Animals

I have a bone to pick with Animals, the newly opened sandwich pop-up that’s attached to The Wayland in the East Village. But first, let me tell you about their pulled bacon sandwich. (Priorities!) It starts with slab bacon, slow braised and pulled to tender, smoky pieces, which are layered with refried beans, avocado, pickled jalapeños, lettuce, tomato, red slaw, and a generous dollop of chili mayo, then tucked inside a fresh, crusty baguette. It’s a small sandwich for $9, but it’s filling and worth it for the “hell yes” moment you’ll have when you take a bite. The other six sandwich options on the menu sounded equally intriguing, and ranged from braised beef, to garlic pork shoulder, to vegan curried cauliflower steak. Cauliflower is having a bit of a moment, according to New York Magazine, although if it can stand in for steak I’ll be impressed. Another newly hip vegetable, brussels sprouts, turned up shaved into ribbons and mixed with apples and honey vinaigrette in a perfect side salad ($6). I left entirely satisfied, with half a sandwich for leftovers.

The problem? Animals is only open from 11am-5pm on weekdays, and it’s located on Avenue C, which is pretty far off everyone’s workday beaten path. Two very nice dudes behind the counter pondered every possibility to remedy my impending separation from the bacon sandwich: opening on Saturdays, moving Animals to its own spot in a few months, starting delivery service (a plan that’s complicated by the fact that they haven’t had phone or internet service since Hurricane Sandy), or opening The Wayland, including the Animals annex, for weekend brunch. They didn’t seem too sure about the next step, so I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.

The upside of this out-of-the-way spot is that the shop is just as mellow as you could possibly hope for (except for the thrilling chainsaw racket, which they obligingly stopped). There’s only a couple tables, perhaps six stools around a pretty marble bar, and at least one person was sipping a large old fashioned, a drink I almost never see before happy hour. I suppose it was technically afternoon… so close enough, right?

Animals
700 East 9th St (entrance on Avenue C)
Weekdays 11am-5pm
Cash only