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Danny Meyer Serving Up Sandwiches & Doughnuts In New Spot Next To Union Square Cafe
By
Scott Lynch
Published Feb 14, 2017
Modified Feb 14, 2017
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Photo by Scott Lynch/Gothamist
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By
Scott Lynch
Published Feb 14, 2017
Modified Feb 14, 2017
Share
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Our latest installment of Quick Bites brings us to a new Danny Meyer joint.
THE VIBE
The re-opening of Danny Meyer's beloved Union Square Cafe, just a few blocks up and over from its location of 30 years, has definitely been a glittering highlight of this winter restaurant season. If, that is, you feel comfortable dropping $27 for a plate of pappardelle. But now there's good news in Meyerland for those of us of more modest means: the recent unveiling of Daily Provisions, a coffee- doughnut- sandwich-shop located right next door to (and sharing the kitchen with) the new mothership.
Daily Provisions serves breakfast and lunch for now, but it also stays open late enough—until 6 p.m.—to make for a viable early supper option as well. This is a counter service restaurant, with a few cushy stools at the small bar and by the front window overlooking East 19th Street. Two tall marble peninsulas jut out from the blue walls, providing a comfortable perch at which to stand and snack.
This being a Danny Meyer joint, it's worth stating that the service here is a little all over the place. Nothing that would give you pause at your average neighborhood spot—a mischarge here, a forgotten order there, a strangely aggressive food runner—but since Meyer's empire and considerable fortune has been built upon a foundation of impeccable hospitality, these slip-ups stood out.
THE BITES
The core of the Daily Provisions "Day" menu is a quintet of sandwiches, and all three that I ate last week were terrific. Possibly the best is the Roast Beef, with its juicy stack of rare meat topped with crisp fried onions, pickled beets, a slice of smooth, salty muenster, and enough creamy horseradish sauce to get your attention. That seeded roll is lovely, too.
Or maybe the Grilled Cheese was my favorite? This is a greasy, oozy delight, the well-buttered wheat bread barely containing the blobs of melted Swiss and thick, smoky slabs of fatty bacon.
If you'd rather lunch on something with at least the appearance of being "light," the Rotisserie Chicken sandwich combines white and dark meat, slices of green tomato for some bite, bits of that same slab bacon, and a sharp dijonnaise. The promised avocado didn't make an appearance however, and the wan leaf of iceberg was a poor substitute. Still a pretty great sandwich though.
I tried one of the three sides on offer, a crunchy and addictive Brussels Sprouts slaw tossed with chewy guanciale and a bit of pecorino, but the already-dishearteningly small cup was only about two-thirds full, making it a borderline insult at $7 a serving.
The pastries were hit or miss. I liked the custardy insides of the Maple Cruller (which comes shaped like a standard donut), but both Oatmeal-Raisin cookies I bought, each from a different batch, were distressingly undercooked, the oats too difficult to chew in one, the center completely raw in the other.
A better dessert bet is the Blondie, which had a nice butterscotch flavor with chunks of white chocolate upping the sweetness level. Note that, without warning, it does come in cookie format, albeit one that is cooked all the way through.
THE VERDICT
Uncharacteristic missteps aside, Meyer's Daily Provisions offers area workers and Gramercy locals a fresh, and often delicious, new option.
Daily Provisions is located at 103 East 19th Street between Park Avenue South and Irving Place, and is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays (breakfast is served until 11:00), and from 8 to 6 on weekends. Electronic payments only, NO CASH accepted. (212-488-1505; dailyprovisionsnyc.com)
Tagged
daily provisions
danny meyer
gramercy
quick bites
original
Scott Lynch
Photojournalist, food writer, preschool receptionist. Love NYC.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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