I have finally gotten over my PTSD with the restaurant formerly known as Eisenberg’s. Back when I started this blog, I wrote a less-than-stellar review of their corned beef/pastrami and chided the owner’s collection of “celebrity” photos. Well, the owner fired back contributing to my first expletive-filled comment section.
Since then, Eisenberg’s was sold to new owners, and then closed in 2021 as a victim of the pandemic. But then, lo and behold, about a year later, two legends in the sandwich/luncheonette world took over.
Eric Finkelstein and Matt Ross, two friends who also run the few locations of Court Street Grocers, re-branded the place as S&P but kept the old school luncheonette charm, the low prices, but got rid of the psuedo-celebrity photos.
I’ve been here a few times for lunch and breakfast and truly can’t get enough. It brings me back to a simpler time both in my childhood and in New York establishments.
While I tried their regular pastrami and corned beef sandwich, I preferred the deli meat in the iteration of a breakfast sandwich.
Called The Lil’ Shonda, this is their version of a BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese), but might be even better than that bodega staple. Muenster cheese is melted onto a mound of scrambled egg, topped with thick smoky pastrami, and finished with a pickled green tomato, and a secret sauce (called Dinkee Sauce). It’s all grilled with rich slices of rye bread.
This is truly the breakfast sandwich of champions – rich, tangy, smoky, and peppery. It’s completely satisfying and utterly delicious. An incredible way to start your day at an important New York icon.
If Eisenberg’s had been serving food as good as this (and maybe I never ordered the correct dish), I would not have been so harsh all those years ago and perhaps I too would have found my way onto their photo wall. Price: $14
| S&P |
| 174 Fifth Avenue (between West 23rd and West 22nd Street), Flatiron District (212) 691-8862 |
| sandwich.place |
