Sandwiches of New York: #13

What is it? Mortadella Sandwich.

Where is it from? Depanneur, 242 Wythe Avenue, (btwn N3rd and N4th) Williamsburg,                                                    Brooklyn. depanneur.com

How much is it? $10.00 (plus tax)

What's in it? Mortadella, Tallegio, cornichons and Dijon mustard on grilled baguette.

Depanneur is a very nice corner shop/bodega. It sells a whole variety of upmarket condiments, cookies, crackers, cheeses and charcuterie - it's the sort of store that you wouldn't do a weekly shop at but if you wanted the fixings of a super fancy picnic you would be in the right place. It also has a wide selection of 'hipster type' items such as pickles, bitters and granola, much of which is made by local artisanal producers as well as a small selection of homeware and books.

It's a fairly spacious store with rustic decor, a few counter seats in one corner facing out the window and small bistro style tables and chairs outside along the front and side of the store. It's in the middle of Williamsburg but it is off the main drag so during the week the area is not too busy - there were plenty of tables to choose from outside when I went on a recent Tuesday lunchtime. If you don't want to eat there you can walk a couple of blocks to the waterfront which has great views of the city or you could go the whole hog and buy things to take for a picnic in McCarren Park which isn't too far away. 

Inside the shop serve yourself to drinks from the fridges, they have lots of cool (in both senses of the word) sodas, waters and beers, take what you want to the counter where you can order your sandwich and pay. The sandwich menu is on the wall above the till and there's also a tempting array of baked goods such as cookies, breakfast pastries and quiches next to the till.

I waited about five minutes for my sandwich (there were  a few people in front of me) and I passed the time looking around the store until my name was called. I found the service to be fairly efficient and the assistants were friendly but Depanneur does get very mixed reviews about it's service and wait times on social media so maybe I just struck lucky...

And the sandwich? OMG this was a very good sandwich indeed! I already love all the ingredients in it so putting them together in a baguette is pretty much a guaranteed hit as far as I was concerned. All of the ingredients were of exceptional quality and the sandwich was well put together so that I had a little of everything in each bite.  The cheese was tangy, the mustard was sharp and the vinegary cornichons balanced the richness of the mortadella. Finally, the bread was crisp and chewy - hoorah for a proper baguette!  - and it was more warmed than toasted so it wasn't at all dry. 

This was pretty much my idea of a perfect sandwich. It was $10.00 but that seems to be the going rate these days for a quality sandwich, and while I could have eaten more because it was that good, in reality it was a good size.

I can see I will be returning to Depanneur to try more of their sandwiches before too long. Not only is the food excellent I also appreciate that it's in an area of Williamsburg that's a little away from the hustle and bustle of Bedford Avenue but at the same time not too far away from the center of things!