In "Sex and the City," the ladies fall for the pretzel guy in the greenmarket. In "Party Girl," Parker Posey swoons over the falafel guy on the street. Well, in the real-life New York, if you ask Gothamist, the cutest street vendor may be the panini guy at Le Kiosk. He’s a Frenchman with Spanish roots, and his smile can melt mozzarella. We don’t know his name because we were too busy flirting shamelessly to ask, but we'll get to that on our next visit. Oh, and the sandwiches aren’t bad either. Here each sandwich is made to order with fresh ingredients. The panini may not be Italian enough to satisfy the purists, but the combinations are well thought out and delicious. Le Kiosk also offers a selection of traditional French sandwiches, soups, and salads. If you stop by in the morning, they have coffee and croissants.
Gothamist loved the Camembert Panini, which layered the rich cheese with thin slices of tart apple on a baguette spread with honey mustard. It’s not the most substantial sandwich, but it’s just right for an afternoon snack. Here you can also get a very respectable version of the Pan Bagnat, an enormous Ciabatta-type roll filled with flakes of tuna, pitted olives, lettuce, and tomato and topped with copius slices of hard-boiled egg and a creamy vinaigrette. Pan Bagnat literally means bathed bread; the idea is that the bread will soak up all the flavors of the filling. The result will renew your interest in the tuna sandwich.
