate in one very satisfying bite.
The original Café Gitane location is in the Nolita neighborhood, with a second location open in the Jane Street Hotel on Manhattan's Lower West Side, making it easy to score one of these beauties on either side of the island.
Kate Kolenda is the Restaurant/City Guide Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @BeefWerky and @theconversant.