Williamsburg is a trendy Brooklyn neighborhood that’s teeming with eclectic cafes, plenty of shopping, and a huge range of culinary options ranging from cheap eats to Michelin star tasting menus. I’ve been on a sandwich kick lately, so I called up my pals Jordan and Steve to see if they wanted to hit some Williamsburg spots. Foodie friends are the best type of friends, so we met at 2:30pm on a Sunday for a 4 hours sandwich palooza!
Get the scoop on a Williamsburg pizza crawl HERE!
Let’s dive into our Williamsburg sandwich crawl!
Stop 1: Edith’s Sandwich Counter
We kicked off our Williamsburg sandwich crawl with a stop a Edith’s Sandwich Counter. Edith’s is a hole-in-the-wall joint serving up deli-fare with a Jewish twist. It went viral a couple years ago for their frozen cold brew with oatmilk and tahini slushie and bacon, egg, cheese, and latke bagel sandwich. But Edith’s from from a one hit wonder. The menu has a wide range of delectable sounding options, and if you go you’ll notice that everyone seems to order something different. A great sign!
We started with the sephardi breakfast wrap, which is easily one of the best egg sandwich creations I’ve ever had. It starts with a flaky malawach wrap, which is a Lebanese flat bread, that is then totally stuffed with chicken sausage, cheesy scrambled eggs, pickled fresno peppers, herbs, and harissa mayo. I love how the cheese is melted into the eggs, and the chicken sausage adds a zing of flavor without too much extra grease. The crunch and acidity from the peppers balance out the heaviness of the other ingredients. Aand the flaky, soft flatbread is what takes this to true elite status.
I first tried this back in 2023, and it was just as good as I remembered. Maybe even better…
We also tried the pastrami chopped cheese which totally blew my mind. The house-smoked pastrami was the clear star of the show. It was rich, smoky, and salty with a nice meatiness and perfect tenderness. Lettuce and tomato kept each bite fresh. And sharp cheddar cheese tied everything together. It was toasted in a way that allowed the cheese around the edges to crisp up, making for a legendary sandwich I haven’t been able to get off my mind.
Cost:
Sephardi Wrap: $14.75
Pastrami Chopped Cheese: $16.50
(Note that all prices are pre tax and tip)
Stop 2: Win Son Bakery
Win Son Bakery is a hip Taiwanese-American cafe that serves up breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, beer, wine, and unique baked goods that have a distinctive Asian flare. The internet went totally feral for their BEC on a scallion pancake in 2023, and while the fan-base has stuck around, the hype has leveled out. Meaning no more lines down the block! Or perhaps that’s thanks to the new second locale in the Lower East Side…
It seemed like the perfect second stop on our Williamsburg sandwich crawl, and we got two items to share: The BEC on a scallion pancake and the jǔcài pancake with havarti, chives, shallot sauce, and rice noodles.
The BEC on a scallion pancake was loaded with crispy bacon, egg, and no shortage of cheese. The slightly greasy scallion pancake served as the perfect conduit for the fillings, and the ginger deluxe sauce added in a little zing and soft sweetness. It wasn’t as crispy (or as good) as it was when I tried it in 2023, but still super tasty.
I ended up preferring the the jicuai pancake. It’s extremely similar to the BEC, minus the bacon and plus chives and a shallot sauce. The chives added a soft crunch and healthy dose of freshness that helped balance out the insane amount of cheese.
Cost:
BEC on a scallion pancakes: $15
Jicuai Pancake: $15
Stop 3: Namkeen
The squad continued on to Namkeen. Namkeen serves up super juicy, mega-crunchy fried chicken with South Asian twists. We’re talking dishes like the “Tikkaville Sandwich” with a tikka sauce and mint chutney and masala fries.
We stuck with a classic Nashville sandwich with the medium “knees weak” heat level. To me, this is the perfect chicken sandwich. It’s super crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside, with chicken breast, not thigh. The heat is part of the breading rather than a sauce. And there’s just enough added coleslaw and sauce to cut the heat while letting the chicken shine. A gem of a chicken sandwich!
Cost: $11.99
Stop 4: Paolina
To wrap up our Williamsburg sandwich crawl, we headed to Paolina, a new kid on the block. Paolina serves one thing and one thing only: falafel pita. It’s built in a Chipotle-esq style fashion and you can load it up however you like. We opted for everything.
Sometimes falafel can be like a sand dune in your mouth, but these were perfectly crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Layers of pickled onions, cabbage, pickles, tahini, and various other veggies and sauces were piled into a freshly made pita. It was an delightful symphony of textures and flavors, and truly a top tier falafel sandwich.
Cost: $14
This Williamsburg sandwich crawl came to $21.81pp pre tax and tip.
For 6 different sandwiches from 4 locations across the span of 3 hours, I’m going to say that’s pretty darn good!
Cheers to another foodie adventure! Check out a video of the crawl below:
