Uptown Cuban
New Harlem Whole Foods debuts classic sandwich & more
IT took five years for Whole Foods to open in Harlem after a deal was announced in 2012, and five minutes for the neighborhood to fall in love with the outpost on its first day of business this past Friday.
And, it took me about five seconds to scarf down the store’s 9-inch Cuban sandwich, a heavily hyped offering you’ll find at none of the chain’s other 400 some-odd locations. That’s right: This upmarket grocer — known for organic, esoteric edibles — is slinging a humble, working-class, Caribbean-inspired lunch staple, your first clue that the 40,000-square-foot, two-level emporium at Lenox Avenue and 125th Street isn’t your standard Whole Foods.
This $9 sandwich and other Cubanstyle offerings, such as a $6 breakfast egg sandwich, are part of the store’s concerted effort to win over locals. Smart move, considering some longtime residents were suspicious of the pricey national chain landing in their slowly gentrifying midst.
The spacious, colorful supermarket anchors a newly built, block-long retail complex that includes American Eagle and Burlington Coat Factory stores. As chef Marcus Samuelsson did at his thriving Red Rooster bistro across the street, the grocer recruited much of its personnel from the surrounding neighborhood.
Homegrown product lines abound in the aisles, among them Mama’s One Sauce, the Harlem Pie Man and Egunsi Foods (a Harlem outfit specializing in West African-inspired soups and sauces).
The Cuban sandwich is available for order in the store’s Kitchen area, along with Cuban-style coffee (and pizza, if you’re especially hungry). Too busy to run inside? Grab your Cuban coffee and breakfast bites at the sidewalk window facing 125th Street.
But back to that 9-inch sandwich: The Cubano Classico touches all the right flavor bases, stacking grilled ham, pork, Swiss cheese, pickle slices and yellow mustard on a long loaf of Cuban bread. The pre-assembled hoagie is pressed to give the bread a crunchy char. For some reason, though, the store doesn’t foil-wrap the Cubano Classico prior to pressing, a step that would more fully meld the elements. (“It can’t touch meat,” the friendly counter woman bafflingly explained of the foil.) A vegetarian version of the sandwich, an avocado-based “faux-bano,” was foil-wrapped — and emerged in a more cohesive form. In addition, a less innocuous yellow mustard would lend the Cubano a more piquant note. The sandwich is nonetheless flavorful and satisfying, enough for two to share in the airy windowed seating area looking out onto Lenox Avenue.
The new market heralds happier eating in the historic capital of AfricanAmerican culture. Central Harlem has long hungered for a high-quality supermarket, having had few places to shop for fresh produce (or really any food at all).
Customers this week seemed happily overwhelmed by Whole Foods’ vast selection of fresh meat, linecaught seafood, organic fruits and veggies, and pantry items. Nearly the entirety of one shelf was dedicated to Health-Ade Kombucha tea alone — a vision in a nabe where even diet soda can be scarce.
Harlemites have wasted no time filling their carts. The blog Harlem Bespoke reported that opening-day crowds were so robust, customers had to wait on line just to board the escalator.
Viva Harlem!